Artist Insider: Randy Lee Cutler and Andrew Rewald at National Art School for NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney

Artist Insider: Randy Lee Cutler and Andrew Rewald at National Art School for NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney

Canadian artist Randy Lee Cutler and Australian artist Andrew Rewald worked together for 18 months from opposite sides of the world to create a collaborative installation for NIRIN at the National Art School in Sydney. Randy lives in Vancouver while Andrew is based on the NSW north coast in Mullumbimby.

Spread through three rooms in the school’s historic Chapel, their joint work Mineral Garden delves into the secret life of plants and minerals, core areas of interest for both artists.

They also each have separate works as part of NIRIN, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney. Andrew built Alchemy Garden from scratch last year onsite at NAS, a community garden with edible plants which has flourished while being tended to by a team of local residents.

Randy’s project, Mineral Collection, includes her collage works exploring the presence of minerals in our daily environments.

Randy and Andrew were both scheduled to present public talks and tours as part of NIRIN, but these were cancelled due to coronavirus.

Due to regulations for the National Art School as a tertiary institution, the campus remains closed to the general public. Randy and Andrew’s installation, and other Biennale artworks commissioned for NIRIN and first exhibited at NAS in March, have been transferred to Carriageworks at Eveleigh, where they can be seen from 7 August to 26 September, 2020.

In this interview they talk about the profound professional and personal connections they made during their collaboration, the frustrations of remote curation, and their surprise when they first met in person late last year.

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Don’t miss out on your chance to bid on an artwork at the NAS Gala! Get your tickets now and join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating the treasures of the National Art School, our artists.

Announcing a thrilling line up of artists contributing artworks to our live and silent auction. This is your opportunity to add a special piece of art by a celebrated NAS artist to your collection.

Ann Thomson
Bernard Ollis OAM
Reg Mombassa
Eliza Gosse
Euan Macleod
Gene A'Hern
Guido Maestri
Guy Warren AM
Joan Ross
Juz Kitson
Mitch Cairns
Rosemary Lee
Wendy Sharpe AM FRSN
Zoe Young
More to come…

NAS Gala | National Treasures
Art Auction and Cocktail Party
Friday 21 November, 6.00pm – 11.30pm
Cell Block Theatre, National Art School

Purchase tickets at the link in bio.
Join us for the closing party for The Neighbour at the Gate – 'Afterglow', headlined by Miss Kaninna, and featuring performances by HYLANDER, Rocky Stallone, BRINA, Kuya Hennessy and DJ Court Jester. This free, 18+ concert will be a night to remember! 

Thursday 16 October 2025 
4.30pm – 10pm 
Cell Block Theatre 

RSVP at the link in bio. 

The Neighbour at the Gate has been made possible with the generous support of the NSW Government through its Blockbusters Funding initiative.
Karatsu ceramicist Yukiko Tsuchiya (@tsuchiyayukiko) and curator Kathryn Hunyor (@artspeople_au) delivered two very special workshops in the teaching studios of the Ceramics Department at the National Art School (NAS), in an exciting collaboration between The Japan Foundation (@jpfsydney), Sydney, the NAS Ceramics Department and the National Art School.

Peek inside the wheel-throwing and hand-coiling masterclasses that took place.
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