Artists shine at National Art School Grad Shows

The National Art School (NAS) Grad Shows are highly anticipated events on Sydney’s cultural calendar, offering artists, curators and collectors a glimpse into the next generation of Australian contemporary art. This year, discover an incredible selection of innovative works by the 2024 postgraduate and undergraduate cohorts. 

Running from 8-17 November, the Post Grad Show highlights over 30 Master of Fine Art (MFA) graduates who have spent years honing their creative skills across ceramics, drawing, painting, photomedia, printmaking and sculpture. 

NAS Senior Curator Katrina Cashman describes the show as “an outstanding showcase of bold new works of art… With impressive conceptual grounding, great technical expertise and their limitless imaginations, the exhibition presents an exhilarating and inspiring vision which is elegant and mature.”

From 6-15 December, the spotlight shifts to the Grad Show, with over 150 Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) students displaying colourful, vibrant pieces crafted during their three-year studies. As Cashman says, “The raw energy of these artists is contagious and the exhibition is always full of surprises and will delight its viewers.”

This year’s Post Grad Show presents several must-watch artists working in a wide range of mediums. These artists present deeply personal and thought-provoking works that explore themes of identity, memory, the body and our connection to the natural world. 

Multidisciplinary artist Benjamin Akuila explores cultural authenticity and identity within the Tongan-Australian diaspora. His ceramic works celebrate traditional Tongan art practices and motifs, while reinventing them with contemporary materials. His collection of Bumping Purses – ceramic purses designed like traditional Tongan masks – challenge and subvert rigid structures around race and gender, while humorously referencing slang for queer sex.

Jake Starr’s video work A Weak & Panicked Animal offers a powerful commentary on society’s fractured relationship with nature. Displayed on a construction fence and watched while sitting on an aluminium bench, the work shows an archive of CCTV, police body-cam footage and local news reports of what are initially assumed to be break-ins or school shootings. However, the perpetrators are quickly revealed to be confused and unpredictable deer. Unsettling and humorous, it cleverly disrupts the notion of human superiority over the wild.

Rachel Mackay’s sculptures, videos and photography map the porous nature of the human body, positioning the skin as a boundary between our inner and outer worlds. In large-scale sculptural works like Torso, the use of latex viscerally captures a sense of transformation, exploring how our bodies remember and reshape themselves in response to the world. 

Chrystie Longworth’s colourful ceramic forms explore femininity, domesticity and identity. Inspired by historic examples of women’s subversive messages hidden within textiles, her works at first seem whimsical, but often have a hidden bite: you’ll find many penetrated by sharp dressmaker pins. Follow the key on the wall to discover criticisms of the stereotypes and expectations of women disguised in the alluring colours and patterns. 

Meanwhile, the confessional textile-based works of Mitchell Davis confront cycles of damage and repair, using salvaged materials to examine masculinity, fatherhood and memory. His needlework, assemblages and installations bring to mind the darker side of childhood, as he recontextualises materials such as tarpaulin, tent poles and blankets.

The NAS Grad Shows are a fantastic way to discover fresh talent, and offer a unique opportunity to engage directly with the artists, tour their studio spaces and acquire new, original pieces. 

2024 Post Grad Show

Opening Night: Thursday 7 November, 6pm

Exhibition dates: 8 November – 17 November 2024

2024 Grad Show

Opening Night: Thursday 5 December, 6pm

Exhibition dates: 6 December – 15 December 2024

Visit the National Art School at 156 Forbes St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010