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Study at ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç School of Art & Design
Explore undergraduate and Honours degrees in Visual Arts, Design, Animation & Moving Image, and Art Theory; and postgraduate and research degrees in Fine Arts, Design, Curating & Cultural Leadership, Animation & Visual Effects, and Simulation & Immersive Technologies.
Farewell from Ed Scheer
Hi all,
I am stepping down as Head of School after just over 8 years.
It’s a year of milestones, with our 50th Anniversary as a School. Some of you know the history: in 1975 the School of Art opened as part of Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education (CAE), becoming City Art Institute (CAI), then the College of Fine Arts (COFA), ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Art & Design and now the School of Art & Design.
I was a life model here in the CAI days, so it has been full circle for me and good to land a job where you can wear clothes.
This year we renamed F Block as the Carol Longbottom Building where, on Level 1, you will also find the Liz Williamson Textiles Studio. Both women were pivotal figures in the history of the School and especially in the growth of the Design discipline.
I don’t want to waffle on with my reflections as Head of School, but I’ll just say it was a big shift from writing books and articles about aesthetics and art practices to running this School, now with over 4,000 students and over 100 full time staff. It has been a great privilege to lead the School and defend its interest in a time of major change as we merged into a larger Faculty structure some years ago. It is a matter of great pride that we are now even bigger and better than we were before.
The other great honour is to have had the opportunity to work alongside some truly skilled, ingenious and dedicated people. The staff of this School are – each and every one – a national treasure. But I want to single out my Deputy Head of School (Art) for the past 8 years, Grant Stevens, and thank him for his collegial support, advice and unwavering commitment to the School and its students.
I also want to wish the incoming Head of School Alison Gwilt all the very best for her tenure in the role.
Remember the future.
Ed
Professor Edward Scheer (Head of School, 2017 - 2025)
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Image: Ed Scheer opens the 2025 Honours Open Studios. Photograph: Chris Mulia.
Gosha Heldtz selected for national graduate showcase
Congratulations to Gosha Heldtz, who is among only 23 artists from 20 tertiary art schools chosen for ‘Hatched: National Graduate Show 2025’. Now in its 34th year, the exhibition showcases the next generation of Australia’s contemporary creative voices.
In previous years, ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç has been represented by Ramesh Nithiyendran, Dennis Golding and Vedika Rampal, who won the 2024 Schenberg Arts Award for an exceptional artist in the exhibition.
The winner of the 2025 awards will be announced at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts on 1 August and the exhibition will be on display until 5 October.
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Image: Gosha Heldtz at the 2024 NAIDOC Week Open Studios. Photograph by Carmen Schieb.
Jack Ball wins $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025
Congratulations to academic Jack Ball, winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists under forty, with the work Heavy Grit.
The winning work was developed in response to a collection of scrapbooks held by the Australian Queer Archives. Ball’s work reveals fragments and glimpses of queer histories, layering archival materials with personal images and soft form sculptures, and creating an interplay between the past and the present.
The judges were unanimous in their decision and describe the winning work as sensual, experimental and sophisticated. The work now becomes part of the collection at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
The Ramsay Art Prize 2025 is on display until 31 August. The other finalists exhibited include current PhD candidate Shireen Taweel and alumni Clara Adolphs, Jordan Gogos, Jason Phu and Tom Polo.
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Image: Jack Ball with Heavy Grit in Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Photography by Saul Steed.
What's on
Find out more about current exhibitions, register for upcoming events and read about the recent achievements of our students, staff and alumni.
World-class facilities in Sydney's creative hub
As a student at ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç School of Art & Design, you have access to world-class facilities, innovative resources and opportunities to study and work internationally.
Our specialist campus incorporates museum-standard galleries and state-of-the-art workshops, open studios and private workspaces, research and digital labs, lounges and collaboration spaces.
Acknowledgement of Country
ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
