National Art School Campus 2015 photo credit Mim Stirling courtesy NAS
Photograph: Mim Stirling | National Art School

National Art School

  • Art
  • Darlinghurst
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Time Out says

Housed in the historic walls of the old Darlinghurst Gaol, the National Art School is the oldest, most prestigious visual arts institute in Australia, with origins that can be traced back to 1843. It has a rich tradition of artistic practice and many well-known alumni, from Max Dupain and Margaret Olley to John Olsen, Fiona Hall, Reg Mombassa, Joan Ross and Lucy Culliton.

You don't have to be a student to visit the NAS Gallery. Housed in a former cell block in the heart of the campus, it is one of Sydney’s most well-appointed and distinctive exhibition spaces, hosting ambitious group and solo exhibitions from local and international artists.

Details

Address
Cnr Forbes & Burton St
Darlinghurst
Sydney
2010
Opening hours:
Mon-Sun 11am-5pm

What’s on

Dobell Drawing Prize

The $30,000 Dobell Drawing Prize has a rich history of celebrating some of Australia’s most renowned artists, and you don’t have to hand over a cent to head down to the gorgeous gallery inside the sandstone walls of the National Art School to check out all of this year’s finalists. Curated by Lucy Latella, the exhibition features 56 artworks from an exciting cross-section of established, mid-career and early-career artists, selected from 965 nationwide entries. Now in its 24th year, this biennial art prize celebrates the enduring importance of drawing in contemporary art practice, with a focus on technique, innovation and expanded approaches. The selected works span various media – from coloured pencil, charcoal, chalk and watercolour to clay, human hair, aluminium, LED, and video – and consider a range of themes including domesticity and social dynamics, environmental care, and impacts of climate change and colonisation. NAS alumna Rosemary Lee took out the prize this year – her winning work ‘24-1’ depicts an urban landscape in Sydney’s Inner West, and the judging panel praised her work for the way it “observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life”. The judges also said: “We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this complex 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...
  • Drawings
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