NAS announces Head of Advancement

NAS announces Head of Advancement

Terese Casu will take up the newly created position of Head of Advancement at the National Art School in Darlinghurst from 21 October 2019 as an integral member of the School’s Executive Leadership Team.

Securing the future of the National Art School earlier this year, the Hon. Don Harwin, NSW Minister for the Arts announced a 45-year lease on the Darlinghurst Gaol site, the School’s recognition as a State Significant Organisation (SSO), and its ambitious plans to become the leading fine art school in the Asia Pacific.

Steven Alderton, National Art School Director and CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Terese Casu to the National Art School. She is recognised as having led the transformation of the Mardi Gras Festival into one of the world’s leading arts and cultural programs, and we now look forward to her working at NAS to establish our School’s position as a leading hub of fine art education and culture in Australia and the Asia-Pacific.”

Terese is an accomplished leader in the arts with a passion for social justice and equality, and has an extensive career as an artist and arts manager spanning over 30 years. She recently stepped down as CEO of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Previously, Terese was the Executive Director of Performance Space in Sydney, and the Director, Arts Organisations at the Australia Council for the Arts. She has held senior management and leadership positions at La Boite Theatre Company, Bundanon Trust, Australian Theatre for Young People, Belvoir St Theatre, Circa Ensemble, Sydney Film Festival and the Australian Film Commission. Between 1999 and 2002 Terese worked at the Australia Council in several roles including International Audience and Market Development and on the Theatre Board.

Terese will head up the National Art School’s newly created Advancement Team which includes programming, the NAS Gallery, fundraising, benefaction, commercial services, government relations, marketing and communications, student enrolments, venue hire and outreach.

Terese is excited to take on this new role: “I feel privileged to be joining the National Art School at such a pivotal point in time. The school is poised for rapid and transformational growth and will soon become more broadly recognised for its important role in the Australian and international arts landscape. I look forward to contributing to the next exciting chapter of the School’s history.”

Terese arrives in time for significant events at the National Art School. On Friday 25 October 2019 the School will hold the NAS Art Auction to support outreach programs for emerging artists and art education for all. The popular end of year graduate art exhibitions open on 7 November (Master of Fine Art postgraduate students) and 5 December (Bachelor of Fine Art graduate students).

Image: Left to right – Simon Cooper, NAS Head of Studies; Terese Casu, NAS Head of Advancement; Steven Alderton, NAS Director and CEO. Photo: Jaydon Cabe Photography

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Art Club is our high school student program for 15-17 year olds, designed to enhance and extend students’ technical, conceptual, and intellectual skills, through intensive practical study in the disciplines offered at NAS as well as engaging in an experience of our studios and campus, under the expert direction of experienced artists.

Set your child on a creative path with Art Club. 

Learn more at the link in bio.
Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize and congratulations again to the prize winner NAS alumna Rosemary Lee.

The 24th Dobell Drawing Prize is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025
11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday 
NAS Gallery 
Free admission, all welcome

Learn more about the exhibition at the link in bio.
We are delighted to announce NAS alumna Rosemary Lee as the winner of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, Australia’s leading prize for drawing, worth $30,000.

Selected from 56 nationwide finalists, and 965 entries, Rosemary’s work will become part of the National Art School’s significant collection, built over the past 120 years. Rosemary, in her winning work 24-1 (2024), observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life.

The judging panel comprising acclaimed First Nations artist Vernon Ah Kee, Paula Latos-Valier AM, Trustee and Art Director of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, and Dr Yolunda Hickman, Head of Postgraduate Studies, National Art School, commented of Rosemary’s work: “The decision to award the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize to Rosemary Lee for the work ‘24-1’ was unanimous. We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this work both through its vibrant colour and in the extraordinary detail of the composition. The artwork’s exploration of the urban landscape and gentrification of the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield and Summer Hill, has produced an image capturing a broader sense of transience and the omnipresence of construction sites in our cities today. It questions the cultural and historical value of place, through the lens of the artist’s personal connection.” 

See Lee’s work alongside the work of the other finalists in the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, 11 April – 21 June 2025, NAS Gallery
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Left to right: NAS Director and CEO, Dr Kristen Sharp with artist Rosemary Lee, featuring winning artwork 24–1, 2024, pencil on paper, image courtesy the artist and National Art School Gallery © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan
Introducing the National Art School Short Courses Program from July–December 2025

Whether you’re a beginner, rediscovering a past passion, refining your skills, or considering our Fine Arts degree, the short courses offer a stimulating and rewarding experience for all levels.

Our 2025 program begins in July with Winter School, followed by Term Three, Spring Weekend Workshops in September, and Term Four in October.

Learn more and enrol at the link in bio.
Making Sound is a performance event featuring four artists who make devices that make sound, including Gary Warner, Pia van Gelder, Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell, presented following Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025, Saturday 12 April 5-6pm. 

Gary Warner creates an improvised soundfield with his ‘aleatoric ensemble’ autonomous sound machines, a collection of modified turntables that spin ad-hoc bric-a-brac assemblages.

Pia van Gelder (pictured) amplifies an electronic circuit as it is built in real-time. Under the moniker of “PvG sans PCB,” in these performances, van Gelder works on a breadboard with electronic components and additional found objects to demonstrate the electronic variabilities produced in the material world.

Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell perform together with handmade synthesizer systems that sense and sonify barometric pressure and the flow of electrons through matter.

Purchase your tickets to the symposium at the link in bio.
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Pia van Gelder, 'sans PCB', 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist
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