What Is the National Art School Website (nas.edu.au)?
Updated
nas.edu.au is the official website of the National Art School (NAS), a fine art school in Darlinghurst, Sydney, located on Gadigal land. The site presents the school's studio-based degrees and short courses, along with campus life, galleries, alumni and visitor information. Use it to explore study options, check what's on at the campus galleries, or plan a visit; it is not a general art resource or marketplace.
What the site covers
The homepage describes NAS as Australia's leading fine art school and emphasises a studio-based model: specialist facilities, campus galleries, an alumni network, small cohorts and teachers who are practising artists. The school states it has been operating for over 100 years on the heritage-listed site of the former Darlinghurst Gaol.
The main sections signposted on the page are:
- Study Art — the academic offering
- Campus — facilities and grounds
- Gallery — exhibition programming
- Café and Library — on-site amenities
- Visit — practical information for coming to the campus
There is also an enquiry form and a newsletter subscribe option, plus a search function and shopping cart.
Study options listed
The site names the following programs:
| Level | Program |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate | Bachelor of Fine Art |
| Undergraduate (honours) | Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) |
| Postgraduate | Doctor of Fine Art |
| Non-award | Short Courses |
| Pre-tertiary | High School Courses |
The page does not publish fees, entry requirements, course durations or application deadlines. Those details would sit on the individual program pages reached through "Study Art," so treat the homepage as an index rather than a prospectus.
Who the school says it is for
The site frames itself around students who want hands-on, studio-led tuition from working artists. A student testimonial from a Bachelor of Fine Art (Ceramics) student describes the appeal of being "in a school that solely exists for art, and artists." The small-cohort emphasis suggests the pitch is toward intensive studio practice rather than large lecture-based study — useful context if you are comparing it with university fine art degrees, though the site itself makes no direct comparison.
Alumni and reputation signals
NAS leans heavily on its history. The page lists artists who trained there, including Charles Blackman, Margaret Olley, Max Dupain, Cressida Campbell, Reg Mombassa, Wendy Whiteley and Karla Dickens, among others. The school's claim is that these artists "shaped Australian art" and continue to do so. For a prospective student, this is a reputational argument rather than a verifiable outcome measure — worth noting, but not a substitute for checking graduate outcomes or studio access yourself.
Practical things to know before you use the site
- Location: Darlinghurst, inner-city Sydney, on Gadigal land. The campus is a heritage-listed former gaol, which shapes the studio and gallery spaces.
- What you can do without contacting anyone: browse programs, look up gallery and visit information, and subscribe for updates.
- What requires an enquiry: the page offers an "Enquire" route, which is the appropriate channel for questions the site does not answer, such as entry requirements or portfolio expectations.
- Pricing: the page shows a "subscribe" signal and a cart, but no course prices. Do not assume short courses or degrees are free, and do not assume online payment is available — neither is stated.
Bottom line
If you are researching fine art study in Sydney, nas.edu.au is the authoritative starting point for NAS's degrees, short courses and high school programs, and for campus, gallery and visit details. Go to it to shortlist a program or plan a campus visit; go to the individual program pages or the enquiry form for fees, entry requirements and dates, which the homepage does not provide.