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About three quarters of Australia’s artists have had some sort of formal training in their artform.
Learning on the job is also important for a substantial group of arts workers with 25% of writers, 30% of actors and 31% of cultural development workers nominating this as their most important form of training. Whichever path you have taken, it always helps to know what options are available and find support, training and networks where they exist.
Places to start
- Performing Arts High Schools a list of NSW Creative that provide opportunities for students to pursue excellence within the arts while studying the core curriculum prescribed by the Board of Studies.
- NSW Regional Conservatoriums provide a range of music activities for students and community members of all ages and aspirations.
- Regional Arts Development Officers facilitate arts and cultural development within a region and assist with training and development.
Tertiary Institutions and other organisations
Many universities and tertiary institutions offer formal studies and training in the arts and creative industries. Some of these include:
- UNSW College of Fine Arts (COFA) offers studies in the visual arts, design, digital media, art education, art history and theory.
- University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) provides studio-based courses for specialist and inter-disciplinary research, including design, media arts, fine arts and theoretical enquiry.
- University of Newcastle offers courses in fine art, design and music, among many others.
- Charles Sturt University a multi-campus university offering courses in Fine Arts, Applied Design, Photography, TV Production, Acting, Animation and Games Technology among others.
- University of Wollongong offers courses in Creative Arts, Music and Drama, Art and Design and Journalism and Creative Writing, among many others.
- National Art School is an independent higher education institution with a long and distinguished history as a major art school in Australia.
- TAFE NSW is the largest vocational education and training provider in Australia and has an extensive range of creative courses from graphic illustration to visual arts.
- Metro Screen is a film school and production house offering project funding, affordable courses and interesting industry events.
- AFTRS Australia’s national screen arts and broadcast school has been delivering advanced training for the film, television and radio industries for over 30 years.
- Information & Cultural Exchange (ICE) is known for its success with newly arrived migrant and refugee communities, as well as for youth arts. It works at the cutting edge of new technology, specialising in digital media and community cultural development that involves thousands of people every year.
- Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a Sydney-based theatre company exclusively devoted to young people. ATYP offers excellent workshops and programs to connect young people to creative opportunities.
- National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)offers training for the entertainment industry including theatre, film, television, radio and new media.
- Screenwise was established to provide specialist, career-focused training in acting for film and television by employing industry professionals – award-winning actors, directors and casting consultants who are articulate and inspirational teachers.
Useful Connections
Peak and service bodies; see our pages on the Arts in NSW for an overview of peak bodies in NSW.
ArtsHub was established in 2000 and is a critical resource for Australia’s arts sector. ArtsHub features daily news, reviews, interviews and articles of interest to those working in the creative industries; and is the first port of call for anyone wanting to advertise an arts industry position, event or seeking work in the sector. ArtsHub now has over 800 arts companies subscribing to advertise their latest events, jobs and news, and is visited over 100,000 times monthly by practicing arts workers and arts lovers.
D*Hub is a project of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, originally funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), with the University of Technology Sydney and University of Western Sydney. D’Hub brings the world’s best design collections out of the basement, connecting them with news, interviews, opinions and ideas across the breadth of design
The Sydney ARI guide is a guide to over 30 non-for-profit artist-run initiatives (ARIs) in Sydney’s inner city and inner west. These ARIs are run by visual artists, curators and writers and support the work of local and international contemporary artists.
Fundbreak is a crowdfunding platform and community for creative projects and ideas. Developed for artists, musicians, filmmakers, journalists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, event organisers, software developers and all other creative’s, to raise funds and give project creators the break they need to realise their goals and aspirations.
