Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) student Yoshinori Takahashi. (Image: Christopher Phillips)
The National Art School’s 2015 Short Courses Program packs in great value for those looking to join art classes either to learn, upskill or improve their practice.
Ros Brennan, Marketing Manager for the National Art School says that the school has moved from a semester system to having terms to ensure more classes.
‘We’ll now be running Term 1, 2, 3 and 4 and in addition to that we have 5 days of Summer School in January, a Winter School and various weekend workshops throughout the year.
‘This is to provide more flexibility and opportunities for people to attend short courses.
‘The Summer School is an intensive burst of arts tuition in January from 12th to the 16th. It is popular with visual arts teachers, high school students, parents, retirees or anyone looking to upskill themselves over the Summer.’
Some of the highlights of the Summer School will be the new courses that the National Art School is holding in conjunction with three major art exhibitions. These are the Pop to Popism and the Dobell Australian Drawing Biennal at the Art Gallery of NSW and Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
‘These new courses will be looking at themes from those particular exhibitions.
‘Students will get to visit these exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW and the MCA and then head back to the studio and start creating, drawing inspiration from the themes and methods from these blockbuster shows.’
Among many firsts, the National Art School has now moved to a new online booking system to facilitate convenient bookings for everyone.
The school has also added extended hours to their classes at no extra costs. Previously classes were held from 10:00am – 4:00pm, but from next year onwards they will be held from 9:30am – 4:30pm.
‘The course work can be quite intensive and the kind of work the students are doing is intricate – especially with carving, printmaking, sitting on a wheel doing very delicate clay moulds or drawing on an easel.
‘We want to offer more value for money for the students. It’s just about giving people that intensive working time in the studio so that they can come out at the end of it with a finished piece of artwork,’ says Brennan.
Apart from the value for money, the National Art School also has specialist courses for high school students. Brennan says there are a number of courses dotted throughout Summer School, Term 1 and Term 2, which specifically cater towards the needs of high school students.
‘Pop Art painting for high school students is one that draws inspiration from Pop to Popism at the Art Gallery of NSW.
‘Students are taken along to the exhibition and get taught the basics of how to paint, draw and use collage and use mixed media in this particular medium.’
Brennan says the good thing about a lot of the courses for high school students, particularly those in the Summer School, is that they are run during the school holidays.
‘The courses are catering towards high school students that are probably in year 9, 10 or 11, and who have taken an interest in visual art and want to upskill themselves in a particular area.
‘These courses help if students are looking to apply to the National Art School after they do their HSC. We look preferably at students that have completed some of our courses for high school students,’ adds Brennan.
Having a faculty of well-respected practicing artists only adds to the worth of a course. Names like David Horton, Kwi Rak Choung and Cherry Hood hold courses that often sell out within a week from when they are opened for registrations.
‘David Horton, who teaches our welding sculpture course, is a very popular teacher and guest lecturer at the National Art School.
‘He is quite a famous artist in his own right. He has been in Sculpture by the Sea and had various solo shows and prizes to his name.’
‘Kwi Rak Choung teaches one of our Ceramic workshops called Wheelforming Techniques. He’s got a big name for himself in the industry and is known as a master potter,’ adds Brennan.
Brennan has often received feedback from students that the course went beyond their expectations in terms of the amount of one-to-one time with the tutors. She says that the tutors are extremely skilled and well-respected professional artists in the industry.
‘To get that experience of having a mentor for an in-depth series of training – people really value it and can’t speak highly enough of the experience.
‘The artist teachers are committed to making sure our attendees get the most of the experience. They provide personalised, hands on tuition and guide students of all skill levels to develop their personal visual style,’ she adds.
The early bird discount for Summer School ends 28 November.
To register for the Short Courses at the National Arts School for 2015 click here.
