Board of Directors

SUSAN ROTHWELL AM (CHAIR) 
Architect and visual artist. Former Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation and Art Gallery of NSW Foundation board member.

JENNIFER BYRNE
Journalist and broadcaster. She accepted the role of Chair of the NSW Literature Board in 2019. She was appointed director of the Board of the Ngununggula Gallery in Bowral in 2021. She is currently Patron of the Coastrek organization, raising funds for Beyond Blue, and has been an ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, providing scholarships to indigenous students, since its establishment in 2007.

ROSS MCDIVEN 
Former Chairman of the Brookfield Multiplex Group (construction) with extensive experience in managing commercial and cultural precincts and partnerships. At Brookfield Mr. McDiven led teams across projects including the landmark (Olympic) Stadium Australia, Chifley Tower, King Street Wharf, Luna Park and Jones Bay Wharf amongst others. Former Trustee of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences.

JESS MILLER
Councillor Jess Miller was first elected to Council in 2016 and is one of the youngest people to hold elected office at the City of Sydney. Jess served as Deputy Lord Mayor from 2017-2018. Jess is currently Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee, the Cycling Advisory Committee, and a member of the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils. In 2014 Jess was voted Sydney’s Woman of the Year and she continues to be a passionate advocate for the environment, and for a diverse nighttime economy.

JOHN MITCHELL
Partner at Arnold Bloch Leibler law firm and current non-executive director of the board of Carriageworks, a venue renowned for its commercial and cultural enterprise and innovation.

WENDY SHARPE
Wendy Sharpe is one of Australia’s most acclaimed and awarded artists.  She has won the Archibald prize , (and has been a finalist 7 times) the Sulman and a long list of other important awards and prizes, including a commission as an Australian Official War Artist  from the Australian War Memorial (the 1st woman since WW2).  Most recently awarded the prestigious Gold Award.  She taught part time and casual at the National Art School 1990-2005, and has been awarded a National Art School Fellowship.  She has held over 60 solo exhibitions around Australia and internationally.

CHRISTINA SLADE
Christina Slade is Emeritus Professor at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom where she was Vice-Chancellor from 2012-17. Prior to that she was the Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at the City University London and Macquarie University’s Dean of Humanities. She was Professor of Media Theory with the University of Utrecht and the Head of the Creative Communication School at the University of Canberra. She is currently assisting as Rector of Charles Sturt University. She has studied and worked in universities in Europe, the US, Latin America and South Asia. She has a PhD in philosophy of language and logic from ANU, a Diploma of Education from the University of New England and qualifications in Spanish French and (very rusty) Arabic.  She has led major EU funded research grants and has authored  numerous articles, books and has  given policy advice in Westminster and Brussels.

Her UK board appointments  include: Trustee of The Royal High School Bath and the Holburne Museum, Trustee and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of  the Association of Commonwealth Universities in the UK, and Director and  Chair of the Education, Heritage and Culture Sector Table with the Iraq Britain Business Council.  She now chairs the Board of Lincoln University College, serves on the  Advisory Board of QS rankings, a UK based group, and on the Boards of the Adelaide based  Media Centre for Education Research (MCERA).

BRUCE SOLOMON
Bruce Solomon is the founder and Director of Solotel Hospitality Management, which manages 27 hospitality venues across Sydney and Brisbane. He is also a Trustee of the Lady Mary Fairfax Estate and a director of the Bundanon Trust Board. Bruce and his wife Barbara have been supporters of the National Art School since 2018. To date, they have supported 5 graduating MFA students with the annual Lift Off Award,  to support the career development of emerging artists.

JEFF WEEDEN
Formerly Chief Executive Officer of Forager Funds Management with experience in banking and finance, notably with Bankers Trust and later as an Executive Director at Macquarie Bank. He is a Cornerstone supporter of the Pinnacle Foundation, an organisation that provides financial assistance and mentoring to disadvantaged LGBTI students. He has a long held interest in the visual arts, and as a long-term community member he is passionate about the NAS site.

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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
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