IMPACT EVALUATION STUDY – NATIONAL SUMMER ART SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, 2023
NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA
In 2022 arts consultant Morwenna Collett and I were commissioned to undertake an impact evaluation of the National Gallery of Australia’s National Summer Art Scholarship Program, which has been running since 1997.
The Summer Scholarship is an annual, week-long intensive program for 16 Year 11 students from across Australia who are interested in a career in the visual arts. Over the course of the week, participants go behind-the-scenes at the Gallery and meet key staff across the organisation, as well as participate in a range of hands-on making and learning activities designed to give them a breadth of understanding and experience of all facets of the art world – from conservation to curating, education, public programming and art-making.
Observation of the National Summer Art Scholarship Program at the National Gallery of Australia, December 2022.
Looking at both the immediate and long-term impacts of the program, for both participants and the Gallery, together we:
Developed an evaluation framework and project plan
Benchmarked the NSAS against other national and international youth programs
Undertook a desktop review
Undertook fieldwork that included eight in-depth stakeholder interviews, two focus groups and program observation of the 2022 cohort both online and in-person
Presented two case studies of NSAS alumni
Gathered quantitative feedback via an online survey to alumni, staff and high school visual arts teachers
We then drafted a report of our findings and recommendations, which we shared in an interpretation workshop with key Gallery staff, before finalising our report in May 2023.
This report, which included sections on Program Background, Program Elements, Program Impacts and a section on Looking to the Future, is due for publication in late 2023.
