[Sydney] Exceptional young talent on display in ARTEXPRESS 2025 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Art Gallery of New South Wales welcomes the return of ARTEXPRESS, the hugely popular annual showcase of outstanding artworks submitted by students across New South Wales for the art-making component of the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examination in Visual Arts.

ARTEXPRESS 2025 offers a window into the topics concerning young Australians – revealing themes of family, identity, cultural heritage, the high school experience, as well as exploring social and political issues such as immigration, class and the environment – while they develop technical excellence in a wide variety of art forms.

ARTEXPRESS 2025 is the 42nd iteration of the annual exhibition presented at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the principal venue for ARTEXPRESS. The exhibition features 50 works selected from 8858 submissions for the 2024 HSC examination in Visual Arts and includes students from government and non-government schools in regional, remote and metropolitan areas.

All Expressive Forms in the HSC Visual Arts curriculum are represented in the exhibition, including ceramics, collections of works, designed objects, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photomedia, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre and time-based forms. 

Art Gallery of New South Wales director Michael Brand said he looks forward to seeing the exceptional standard of work presented in ARTEXPRESS each year.

‘ARTEXPRESS 2025 presents work by students from vastly different regions, schools and cultural backgrounds, who are united in their shared passion for visual arts, which has been nurtured by their dedicated teachers. The outstanding conceptual and material qualities of these works affirms the strength of visual arts education across the state. I commend every student in this exhibition for their dedication to their chosen form of art practice and I hope they continue to engage with art beyond their schooling,’ said Brand.

Since 1989, the Art Gallery has been the principal venue for ARTEXPRESS, displaying bodies of work by students from across New South Wales. ARTEXPRESS is presented in partnership with the NSW Department of Education and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

NESA chief executive officer Paul Martin commended all students whose work was nominated for exhibition in ARTEXPRESS 2025 and congratulated those who were selected.

‘ARTEXPRESS is a wonderful opportunity for the public to witness our youngest artists entering the Australian arts landscape, in one of the country’s best-known galleries. The calibre of work now on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is a celebration of our young artists who found and fostered their passion, artistry and skills in HSC Visual Arts classes.

‘I want to thank the contributions of NSW teachers who have supported our students. Arts education in NSW plays an important role in cultivating expression and creative and critical thinking in our broader communities,’ said Martin.

Many former ARTEXPRESS exhibitors have gone on to establish successful artistic careers, including Simone Douglas (1983), McLean Edwards (1990), Melissa Chiu (1990), Ben Quilty (1991), David Griggs (1994), Jasper Knight (1997), Julie Fragar (1995), Tom Polo (2002), Bhenji Ra (2009) and Louise Zhang (2009).

ARTEXPRESS 2025 is on display in Naala Nura at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 6 February to 27 April 2025. Entry is free.  

For more information about this exhibition and to explore ARTEXPRESS works dating back to 2005, visit the Art Gallery website.

ARTEXPRESS 2025 exhibitions in NSW: 

Art Gallery of New South Wales | 6 February – 27 April 2025

Hazelhurst Arts Centre | 10 February – 13 April 2025

Lismore Regional Gallery | 21 February – 20 April 2025

Grafton Regional Gallery | 10 May – 13 July 2025

Mudgee Arts Precinct | 16 May – 20 July 2025

Griffith Regional Gallery | 20 June – 27 July 2025

Orange Regional Gallery | 9 August – 21 September 2025

New England Regional Art Museum | 15 August – 19 October 2025

ARTEXPRESS Virtual 2025 | Launching end of June