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Postgraduate Scholarships and Opportunities

NAS offers valuable professional development opportunities to graduating students. Including:

  • International Residencies
  • Scholarships to support further study & research travel
  • Awards with a total value of $200k per year
  • Exhibitions
  • Internships

These opportunities ensure that the talent & artistic potential of our students continues to develop & flourish beyond study at NAS.

Applications for The Mark Henry Cain Travel Scholarship & Eloise Morton Study Grants are now open for eligible MFA students. The 2026 Postgraduate Scholarships and Opportunities will open in November 2025. See the application timelines, guidelines, and forms for each opportunity below.

CLITHEROE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

The National Art School is proud to have a generous scholarship of $20,000 to support a student studying in the Master of Fine Art Program. Funded by the Clitheroe Foundation, this scholarship is open to current Bachelor of Fine Art Students who are immediately applying to continue study at the School in the Master of Fine Art program. The scholarship can be used for fees and course costs or as a stipend to support living expenses for the two-year duration of the course.

Applications for the scholarship are made as part of the application to the Master of Fine Art program.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

More information on the Scholarships can be found here: Clitheroe Foundation Scholarship Information.

THE STANDISH & CO SCHOLARSHIP

The Standish & Co Scholarship is generously funded by Standish & Co, and provides $5,000 to a student continuing from the Bachelor of Fine Art Program into the Master of Fine Art program and majoring in Photomedia. The recipient is intended to use the funds as a stipend to support living and study expenses. The Scholarship also provides $5,000 of in-kind printing at Look Print and mentorship (valued at $5,000) over the two years of the MFA degree.

Applications for the scholarship are made as part of the application to the Master of Fine Art program.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

More information on the Scholarships can be found here: Standish & Co Scholarship Information.

MARK HENRY CAIN MEMORIAL TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

The Mark Henry Cain Memorial Travel Scholarship is an annual award of $10,000 in commemoration of Mark Henry Cain, an artist trained at Glasgow School of Art who relocated to Sydney in 1937. The Scholarship supports an MFA1 student to travel for their artistic research for a period of 6-8 weeks in the UK (including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The award is supported by generous endowment made by a private donor.

Applications for 2025/2026 round are open from Monday 7 April 2025 to Sunday 4 May 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the application form.

TROPICAL LAB International Art Camp

The nineteenth edition of the renowned TROPICAL LAB, an international art camp for art academies and institutes, will take place from 17 July to 1 August 2025 at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore.

TROPICAL LAB is an international art camp for art academies and institutes, at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. It is an intensive and highly engaging fourteen-day event bringing together more than 20 student-artists from various art colleges and institutions around the world. TROPICAL LAB is a real and imaginative space for student artists to research, experiment and collaborate to create contemporary artworks, regardless of medium, method and approach.

The event will include workshops, talks and seminars guided by established international and Singaporean artists culminating in an exhibition curated by LASALLE’s curatorial division, Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore at LASALLE.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

More information on the Scholarships can be found here.

ELOISE MORTON MEMORIAL FUND

The Eloise Morton Memorial Fund was established in loving memory of former NAS student, Eloise Morton. Eloise was a vibrant student and dear friend of the Sydney arts community,

who tragically passed away in 2024 before she could complete her Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree.

Two awards valued at $2,100 each will be granted in 2025 and 2026, to assist recipients with the costs of art materials, books and equipment towards their studies.

Eligible applicants must be enrolled in the MFA (full-time) at NAS and be able to demonstrate financial hardship.

Applications for 2025/2026 round are open from Monday 7 April 2025 to Sunday 4 May 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the application form.

EAST SYDNEY DOCTORS SCHOLARSHIP

The East Sydney Doctors Scholarship is generously funded by East Sydney Doctors. The Scholarship provides $5,000 to a student completing the first year of the Master of Fine Art degree and going into the second year of the program at the National Art School.

The recipient is intended to use the Scholarship as a stipend to support living and study expenses. The Scholarship is open to students continuing their progress in the Master of Fine Art program at the National Art School.

Applications for the 2026 Scholarship will open in October/ November 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

LIFT OFF AWARD

The Lift Off Award, generously funded by private donors, will provide $20,000 to a promising graduating MFA candidate from the National Art School.

The successful recipient will be eligible to use the funding to undertake an artist residency, international travel, to establish a studio, purchase specialised equipment, mount an exhibition, a publication or any project that requires a lift off to support their burgeoning art practice.

Applications for the 2026 Award will open in October/ November 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

TWEED REGIONAL GALLERY & MARGARET OLLEY ART CENTRE NANCY FAIRFAX (AIR) AWARD

The Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre boasts an on-site, live-in artist in residence studio called the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio (AIR).

The AIR studio is generously supported by benefactor Mr Tim Fairfax AC and named in honour of his mother Nancy Fairfax, who was a great friend of Margaret Olley.

The AIR program includes:

  • A $5000 stipend
  • A two to four-week studio residency in March 2026
  • A three-month solo exhibition in 2027, in the Friends Gallery at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.

Applications for the 2026 program will open in October/ November 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

ABORIGINAL ART CENTRE INTERNSHIPS

The Aboriginal Art Centre Internship (AACI) program is made possible through the generous support of Sharon Toffler and Mark Tedeschi AM QC.

These internships provide graduating students with an opportunity to acquire practical arts management experience and training in an active Aboriginal community art centre environment. Working closely with the Art Centre Manager, interns will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with artists and day-to-day arts centre operations. Successful applicants are expected to take up the internship in 2026.

In 2026 Internships will be offered with Ernabella Arts Incorporated in far north-west South Australia and Tapatjatjaka Arts located at Titjikala, Northern Territory. Recipients will be provided with transport to and from the art centre, accommodation, and stipend for the ten-week period of the internship.

Applications will be open to students completing the Bachelor of Fine Art or Master of Fine Art programs in 2025.

Applications for the 2026 AACI program will open in October/ November 2025.

Please read the Application Guidelines before completing the Application Form.

CONTACT

Student Services

+61 2 9339 8744

[email protected]

Emily Ebbs during her residency at the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio in 2023. Image credit: Tweed Regional Gallery & Margeret Olley Art Centre.
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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.

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Apr 15

Open
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.

View

Apr 11

Open
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

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Apr 10

Open
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.

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Apr 10

Open
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

View

Apr 6

Open
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
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