NAS at NSW Parliament

NAS at NSW Parliament

National Art School in the NSW Landscape is a new exhibition at NSW Parliament House from 9 – 31 March 2022. It explores the relationship between people, land and culture across the state through artworks by 21 significant Australian artists who studied at the National Art School (NAS), which this year celebrates 100 years since moving into the former Darlinghurst Gaol site in inner-city Sydney. Together these works highlight the importance of artistic expression to inform our understanding of the environment in different regions, from the rural experience to urban living.

Featuring 27 major artworks in various media including tapestry, collage and ceramics, this show represents the enormous diversity of NSW’s landscape, environment and culture. The works encompass urban, rural, coastal, desert and mountainous locations, from Lake Mungo by Elizabeth Cummings to John Olsen’s Bathurst Butter and Sydney Harbour from the Rocks by Margaret Olley.

National Art School in the NSW Landscape also presents the work of First Nations artists Euphemia Bostock, Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher James, Jeffrey Samuels, Karla Dickens and Fiona Foley, whose diverse techniques and materials include screen printing, ceramics, photographic prints, drawing and mixed media. First Peoples knowledge and custodianship of country is crucial to any deeper understanding of the connections to land and culture in NSW and Australia.

NAS Director and CEO Steven Alderton says, “This exhibition reflects the extraordinary diversity of practices and sensibilities among NAS alumni, who have in turn shaped Australia’s contemporary art landscape for generations. We are proud to be presenting their work at Parliament House, sharing their personal visions of NSW.”

The exhibition is hosted at NSW Parliament by the Honourable Don Harwin, member of the NSW Legislative Council. “As the leading fine art school in the country, NAS has produced many distinguished and talented alumni. This exhibition celebrates the state’s rich visual arts landscape and how it has shaped who we are today,” Mr Harwin said. “National Art School in the NSW Landscape – now on display in the Fountain Court – is an instalment of Parliament’s monthly exhibition program and is open to the public to enjoy.”

NAS is the longest-running independent art school in Australia, located in the NSW State heritage-listed former Darlinghurst Gaol site. Its intensive studio-based model of art education has produced successive generations of Australia’s leading artists, shaping the cultural identity of NSW. In 2022, NAS marks a significant double century – 100 years since moving to the Darlinghurst Gaol site in 1922, and 200 years since building began on the gaol in 1822. To celebrate the centenary year, an extensive program featuring School’s alumni is underway, including this exhibition.

Artists
Euphemia Bostock, John Coburn, Kevin Connor, Lucy Culliton, Elisabeth Cummings, Karla Dickens, Ken Done AM, Eliza Gosse, Fiona Foley, Michael Johnson, Bronte Leighton-Dore, Guido Maestri, Idris Murphy, Margaret Olley AC, John Olsen AO OBE, Jeffrey Samuels, Luke Sciberras, Tim Storrier AM, Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher James AO, Guy Warren AM, Anne Zahalka

National Art School in the NSW Landscape

The Fountain Court, Parliament of New South Wales
6 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Monday to Sunday, 9am–5pm

Image Caption:
Margaret Olley
Sydney Harbour from The Rocks, 2009-2011
oil on board, image size: 53.4 x 91.8 cm, frame size: 73.2 x 111.5 cm
Tweed Regional Gallery Collection
Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Andrew Greig, 2017
© Margaret Olley Art Trust
#Follow us on Instagram
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
—
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
Introducing the National Art School Short Courses Program from July–December 2025

Whether you’re a beginner, rediscovering a past passion, refining your skills, or considering our Fine Arts degree, the short courses offer a stimulating and rewarding experience for all levels.

Our 2025 program begins in July with Winter School, followed by Term Three, Spring Weekend Workshops in September, and Term Four in October.

Learn more and enrol at the link in bio.
Making Sound is a performance event featuring four artists who make devices that make sound, including Gary Warner, Pia van Gelder, Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell, presented following Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025, Saturday 12 April 5-6pm. 

Gary Warner creates an improvised soundfield with his ‘aleatoric ensemble’ autonomous sound machines, a collection of modified turntables that spin ad-hoc bric-a-brac assemblages.

Pia van Gelder (pictured) amplifies an electronic circuit as it is built in real-time. Under the moniker of “PvG sans PCB,” in these performances, van Gelder works on a breadboard with electronic components and additional found objects to demonstrate the electronic variabilities produced in the material world.

Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell perform together with handmade synthesizer systems that sense and sonify barometric pressure and the flow of electrons through matter.

Purchase your tickets to the symposium at the link in bio.
—
Pia van Gelder, 'sans PCB', 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist
Loading...