NASLABA 2026: The National Art School Library Artists’ Book Annual & Award

The National Art School Library Artists’ Book Annual (NASLABA) returns for 2026, showcasing works that challenge, expand, and reimagine the concept of the book.

NASLABA is an annual exhibition and acquisitive award celebrating the artists’ book – an artwork that challenges the boundaries of reading, testing what a book can be through materiality, tactility and experimental narratives.

This year’s exhibiting artists are drawn from across the National Art School’s undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts, translating studio disciplines into intimate, sculptural, and experimental book-works that investigate ​“book-ness” from diverse critical perspectives.

Join us on opening night to explore the exhibition, meet the artists, and celebrate the announcement of the 2026 acquisitive award.

Key Details

• When: Thursday 12 November 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM. Award announcements at 6pm.
• Where: National Art School Library, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
• Cost: Free admission

Guest Judge

We are delighted to welcome Maria Savvidis as the 2026 guest judge. Maria is a Specialist Librarian at the State Library of NSW and curator of the major exhibition Paper Universe: The book as art (2025 – 2026).

Image: Fergus Berney-Gibson, We were boys together 2025, Winner of the National Art School Library Artists’ Book Annual Postgraduate Award 2025.
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