QUEER CONTEMPORARY
I didn’t expect to live this long is an exhibition of large-scale sculpture and installation works that offers a personal and political queering of time, space, materiality, and ideas by NAS alum Liz Bradshaw. Integrating new works alongside a fragment of an artwork created at the National Art School in the 1990s, the installation folds together the artist’s personal experiences with the complex histories of the NAS site and the broader Darlinghurst area, which served as an epicentre of Australian queer history. Typical of Bradshaw’s minimalist practice in sculpture, the works blur fiction and reality, inviting us into a space that is in itself deeply queer.
EXHIBITION
13 February – 7 March 2026
Gallery open 11 am – 5 pm, Monday – Saturday
Building 25 Project Space
OPENING NIGHT
Thursday 12 February, 6-9pm
Opening 12 February — Queer Contemporary, as part of @sydneymardigras
This year`s edition presents `Liz Bradshaw: I didn`t expect to live this long` — an exhibition of large-scale sculpture and installation works that offer a personal and political queering of time, space, materiality, and idea — with student exhibitions organised by Jack Oliver Owen and nikita lelu.
Join us for the opening night on Thursday 12 February, from 6–9pm.
RSVP 🔗 in bio.
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Liz Bradshaw, `Two Pair`, 2023
Feb 1
The National Art School acknowledges that for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for many other Australians, January 26 is a day of sorrow — marking deep loss, as well as survival.
Across Australia today, communities are coming together to reflect, connect and mark the day respectfully. The National Art School is committed to listening, learning and moving forward together.
For information about events visit antar.org.au and https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/australia-day-sydney
Jan 26
Thank you to all who joined us at last night’s opening.
SEARCHERS: Graffiti and Contemporary Art continues until 11 April.
Open Monday to Saturday, 11am–5pm.
Jan 23
Opening tonight—SEARCHERS: Graffiti and Contemporary Art at the National Art School Gallery.
Curated by Fiona Lowry and Katrina Cashman, SEARCHERS brings together more than 35 artists spanning four decades to explore the intersection of contemporary art and graffiti culture, and the enduring impact of spray paint on both.
Featuring Ben Aitken, Howard Arkley, BAGL, BREAK, Andrew Browne, Daniel Crooks, Adam Cullen, Mikala Dwyer, Dale Frank, Shaun Gladwell, Brendan Huntley, Rhys John Kaye, Luke Kennedy, LAZY, Mim Libro, Fiona Lowry, Eddie Martin, MACH, Tony McGillick, Paul McNeil, TV Moore, Callum Morton, Tresor Murace, Sidney Nolan, POWER, Ben Quilty, Scott Redford, Reko Rennie, RUM, Leslie Rice, Joan Ross, Khaled Sabsabi, Tim Silver, SNAIL, SPICE, Bridget Stehli, Maya Stocks, Latai Taumoepeau and TAVEN
Join us from 6–9pm this evening to celebrate the opening of this major new exhibition, presented as part of @sydney_festival.
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Installation view, SEARCHERS: Graffiti and Contemporary Art, 2026, photograph: Zan Wimberley
Jan 22
Now open: Art Club enrolments for students aged 15–17
Led by practicing artists, these weekly after-school workshops are designed to develop technical skills and foster a community of like-minded peers.
Book now for Term 1 🔗 in bio.
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Photos: Peter Morgan
Jan 19
SEARCHERS: Graffiti and Contemporary Art
17 January – 11 April 2026
Opening event: Thursday 22 January, 6–9pm
A major exhibition exploring the politics and poetics of spray
With Ben Aitken, Howard Arkley, BAGL, BREAK, Andrew Browne, Daniel Crooks, Adam Cullen, Mikala Dwyer, Dale Frank, Shaun Gladwell, Brendan Huntley, Rhys John Kaye, Luke Kennedy, LAZY, Mim Libro, Fiona Lowry, Eddie Martin, MACH, Tony McGillick, Paul McNeil, TV Moore, Callum Morton, Tresor Murace, Sidney Nolan, POWER, Ben Quilty, Scott Redford, Reko Rennie, RUM, Leslie Rice, Joan Ross, Khaled Sabsabi, Tim Silver, SNAIL, SPICE, Bridget Stehli, Maya Stocks, Latai Taumoepeau and TAVEN
Presented as part of @sydney_festival
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Photography: @zanwimberley
Jan 16
