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The Guardian: Ken Done: ‘I’ll never be as good as a five-year-old’

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The Guardian: Ken Done: ‘I’ll never be as good as a five-year-old’

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Article by: by Neha Kale. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

NAS Alumni Ken Done has been alive to sensory details for as long as he can recall. As a boy, the artist spent a large part in Maclean, a small fishing town in New South Wales’s Clarence Valley. There, he pored over encyclopaedias, hypnotised by pictures of butterflies. He listened to The Argonauts Club, a long-running children’s program on ABC Radio. He observed shifts in the Clarence River, one of Australia’s largest waterways. These early impressions formed him.

“I was an only child who liked to paint and my mother was very encouraging,” says Done, now 81. “We were quite poor. If you lived in a country town as I did, you had to make a lot of your own fun. When the river was in flood, it was this wonderful khaki colour.” He grins. “It used to have big clumps of bright green and blue hyacinths floating down.”

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In June, we celebrate World Pride Month. Like many other culturally significant times, it’s a month that’s meaningful to our community and the Oxford precinct we are part of.

In 2015, NAS alum Todd Fuller (@fuller_todd) sent members of the public black and white drawings depicting two men engaged in a passionate kiss. The participants were encouraged to respond to the image by colouring in the figures, with the resulting images compiled by Fuller into a mixed media video animation.

Fuller gifted this work to the National Art School Collection, a collection that performs a major role within the National Art School as both a teaching resource and a historical record. Visit our website to find out more about the works in our collection.

—
Todd Fuller, ‘The Unite Project - 3rd generation ‘, 2015, mixed media animation, colour and sound, 13.35 mins loop; image courtesy the artist and National Art School © Todd Fuller. From the National Art School Collection - Gift of Todd Fuller.

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Jun 1

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In June, we celebrate World Pride Month. Like many other culturally significant times, it’s a month that’s meaningful to our community and the Oxford precinct we are part of. In 2015, NAS alum Todd Fuller (@fuller_todd) sent members of the public black and white drawings depicting two men engaged in a passionate kiss. The participants were encouraged to respond to the image by colouring in the figures, with the resulting images compiled by Fuller into a mixed media video animation. Fuller gifted this work to the National Art School Collection, a collection that performs a major role within the National Art School as both a teaching resource and a historical record. Visit our website to find out more about the works in our collection. — Todd Fuller, ‘The Unite Project - 3rd generation ‘, 2015, mixed media animation, colour and sound, 13.35 mins loop; image courtesy the artist and National Art School © Todd Fuller. From the National Art School Collection - Gift of Todd Fuller.

We`re excited to share that NAS Photomedia sessional Dr Jack Ball (@jack__ball_) is the winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists under forty.

Jack`s award winning work `Heavy Grit` is on display in the Ramsay Art Prize 2025 exhibition which opens tomorrow, Saturday 31 May

Jack Ball with `Heavy Grit` in Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, (@agsa.adelaide) Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

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May 30

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We're excited to share that NAS Photomedia sessional Dr Jack Ball (@jack__ball_) is the winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists under forty. Jack's award winning work 'Heavy Grit' is on display in the Ramsay Art Prize 2025 exhibition which opens tomorrow, Saturday 31 May Jack Ball with 'Heavy Grit' in Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, (@agsa.adelaide) Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

Thank you to outgoing Chair Susan Rothwell AM & welcome to incoming Chair Jeff Weeden. The National Art School would like to express its deepest gratitude to Susan Rothwell AM, whose term as Chair of the NAS Board concludes on 31 May 2025.

At the same time, we are pleased to announce and warmly welcome Jeff Weeden as the incoming Chair of the NAS Board, effective 1 June 2025.

Jeff has served as a Director on the NAS Board since 2019 and currently chairs the Finance and Audit Committee, a position he has held since 2023. For the full announcement, click the link in the bio.

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May 29

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Thank you to outgoing Chair Susan Rothwell AM & welcome to incoming Chair Jeff Weeden. The National Art School would like to express its deepest gratitude to Susan Rothwell AM, whose term as Chair of the NAS Board concludes on 31 May 2025. At the same time, we are pleased to announce and warmly welcome Jeff Weeden as the incoming Chair of the NAS Board, effective 1 June 2025. Jeff has served as a Director on the NAS Board since 2019 and currently chairs the Finance and Audit Committee, a position he has held since 2023. For the full announcement, click the link in the bio.

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today! As part of our NAS NRW program, we invite you to a special screening of the documentary `Kindred` (2023) in our Cell Block Theatre. The directors Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills will be joining us for the screening.

`There`s the black world, and then there`s the white world. I felt walking in each of them was complicated enough. To bring those together would just make it even harder.` (Kindred: Trailer)

`Kindred` is a deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the emotional landscape of family, love, and loss through the eyes of two close friends.`

Limited capacity - click the link in bio to reserve your seats.

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May 27

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National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today! As part of our NAS NRW program, we invite you to a special screening of the documentary 'Kindred' (2023) in our Cell Block Theatre. The directors Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills will be joining us for the screening. 'There's the black world, and then there's the white world. I felt walking in each of them was complicated enough. To bring those together would just make it even harder.' (Kindred: Trailer) 'Kindred' is a deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the emotional landscape of family, love, and loss through the eyes of two close friends.' Limited capacity - click the link in bio to reserve your seats.
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