The British School At Rome
2026 Dates Announced & Applications Open: Monday 28 April 2025
2025 Recipient
Jelena Telecki, NAS BFA 2005, Sessional Painting Lecturer
The British School At Rome
A three-month residency in an interdisciplinary research community.
Application Deadline Sunday 29 June 2025
Notification of Outcome from 1 August 2025
Residency
This residency offers artists the opportunity to live and work in Rome for 3 months, in an interdisciplinary research community. The British School at Rome is a centre of interdisciplinary research excellence in the Mediterranean supporting the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences, and the residency has been made possible through the generosity of our donors, particularly Jennifer Dowling. The British School at Rome is just north of Rome’s historic centre in the Valle Giulia which separates the Parioli district from the Borghese Gardens.
The successful applicant will receive studio accommodation (including meals) with the British School at Rome for a period of three months: 2 April – 26 June 2025 and inclusion in the BSR’s annual fine art catalogue.
Check out this Interview with 2024 BSR resident Harry de Vries.
Eligibility
- Recent National Art School MFA or DFA graduates (graduating within the last 5 years – current students are not eligible to apply) OR
- Staff of the National Art School (including Sessional staff), AND
- Applicants must be an Australian citizen or Australian resident and able to comply with any visa requirements.
Please note:
- The successful applicant will be required to fund and arrange any associated travel to and from Rome and will be responsible for any incidental costs including studio materials.
- If the successful applicant is a permanent staff member, appropriate leave arrangements will need to be considered.
- Only applications that are fully completed and received by the deadline will be considered.
Selection Criteria
The Residency will be awarded to an applicant who:
- Demonstrates a record of artistic achievement and dedication to their practice;
- Clearly articulates the benefit and relevance of a residency in Rome to their regionally specific project and artistic development and;
- In the opinion of the judges would benefit artistically and professionally from the residency at this stage of their career, with preference given to people who have not previously received a NAS Residency.
Application Materials
As part of your application, you are required to upload the documents listed below. Uploaded files should include your full name in the file name.
Please include the following documents:
- Your Proposal (PDF format) addressing the following areas.
- Artist Statement summarising current practice (no more than 500 words)
- Rationale for undertaking the residency at British School at Rome (no more than 250 words)
- Please identify any specific requirements (e.g. access, workshops, OH&S, etc.)
- A Summary CV outlining your professional profile and achievement (PDF format, 2 pages max.)
- A maximum of 10 Images (PowerPoint format, 1MB image per page). Please note:
- The PowerPoint should be saved as a .ppt not .pdf.
- Each slide should include the artist’s name, title, date, medium and dimensions.
- Moving image-based artists can present a high-quality video of up to two minutes presented as a single-track show reel.
The panel reserves the right to not assess applications that do not include specified supporting material correctly formatted as outlined above.
Selection Panel
All applications will be considered by a selection panel comprising suitable representatives of the National Art School. The panel may request to meet with an applicant to discuss their application.
Conditions of Entry
- Applicants must abide by all the regulations of the award and agree to abide by the conditions of residence at the BSR
- Applicants warrant that they are available to undertake the residency for three months and are willing to fund and organize their own travel arrangements.
- The selectors’ decision is final and no further correspondence will be considered.
- The selectors reserve the right to withhold the award if in their opinion the standard of applications is insufficient to warrant awarding
Acquittal of Residency
The selected applicants will be required to:
- Submit an approximately 700 – 1000 word report no later than eight weeks post-residency regarding their residency, experience and project.
- Provide high-resolution photographs and a quote of approximately 200 words that can be used by NAS for promotional purposes and in publications such as the Annual Report and Yearbook.
- Make a presentation to the NAS community about their residency experience and outcomes.
Applications are now closed for 2025 residencies
FAQ
Australian passport holders can generally travel visa-free in the Schengen Area, which includes Italy, for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/before-you-go/the-basics/schengen
https://conssydney.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero/visti/
Upon entering Italy, border authorities may require that you show documentation to justify the reasons for and the duration of your stay in Italy. Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the Schengen Area.
The National Art School does not advise on visas and encourages you to confer with the appropriate embassy or consulate.
A furnished live/work studio with en-suite bathroom. Breakfast is provided every day, as well as lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday in the dining room. There are also library, laundry, kitchen and recreational facilities available.
Travel insurance is essential, including medical and repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death. Coverage of €30,000 minimum is required, including medical repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment. This will also need to cover all personal belongings and materials.
The artist’s partner can be accommodated by prior agreement for limited periods during the residency but must pay for their board and lodging at the BSR’s prevailing rates. Children unfortunately cannot be accommodated in the residential studios.
Costs to consider:
- Travel insurance
- Flights
- Art materials & production costs
- Laundry
- Transport
- Recreational activities
- Dining
As a rough guide, this can cost between of $5,000 to $10,000 AUD for 3 months in a foreign country.
- NAS Professional Practice Grants for Academic Staff Development
Three grant rounds each year for NAS Academic Staff Development funds (approx. May, August and November), generally $1500-$3000.
The NSW Government’s arts and cultural driver with grants for professional & skills development for individuals
Grants up to $15,000 to support emerging and early-career artists in taking up professional development opportunities, usually overseas. There are generally 2 Funding Rounds each year.
Australia’s official arts council offering funding for Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups up to $50,000 for a range of activities and projects across all art forms.
CONTACT
Lily Fenwicke
International Residencies Coordinator
+61 2 9339 8717
[email protected]
We encourage all eligible candidates to apply, regardless of whether this is your first residency application. Please contact the International Residencies Coordinator to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments that can be made to your application process.
Thank you to everyone who has come through to see the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize for its first week. The exhibition is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025. Please note we are open this Saturday and closed for the observed Easter holidays.
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Good Friday CLOSED 18 April 2025
Easter Saturday OPEN Sat 19 April 2025, 11am – 5pm
Easter Sunday CLOSED Sun 20 April 2025
Easter Monday CLOSED Mon 21 April 2025
Anzac Day CLOSED Fri 25 April 2025
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Installation view, 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025, image courtesy the artists and National Art School © the artists, photograph: Peter Morgan
Apr 17
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.
Apr 15
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.
Apr 11
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
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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
Apr 10
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.
Apr 10
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.
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Pia van Gelder, `sans PCB`, 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist
Apr 6
