Sydney WorldPride 2023
The National Art School presents Queer Contemporary, the visual arts program for Sydney WorldPride 2023 and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Join us for the exhibitions Braving Time: Contemporary Art in Queer Australia, Fulgora and Luke Thurgate: Adore You, a suite of public activities, key community partnerships, and site activations.
Director and CEO Steven Alderton says: “Building on the success of previous years participating in Mardi Gras, Queer Contemporary 2023 at NAS will be our most ambitious offering to date. The vibrant and varied program champions the diversity of our communities and celebrates LGBTQIA+ strength and resilience.
NAS’ Forbes Street entrance is a short, two-minute walk from Taylor Square on Oxford Street, and conveniently located near bus routes 311, 333, 352, 373, 389, 392N, 396, and 440. Limited paid street parking is available along Forbes Street as well as Darlinghurst Road and surrounds; we advise visitors to walk, cycle or take public transport where possible.
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition Image Design Charlie Cummings
Braving Time: Contemporary Art in Queer Australia
Richard Perram OAM
3 February – 18 March 2023
NAS Galleries
Monday to Saturday
11am – 5pm
Free admission
Braving time is a queer exhibition that celebrates the work of artists who identify as part of the Australian LGBTIQA+ community. This significant exhibition has been curated by Richard Perram OAM for the National Art School in celebration of Sydney WorldPride in 2023. The artists represented in the exhibition celebrate the diverse voices of LGBTIQA+ people in contemporary Australia society, reflecting the breath of genders and sexualities within the community, including artists who identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, inter-sex, asexual and non-binary.
Exhibition Image Design Charlie Cummings
Fulgora
Curated by EO Gill
3 February – 5 March 2023
The Rayner Hoff Project Space
Monday to Saturday
11am – 5pm
Free admission
Fulgora presents a suite of commissioned video works by 5 Australian-based artists that are punctuated by a selection of films programmed in collaboration with LA-based collective Dirty Looks Inc. The exhibition speaks to luxuriant video practices that disrupt conventional acts of looking and force us to ask where our pleasure begins.
Image: Luke Thurgate, Let me down gently, 2022, charcoal on gallery wall, Photo: Peter Morgan
Luke Thurgate: Adore You
3 February – 18 March 2023
The Drawing Gallery
Monday to Saturday
11am – 5pm
Free admission
The artist will be on site making this work on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2-5pm.
The National Art School is proud to present Adore You, a major mural drawing by artist Luke Thurgate commissioned for The Drawing Gallery. This project is programmed in parallel with the Sydney WorldPride 2023 and The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Adore You takes inspiration from one of the world’s treasures, the major, 15th Century polyptych Ghent Altarpiece created by painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyk. Thurgate’s work Adore You transforms the altarpiece format to create a contemporary, ephemeral artwork exploring notions of desire, hero-worship and queer subjectivity. Spanning three walls of The Drawing Gallery, the mural will be made onsite over a six-week period to coincide with Sydney WorldPride programs at the National Art School.
Installation view. Photo: Lea Simpson
Visions of QueerNAS
6 February – 5 March 2023
Opening Celebrations in conjunction with the Block Party 16 February 6–9pm
Library Stairwell Gallery
Monday to Friday
10am – 3pm
Free admission
Quinn Chen, Henry Xiang, Cadmium Mellow, Giacomo Crosilla, Christian Bonett, Dani King, Beanie Fleming, Darcy Eliza, Kate Riley
PROGRAM
Photo by: Renata Dominik
It’s Complicated: Valentine’s Day Workshop with EJ Son
14 February 2023
National Art School
156 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
6pm – 8pm
Tickets: $40 (Tickets limited)
This Hallmark Holiday, join multidisciplinary artist EJ Son and their two Cupid assistants to make your very own ~musical Valentine’s Day card~
Image: NAS NEO 2022. Photo: Lexi Laphor.
Block Party
16 February 2023
National Art School
156 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
6pm – 10pm
Some of Sydney’s finest queer artists to celebrate the launch of Queer Contemporary 2023.
Line up to be announced.
Image: UNSW Galleries/the artist.
Macon Reed: Eulogy for the Dyke Bar
17 February – 4 March 2023
NAS Cafe
Monday to Saturday
Installation open: 9am–5pm Monday – Friday
Bar open: 5–10pm Tuesday – Friday
Free admission
The National Art School, UNSW Galleries and Sydney WorldPride present Eulogy for the Dyke Bar, an installation by American artist Macon Reed with accompanying programs and events.
Image: Bunny Hop – Easter egg donations at St Vincents, 1994 (c) MazzImages
Qtopia – Ward 17 South
17 February – 18 March 2023
Building 11
Monday to Saturday
11am – 5pm
Free admission
Qtopia Sydney and NAS are proud to announce a partnership to realise a restaging of St Vincent’s Hospital’s Ward 17 South.
Image: 2022 Queer Contemporary Workshop
Queer Contemporary Life Drawing Workshop with Tango Conway
Wednesday 15 March 2023, 6pm – 9pm
National Art School
156 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
Tickets: $85 each session
Join us for an evening of Life Drawing inspired by the 2023 Queer Contemporary exhibitions at the National Art School. The workshop is part gallery tour and part studio life drawing class. NAS drawing lecturer Tango Conway demonstrates and guides you to draw the human figure in relation to works on display in the Queer Contemporary exhibitions:
Braving Time, Fulgora and Luke Thurgate: Adore You.
This workshop is designed for participants over the age of 18 and for all levels of experience. It is a LGBTQI+ friendly event.
Image: Supplied
Art Phoenix Opening and Fundraiser
3 March 2023
Cell Block Theatre
National Art School
156 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
6pm – 8pm
In partnership with NAS, Bobby Goldsmith Foundation (BGF) presents Art Phoenix. The exhibition is the culmination of a series of drawing workshops led by acclaimed artist Luke Thurgate for members of the BGF community living with HIV.
EDUCATION RESOURCE
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.
We’re looking for a new Future Students Advisor. Application deadline Sunday 17 November. Apply now!
The Future Students Advisor’s role is to develop and implement student recruitment and engagement plans to meet application and enrolment targets of undergraduate and postgraduate students to the National Art School (NAS). This position will develop and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to understand student recruitment priorities and objectives and contribute to the annual intake of domestic, interstate, and international students.
Visit the link in bio to learn more.
Oct 28
Join us this weekend for The Material Image, the 8th International Transdisciplinary Imaging Conference, where we’ll explore the diverse materiality of images at the intersections of art, science, and culture. This event will examine how contemporary image-making practices are reshaping our understanding and interpretation of images, challenging traditional notions of ‘materiality.’
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Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd November, 9.15am - 5.30pm, NAS Cell Block Theatre
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Learn more and register at the link in bio. Special rates apply for NAS faculty and students.
Oct 28
Introducing Alice Xu @alicexuart, one of our graduating Painting MFA students, and their selected work `What is happening to Sydney?`
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Celebrate the future of contemporary art at The Postgrad Show Opening Night, Thursday 7 November, 6–10pm.
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Alice Xu, `What is happening to Sydney?`, 2024, oil on canvas, 101.5 x 76 x 3cm.
Portrait Photography: Jack Rockliffe @soybasedhacked
Artwork Photography: Jennifer Leahy @silversalt_photography
Oct 27
Introducing Brooke Marchel @brooke.marchel, one of our graduating Painting MFA students, and their selected work `The Way to Dusty Death`.
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Celebrate the future of contemporary art at The Postgrad Show Opening Night, Thursday 7 November, 6–10pm.
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Brooke Marchel, `The Way to Dusty Death`, 2024, oil and acrylic on book, 20.5 x 25.5cm.
Portrait Photography: Jack Rockliffe @soybasedhacked
Artwork Photography: Jennifer Leahy @silversalt_photography
Oct 27
