Calendar of Events

Please join National Art – Part One exhibiting artists Sarah Goffman and Michael Snape for artist talks in the exhibition, introduced by NAS Gallery Curator Judith Blackall.

Sarah Goffman has exhibited across Australia and internationally in over 200 shows. After completing a Doctorate of Creative Arts in 2017, she held solo shows I am a 3D Printer, Wollongong Art Gallery 2017; Not My Place, KNULP, Sydney 2017; and I am not Gina Rinehart, 55 Sydenham Road 2018. Earlier notable solo exhibitions include Plastici and City of Plenty, Penrith Regional Gallery 2012 and 2015; Trashcan Dreams, Performance Space/ Carriageworks, Sydney 2010. Goffman has been included in group shows at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Artspace, Sydney College of the Arts and The Commercial, Sydney. In 2017 she won the Still National Still Life Award at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

Sculpture is Michael Snape’s principal practice, which he complements with painting, music and writing. His sculptural work is predominantly in steel and is characterised by being highly variable, working either with text, abstraction or figuration. The consistent thread is the lack of a governing aspect and an openness to conceptual and material experimentation. He has completed more than 20 public and private sculptural commissions and has held numerous solo exhibitions at Watters Gallery, Gallery A, and Mori Gallery, Sydney; and Australian Galleries. Most recently, he has shown in the 2018 TarraWarra Biennial. Snape’s work is held in numerous public and private collections.

White Series (installation view),2009–2013, acrylic and enamel on PET, 34 pieces, height 33 cm, other dimensions variable. Gift of SarahGoffman, 2018

Please join Head of Drawing Dr Maryanne Coutts in conversation with current MFA student Kirtika Kain who will be speaking about the forthcoming project, The Drawing Exchange 2018.

Following on the success of last year’s Wall Drawing exchange, this year presents new work by six pairs of artists, created through long-distance collaboration between two cities, The Drawing Exchange 2018 explores drawing as a form of dialogue. With exhibitions running concurrently at the National Art School, Sydney and the Adelaide Central School of Art, The Drawing Exchange 2018 will serve as a point of discussion about diverse ideas of drawing in contemporary art, and demonstrate drawing’s manifestation in a range of media and art forms, from pencil and paper to installation, sculpture and digital media.

The Drawing Exchange 2018 is a two part exhibition staged in partnership between the nation’s top art schools. Six collaborative duos will produce new works in Adelaide Central School of Art and the National Art School in Sydney. This exhibition seeks to foreground the communicative potentials of drawing and the medium’s capacity for exciting collaboration.

They will also talk about the concurrent student program that is based in exchanges between MFA Drawing students from NAS and Students from Adelaide Central School of Art.

17 September—12 October 2018, Rayner Hoff Project Space
Opening Night: 18 September, 5-7pm, FREE, All Welcome!

Installation of The Drawing Exchange 2017. Photo: Steven Cavanagh.

The old Darlinghurst gaol is one of Australia’s oldest and best preserved examples of colonial sandstone architecture, which over the last two centuries has transformed from a place of abject misery to one of Australia’s premier arts institutes. According to legend, the building is haunted by the restless ghosts of some of the 76 people who were executed at the gaol’s gallows.

Join us for a lively historical tour, shedding light on the fascinating history of the site and exposing the dark, hidden corners which aren’t usually open for public access.  Scroll down to choose a date and book tickets.

Led by an expert historical guide, the tour takes approximately one hour and includes the historic Cell Block Theatre, the Chapel, the old Governor’s residence, the morgue, the flogging wall, the tunnel which was used to process and delouse prisoners and the site of the former gallows.

After the tour, guests will have an opportunity to enjoy the site, as well as the Hangout Café, a relaxing spot to recharge with lunch and coffee.

Tours depart from the Forbes Street Entrance, just next to the Hangout Cafe.

‘My paintings explore loaded social and individual narratives, blending the historical with the mythical and traversing the complex interchange between the personal and the political. I will talk about the research involved to be in a position to make the work I do, and the skills I’ve accumulated along the way. A love of opera, costume and music permeate my painting based practice and I’ll discuss why. I’ll talk about my experience of being a mature aged student at university and also reveal how difficult it was for me to get there in the first place’. – Karen Black

Black is the recipient of the Glasshouse/Stonehouse Residency in France for 2019, and was an Artspace Studio Resident in 2017. She has exhibited in international exhibitions and art fairs including ARTHK, Hong Kong, Art Fair Tokyo, Art Stage Singapore and Art Taipei. Her inclusion in recent exhibitions of note include The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW (2017 & 2018); Shut up and Paint, NGV International, Melbourne (2016-17), The Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award, Shepparton Art Museum (2017), Borders, Barriers, Walls, Monash University Museum of Art (2016), Painting, More Painting, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2016), The Gold Award, Rockhampton Art Gallery (2016) and Glazed and confused-Ceramics in Contemporary Art Practice, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery (2015). In 2011 she was named as a Global Spotlight Artist at Art Taipei. Black’s work can be found in the collections of National Gallery of Victoria, Monash University Museum of Art, Griffith University Art Museum, Australian War Memorial, QUT Art Museum, Artbank and Salsali Muesum, Dubai.

Karen Black. Photo: Maja Baska