Learning Resources

National Art School Teacher Learning Resources

24th Dobell Drawing Prize

Education Kit

Journey through what drawing can be with the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize Education Kit. This resource is written in line with the years 7–10 Visual Arts Syllabus and the Higher School Certificate Visual Arts Syllabus, as a guide to exploring the exhibition or as a pre/post visit resource. Tertiary students and the general public may also find the resource useful.

Teachers can use this resource to engage students in a critical appreciation of contemporary drawing. The resource encourages students to consider a range of expressive forms, themes, and genres which will inform their own artmaking.

THE NEIGHBOUR AT THE GATE

Education Kit

Inspire your students with The Neighbour at the Gate, a powerful exhibition at the National Art School exploring themes of entangled legacies of exclusion and resilience, drawing vital parallels between the past and present, memory and nationhood through contemporary visual art. Our free Education Kit prepared by FLENK Collective is designed specifically for high school Visual Arts teachers, offering engaging, curriculum-aligned resources that deepen critical thinking, art analysis, and creative responses. Equip your classroom with tools to explore the intersection of art and society — download the kit and bring this compelling exhibition into your students’ learning experience.

Geoff Raby In Our Time Education Kit

IN OUR TIME: FOUR DECADES OF ART FROM CHINA AND BEYOND. THE GEOFF RABY COLLECTION

Education Kit

To accompany ‘In Our Time: Four Decades of Art from China and Beyond – the Geoff Raby Collection’, NAS Galleries has developed a set of education resources designed for students in the senior years of high school, most specifically for students studying Visual Arts, through either the NSW Preliminary and HSC or the IB syllabuses.

However, these materials may also be useful for secondary and tertiary students from different disciplines visiting the exhibition. They aim to provide interesting entry points through which teachers and students can engage with works in the exhibition, and suggestions for more in-depth case studies.

Dobell Drawing Prize #23

Education Kit

This resource has been written in line with the Years 7-10 Visual arts Syllabus and the Higher School Certificate Visual arts Syllabus, as a guide to exploring the exhibition or as a pre- or post-visit resource. Tertiary students and the general public may also find the resource useful.

Teachers will be able to use this resource in conjunction with the works in the exhibition to engage in a critical and historical study of the art world and to investigate artists, artworks, worlds, and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.

In examining the works showcased in the exhibition as part of a collection, the students will gain an understanding of the value of the audience as a body of critical consumers and will appreciate their own role, as well as those of the critic, as audience members. The students’ investigation of the range of expressive forms, themes, and genres which the works encompass, will also serve to inform their artmaking.

Braving Time: Contemporary Art in Queer Australia 

Education Kit

This resource has been written in line with the Years 7-10 Visual arts Syllabus and the Higher School Certificate Visual arts Syllabus, as a guide to exploring the exhibition or as a pre- or post-visit resource. Tertiary students and the general public may also find the resource useful.

Teachers will be able to use this resource in conjunction with the works in the exhibition to engage in a critical and historical study of the art world and to investigate artists, artworks, worlds, and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.

In examining the works showcased in the exhibition as part of a collection, the students will gain an understanding of the value of the audience as a body of critical consumers and will appreciate their own role, as well as those of the critic, as audience members. The students’ investigation of the range of expressive forms, themes, and genres which the works encompass, will also serve to inform their artmaking.

John Olsen: Goya’s Dog

Education Kit

This resource been written in line with the Years 7-10 Visual arts Syllabus and the Higher School Certificate Visual arts Syllabus, as a guide to exploring the exhibition or as a pre/post-visit resource. Tertiary students and the general public may also find the resource useful.

Teachers will be able to use this resource in conjunction with the works in the exhibition to engage in a critical and historical study of the art world and to investigate artists, artworks, worlds, and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.

In examining the works showcased in the exhibition as part of a collection, the students will gain an understanding of the value of the audience as a body of critical consumers and will appreciate their own role, as well as those of the critic, as audience members. The students’ investigation of the range of expressive forms, themes, and genres which the works encompass, will also serve to inform their artmaking.

Sophie Cape, 'Self Portrait', 2008, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cm, National Art School Collection, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by the artist, 2018, © the artist

National Art Part One

Learning Resource

This resource is predominantly aimed for use in Stage 6 Visual Arts but can also form the basis for inquiry for Stages 4-5. Through an analysis of a catalogue essay and a focus on the artists in the exhibition, the resource addresses the conceptual framework and explores the roles and relationships between artist, art work, world and audience.

Students will be able to use this resource in conjunction with the works in the exhibition to engage in a critical and historical study of the art world and to investigate artists, artworks, worlds and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.

In examining the works showcased in the exhibition as part of a collection, the students will gain an understanding of the value of the audience as a body of critical consumers and will appreciate their own role, as well as those of the critic, as audience members. The students’ investigation of the range of expressive forms, themes and genres which the works encompass, will also serve to inform their artmaking.

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We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Prudence MacLeod Prize. 

The Prudence MacLeod Prize, which will continue for a further three years, supports a recent National Art School graduate to undertake a six-month residency at @acme.art, London.

Supported by the Lansdowne Foundation, the Prize provides an emerging artist with an opportunity to step forward into an expanded, international context at a vital time in their career. The artist will live and work in London, one of the world's great art cities, in a supportive artist community. This important opportunity will enable the artist to forge professional international contacts, explore London's art world and rich cultural resources, and produce a new body of work.

The recipient of this Prize will receive:
– Return travel to London. To be arranged for the artist by NAS.
– Studio accommodation and workspace at Acme Studios for 6 months.
– Living stipend of $AUD3,500 per month for 6 months. Total $AUD21,000.

Application deadline: Sunday 1 February 2026, 11.59pm
Residency: Monday 6 July – Friday 18 December 2026

The Prudence MacLeod Prize is open to eligible NAS alumni who have graduated within the past five years and meet the selection criteria.

Learn more 🔗 in bio. 

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Acme Fire Station, 30 Gillender Street, 1999 © Acme Archive
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the opening of The Grad Show!

Find works by this year's cohort exhibited throughout the NAS campus until 14 December. Open daily from 11am — 5pm and until 9pm on Fridays. 

View online via 🔗 in bio.

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Video: Tim Connolly
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