Drawing Festival Symposium

This symposium will engage with and investigate what that means to us as it examines the shape of drawing in Australia in 2019.

Friday 29 March 2019
9:30AM – 4:30PM
Cell Block Theatre, National Art School

FULL FEE: $150
FULL ALUMNI FEE: $120
NAS STUDENTS: $50

Symposium ticket price includes lunch – please advise of any dietary when booking.

Key note speaker Mike Parr.

Speakers Include: Joyce Hinterding, Hendrik Kolenberg, Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax, Luke Thurgate, Ben Denham, Chelsea Lehmann, Li Wenmin and Fran O’Neill.

Drawing stands in a pivotal place within contemporary art. An action, a process, sometimes a fully realised thing: it is re-invented by each generation because it continues to be indispensable to artists across many terrains. This symposium will engage with and investigate what that means to us as it examines the shape of drawing in Australia in 2019.

Mike Parr will present the keynote address, followed by a day of talk and discussion focussed on practicing artists and drawing. An afternoon screening will showcase selected animations from Sydney and around the world.

`A landmark exhibition exploring the connections between First Nations and Asian Australian histories through contemporary art...Both poetic and political, The Neighbour at the Gate demonstrates how art can act as a gateway for healing, connection, and truth-telling amid contested notions of belonging.` - Vault Magazine

Celebrating one month of The Neighbour at the Gate at NAS Gallery, on with extended opening hours until 18 October 2025. Monday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm, free admission. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
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Installation view, The Neighbour at the Gate, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025, image courtesy and © the artists, photograph: Peter Morgan

The Neighbour at the Gate has been made possible with the generous support of the NSW Government through its Blockbusters Funding initiative.

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'A landmark exhibition exploring the connections between First Nations and Asian Australian histories through contemporary art...Both poetic and political, The Neighbour at the Gate demonstrates how art can act as a gateway for healing, connection, and truth-telling amid contested notions of belonging.' - Vault Magazine

Celebrating one month of The Neighbour at the Gate at NAS Gallery, on with extended opening hours until 18 October 2025. Monday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm, free admission. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
—
Installation view, The Neighbour at the Gate, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025, image courtesy and © the artists, photograph: Peter Morgan

The Neighbour at the Gate has been made possible with the generous support of the NSW Government through its Blockbusters Funding initiative.

Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Jane Burton, Gerwyn Davies, Ella Dreyfus, Izabela Pluta, Ali Tayahori, Justine Varga, and Kai Wasikowski, finalists of the Bowness Photography Prize 2025.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Prize. Visit @maph_photography before 9 November to view the artworks in person.

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1) Jane Burton, ‘Snakes and ladders’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 42 x 33 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Bett Gallery (Hobart)

2) Gerwyn Davies, ‘Trick mirror’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 120 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Jan Murphy Gallery (Brisbane) and Michael Reid Galleries (Sydney + Berlin)

3) Ella Dreyfus, ‘Liminal body’, 2025, chromogenic print, 150 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

4) Izabela Pluta, ‘Coral study / Seepage (mirage)’, 2025, from the series Undulations, gelatin silver prints, 36 x 31.5 cm (each), collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert (Sydney)

5) Ali Tayahori, ‘Sisterhood (Broken)’, 2025, from the series Archive of longing, UV print on glass, hand-cut glass, silicone on aluminium, 62 x 62 x 4 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY (Melbourne)

6) Justine Varga, ‘Time immemorial (126,749 years)’, 2024–2025, chromogenic print, 190 x 76 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Hugo Michell Gallery (Adelaide)

7) Kai Wasikowski, ‘The bees and the ledger: N.B (scenes 1–27)’, 2024, from the series The bees and the ledger, ink-jet prints, 38 x 38 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

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Aug 25

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Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Jane Burton, Gerwyn Davies, Ella Dreyfus, Izabela Pluta, Ali Tayahori, Justine Varga, and Kai Wasikowski, finalists of the Bowness Photography Prize 2025.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Prize. Visit @maph_photography before 9 November to view the artworks in person.

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1) Jane Burton, ‘Snakes and ladders’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 42 x 33 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Bett Gallery (Hobart)

2) Gerwyn Davies, ‘Trick mirror’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 120 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Jan Murphy Gallery (Brisbane) and Michael Reid Galleries (Sydney + Berlin)

3) Ella Dreyfus, ‘Liminal body’, 2025, chromogenic print, 150 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

4) Izabela Pluta, ‘Coral study / Seepage (mirage)’, 2025, from the series Undulations, gelatin silver prints, 36 x 31.5 cm (each), collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert (Sydney)

5) Ali Tayahori, ‘Sisterhood (Broken)’, 2025, from the series Archive of longing, UV print on glass, hand-cut glass, silicone on aluminium, 62 x 62 x 4 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY (Melbourne)

6) Justine Varga, ‘Time immemorial (126,749 years)’, 2024–2025, chromogenic print, 190 x 76 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Hugo Michell Gallery (Adelaide)

7) Kai Wasikowski, ‘The bees and the ledger: N.B (scenes 1–27)’, 2024, from the series The bees and the ledger, ink-jet prints, 38 x 38 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

Congratulations Genevieve Felix Reynolds @genevievefelixreynolds, the 2026 recipient of the The British School at Rome Residency.

This residency offers the opportunity to live and work in Rome for 3 months, in an interdisciplinary research community. The British School at Rome is a centre of interdisciplinary research excellence in the Mediterranean supporting the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences, and the residency has been made possible through the generosity of our donors, particularly Jennifer Dowling. The British School at Rome is just north of Rome’s historic centre in the Valle Giulia which separates the Parioli district from the Borghese Gardens.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS` International Residencies on the NAS website.
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Genevieve Felix Reynolds, Godmode, 2025, polymer on velvet, 150 x 109cm

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Aug 24

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Congratulations Genevieve Felix Reynolds @genevievefelixreynolds, the 2026 recipient of the The British School at Rome Residency.

This residency offers the opportunity to live and work in Rome for 3 months, in an interdisciplinary research community. The British School at Rome is a centre of interdisciplinary research excellence in the Mediterranean supporting the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences, and the residency has been made possible through the generosity of our donors, particularly Jennifer Dowling. The British School at Rome is just north of Rome’s historic centre in the Valle Giulia which separates the Parioli district from the Borghese Gardens.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS' International Residencies on the NAS website.
—
Genevieve Felix Reynolds, Godmode, 2025, polymer on velvet, 150 x 109cm

Announcing the 2026 recipients of the Onslow Storrier NAS Residency, a three-month studio residency at La Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, awarded to a National Art School Graduate or Academic Staff Member and made possible through the generosity of Annette Onslow and Tim Storrier.

January – March: Mungo Howard @mungo_howard
April – June: Ali Tahayori @alitahayori
July – September: Corey Black @corey_max_black
October – December: Chelsea Lehmann @chelseajlehmann

A residency at the Onslow Storrier National Art School Paris Studio presents each artist with the opportunity to evolve their practice in one of the great centres of artistic excellence. The studio is located on the Right Bank in Rue de L’Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement overlooking the river Seine, near many commercial and public galleries and only a short walk to Notre Dame Cathedral. There are 270 studios that house artists, musicians and writers from around the world.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS` International Residencies on the NAS website.
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Mungo Howard, Profile, 2025, found material and tacks in steel frame, 36 x 31 cm.
Ali Tahayori, Our house is on fire, 2023, video installation, six minor panels, hand-cut mirrors, plaster and wood, each panel 100 cm x 90 cm video component (4 minutes duration)
Corey Black, Malignant Recipe, 2025, digital print on lustre, laser cut and welded Perspex, 45 × 18 × 4.5 cm. Documentation: Jessica Maurer
Chelsea Lehmann, Field Remains, 2025, Oil and wax on linen, 97 × 107 cm

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Aug 23

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What`s happening at the National Art School on 6 September? RSVP to our Open Day today to find out. (Link in bio)

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What's happening at the National Art School on 6 September? RSVP to our Open Day today to find out. (Link in bio)

Hear artist James Nguyen (@jamesnguyens) discuss the process of his artwork ‘Homeopathies_where new trees grow’ (2025), a site-specific installation created for The Neighbour at the Gate, now on at NAS Gallery.

In response to the exhibition, Nguyen created a large-scale suspended textile, dyed with introduced weeds and contaminated mud collected along the Duck River and Parramatta River in Sydney. These local sites, like many places in Vietnam, continue to be contaminated by Agent Orange, dioxins and toxic leachates that account for the industrial scale manufacturing of chemical weapons along Homebush Bay.

The Naarm/Melbourne-based, Vietnamese Australian artist positions his personal experiences and perspectives in dialogue with others in his interdisciplinary practice, moving between live and online performance, video, drawing and installations. This work was made in conjunction with Nguyen’s aunt, Nguyễn Thị Kim Nhung, and uncle, Nguyễn Công Chính, who you can hear in conversation with the artist in the Artist Talks archive on our website.

The Neighbour at the Gate is now on until Saturday 18 October 2025. 11am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday. Plan your visit 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.

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Aug 21

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Acknowledgement

THE NATIONAL ART SCHOOL ACKNOWLEDGES THE GADIGAL PEOPLES OF THE EORA NATIONS, THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS ON WHOSE LANDS, WATER AND SKIES WE MEET AND SHARE.

WE PAY OUR RESPECTS TO ALL GADIGAL ELDERS, PAST AND PRESENT, AND CELEBRATE THE DIVERSITY, HISTORY AND CREATIVITY OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES.