SMH: This seductive show should secure the National Art School’s permanent survival

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SMH: This seductive show should secure the National Art School’s permanent survival

2022-10-28

By John McDonald

Captivate: Stories from the National Art School and Darlinghurst Gaol, an exhibition celebrating the school’s 100th anniversary, put together by archivist, Deborah Beck. Spread over the two floors of the NAS Gallery, plus the Drawing Gallery and the Rayner Hoff Project Space, this is a monumental project that could have been ten times larger. There are few works that might be described as masterpieces, but the sheer variety – the blend of memorabilia, historical photos, paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, posters, films and much else – is incredibly seductive.

It would make a great permanent display in a museum, which is why I can hardly believe the show is only due to run until the end of the month. This is too brief a time to justify the labour expended, and the steadily building audiences generated by word-of-mouth. If the NAS wants to derive maximum benefit from this project, it should have scheduled a much longer run. How different this is from the post-COVID practises of major public galleries, which keep extending the duration of shows to save resources.

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Join our online information session to find out exactly what makes our Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) ideal for emerging artists.

New scholarships will be available to students entering the BFA (Hons), with further details to be shared later this year.

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Oct 10

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Join our online information session to find out exactly what makes our Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) ideal for emerging artists.

New scholarships will be available to students entering the BFA (Hons), with further details to be shared later this year.

...and that`s a wrap! Congratulations to all our Year 11 Visual Arts students who participated in the 2025 HSC Intensive program, Module 2.

We loved welcoming you to our campus for the last five days of creativity and hard work.

Best wishes for all your future endeavours as budding artists. We can`t wait to see what you create next.

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Oct 7

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...and that's a wrap! Congratulations to all our Year 11 Visual Arts students who participated in the 2025 HSC Intensive program, Module 2.

We loved welcoming you to our campus for the last five days of creativity and hard work.

Best wishes for all your future endeavours as budding artists. We can't wait to see what you create next.

Fondly remembered by a generation of TV viewers as the creator of `Mr Squiggle`, Norman Hetherington OAM (1921-2010) was a student at the National Art School from 1937-1941.

Co-scripted by his wife, Margaret, `Mr Squiggle` ran on the ABC for 40 years becoming the longest running children’s TV program in the world.

Norman Hetherington’s daughter Rebecca Hetherington co-hosted Mr Squiggle and in 2002 helped her father with his first solo exhibition (curated by NAS alumna Toni Warburton) at the Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre in the Blue Mountains.

Rebecca donated many of Norman’s works to the NAS Collection, including his poster (designed and painted when he was 17 years old) for the first known film by NAS students. `Love Laughs at Death` screened at NAS from 30 September-5 October 1938, and while the film itself has been lost, a photo and newspaper article about it were kept by actor and NAS alumna Shirley Jones.

The National Museum of Australia in Canberra (@nationalmuseumofaustralia) is showing the free exhibition `Mr Squiggle and Friends` until October 13.

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Norman Hetherington
(1921-2010)
NAS student 1937-1938; 1939-1941

`Mr Squiggle`, etching, 12 x 9.5 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2023, National Art School Collection

Photographer unknown. Students Jim Swan, Shirley Jones and Jack Edwards from the film `Love Laughs at Death`, made and screened at NAS in 1938. This photograph was displayed on the front page of ‘The Labor Daily’, 3 September 1938. Jim Swan was the producer, Shirley Jones an actor, as was Jack Edwards who played the ‘Crazy Scientist’.

`Love Laughs at Death`, 1938 , gouache on cardboard, 63 x 55 cm , Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2020, National Art School Collection

`Screws`, 1937, ink on card, 11.5 x 12 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

`Man in suit`, 1937, gouache on card, 32 x 14.5 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

`Colour for men`, gouache on paper, 38 x 27 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

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Oct 5

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Fondly remembered by a generation of TV viewers as the creator of 'Mr Squiggle', Norman Hetherington OAM (1921-2010) was a student at the National Art School from 1937-1941.

Co-scripted by his wife, Margaret, 'Mr Squiggle' ran on the ABC for 40 years becoming the longest running children’s TV program in the world.

Norman Hetherington’s daughter Rebecca Hetherington co-hosted Mr Squiggle and in 2002 helped her father with his first solo exhibition (curated by NAS alumna Toni Warburton) at the Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre in the Blue Mountains.

Rebecca donated many of Norman’s works to the NAS Collection, including his poster (designed and painted when he was 17 years old) for the first known film by NAS students. 'Love Laughs at Death' screened at NAS from 30 September-5 October 1938, and while the film itself has been lost, a photo and newspaper article about it were kept by actor and NAS alumna Shirley Jones.

The National Museum of Australia in Canberra (@nationalmuseumofaustralia) is showing the free exhibition 'Mr Squiggle and Friends' until October 13.

---
Norman Hetherington
(1921-2010)
NAS student 1937-1938; 1939-1941

'Mr Squiggle', etching, 12 x 9.5 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2023, National Art School Collection

Photographer unknown. Students Jim Swan, Shirley Jones and Jack Edwards from the film 'Love Laughs at Death', made and screened at NAS in 1938. This photograph was displayed on the front page of ‘The Labor Daily’, 3 September 1938. Jim Swan was the producer, Shirley Jones an actor, as was Jack Edwards who played the ‘Crazy Scientist’.

'Love Laughs at Death', 1938 , gouache on cardboard, 63 x 55 cm , Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2020, National Art School Collection

'Screws', 1937, ink on card, 11.5 x 12 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

'Man in suit', 1937, gouache on card, 32 x 14.5 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

'Colour for men', gouache on paper, 38 x 27 cm, Gift of Rebecca Hetherington, 2022, National Art School Collection

Final weeks to visit The Neighbour at the Gate, closing Saturday 18 October.

Across various mediums and perspectives, The Neighbour at the Gate charts the entangled legacies of exclusion and resilience, drawing vital parallels between the past and present, memory and nationhood.

Learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at the link in bio.

Please note: the gallery is closed for Labour Day Monday 6 October

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Oct 3

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Final weeks to visit The Neighbour at the Gate, closing Saturday 18 October.

Across various mediums and perspectives, The Neighbour at the Gate charts the entangled legacies of exclusion and resilience, drawing vital parallels between the past and present, memory and nationhood.

Learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at the link in bio.

Please note: the gallery is closed for Labour Day Monday 6 October

Enjoy 20% off a Summer School Short Course with code FLASHSALE20

Don’t miss this exclusive 20% off flash sale on the National Art School Summer School Short Courses (link in bio). Flash Sale starts right now and ends midnight Monday 6 October.*

*Offer begins midday Friday 3 October and ends midnight Monday 6 October. Terms and conditions apply.

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Oct 3

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Enjoy 20% off a Summer School Short Course with code FLASHSALE20

Don’t miss this exclusive 20% off flash sale on the National Art School Summer School Short Courses (link in bio). Flash Sale starts right now and ends midnight Monday 6 October.*

*Offer begins midday Friday 3 October and ends midnight Monday 6 October. Terms and conditions apply.

We are pleased to share the exciting news that we are introducing a new BFA (Hons) degree at the National Art School in 2026.

The Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) is an intensive one-year program designed for graduates of the BFA who are ready to deepen their studio practice and expand their academic and professional capabilities. This course is ideal for emerging artists who want to refine their practice, build industry connections, and prepare for postgraduate study or professional opportunities in the creative sector.

New scholarships will be available to students entering the BFA (Hons), with further details to be shared later this year. For more information and key dates, visit futurestudents.nas.edu.au (link in bio).

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Oct 2

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SMH: This seductive show should secure the National Art School’s permanent survival