National Art School graduates Anna Cuthill and Nick MacMahon. Image courtesy National Art School.
Budding artists wanting to develop their creativity and craft are invited to a preview of the fabulous programs on offer at the forthcoming National Art School Open Day, to be held at the spectacular Darlinghurst campus on Saturday 30 August.
While the full Open Day program is yet to be announced, National Art School (NAS) Director Michael Snelling said that Open Day would present a unique opportunity to meet with staff and students against a full day of workshops, talks, giveaways and campus tours.
‘There are demonstrations across all of the disciplines and there’s lots of staff and students around to answer questions, explain what it’s like to study here, what it’s like to be able to use that equipment – it’s an immersive and interactive day.’
Commencing in early 2015 is the Bachelor of Fine Art as a three-year, full-time immersive program where students develop comprehensive studio practice and theoretical reflection across all art forms. Postgraduate students choosing to commence the Master of Fine Art are ideally practising artists who will develop highly specific research interests alongside professional expertise.
Snelling said that students at NAS are taught by highly experienced, practising artists, who bring a wealth of knowledge and industry experience to the table. ‘That’s one of the key things alongside studio space, which are built so that students have to talk to each other. You’re in a communal situation where everybody is discussing what they’re doing and where they’re going.’
This unique method of course delivery at NAS is amplified by a prestigious alumni community that boasts some of Australia’s most beloved artists, including Fiona Hall AO, John Olsen OBE AO and Margaret Olley AC.
‘We’ve got such an extraordinary list of alumni, both past and present that it’s perceived in the Sydney scene as the “rock” from which all of the art schools came,’ said Snelling.
‘Our alumni reflect one of the major histories of Australian art. We can go right back to the period into 1920s when our sculpture were doing stuff from the Anzac memorial to designing the Holden car logo. As the years go by our artists continued to be Australia’s next representatives at the Venice Biennale. Our alumnus is strong, our student intake is strong, and our demand is strong.’
Snelling said the vision for the school differs to most other major art schools in that NAS is managed as an independent organisation, which duly comes with a certain degree of flexibility. ‘A vision in a place like this really is a collective vision in a sense. We’re characterised by a high level of staff student contact hours and a very rigorous studio-based practice.’
‘We will always be relatively small, which gives us the capacity to concentrate on the things that we are dedicated to, rather than to deal with the size and organisational complexity of something like a university,’ he said.
While the ‘wheel has turned conceptually’ over the last 30 to 40 years, the technique in drawing remains in demand and is a subsequent core feature of all the NAS programs.
‘It is much more seen to be a required skill than at the beginning of conceptualism and the beginning of the post-modern period, where new technologies and the sense of art was not confined to borders of a canvas, a frame or a sculpture in the steel sense or stone sense.
‘Teaching drawing as a key skill irrespective of whether you’re working in the digital realm or a very traditional realm will serve you well. Drawing is available to our students, no matter what course they’re doing all the way through their degrees.’
Snelling said that the NAS is well abreast of the challenges facing art schools in general, juggling both a respect to its history and tradition, while at the same time reinventing where they’re going, and where their graduating artists want to go. ‘We’re always recognising that artists – if they’re good – should be always stretching the boundaries.’
Snelling said attending the NAS Open Day offers great insights into the facilities, the resources, and the community that will help any artist at any stage of their career take the next step to ‘unlock’ their potential. ‘If you want to be an artist, it’s fair to say we have one of the best campuses in the country.’
‘It’s a great place to come to work at every day. The staff and student body – I’ve never quite come across such a dedicated staff or student body that seems to be here. People love studying here and they love working here. That means in the end you spend your time getting a degree that equips you not with just the technical skills, but also the love of what it is that you’re going to be doing.
‘Some people go on to be artists, but no matter what you go on to be, you’ll profit from those years that are spent here within this campus.’
Applications are now invited for undergraduate and postgraduate programs, commencing in 2015 at the National Art School.
Further information can be viewed at the National Art School Open Day on 30 August or via the National Art School website.
