The Unseen Artworld: Walking Tours of Artists’ Studios and ARIs

Curious about what it’s really like to be a working artist? Step behind the scenes of the art world and explore the spaces beyond the white walls of galleries and museums, where creativity and experimentation come to life. Isobel Johnston leads you on walking tours in Sydney, where you’ll meet artists at different stages of their careers—from emerging talents to seasoned professionals—in their studios, discovering what a typical day looks like and where they find their inspiration. You’ll also visit Artist Run Spaces (ARIs), where art and ideas are constantly evolving, being discussed, and tested. By the end of this experience, you’ll have a clearer picture of how artists work, where they create, and what it takes to keep their practice going. Plus, you’ll get to see some incredible art before it hits the galleries and maybe even find some cool ARIs to explore on your own!

Isobel Johnston’s walking tours are held in different areas of Sydney each week, starting and returning to a designated place. You may drive or take public transport (if driving, make sure you leave up to 3 hours parking in total to factor in walking to and from the locations). Wear comfortable shoes, dress for the weather, bring a water bottle! Please note that access to the studios and artists run spaces may involve stairs and standing for periods of time.

* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students from ages 15 years and over.

Isobel Johnston has been sharing her passion for contemporary Australian art, with new audiences as well as with those more familiar with the art scene, for over three decades.

She has been a professional practicing artist during this time whilst also working as a curator and arts educator in galleries and artist run spaces here and overseas. She has extensive teaching experience and ran a successful Sydney based art touring business for more than a decade.

Isobel enables people to better understand and engage with contemporary art through enjoyable and memorable experiences supported by insider knowledge.

Her work is in the Artbank collection as well as other public and private collections, she has trained the volunteer guides for The Biennale of Sydney (Nirin), and is currently on the Board of Articulate Project Space and teaches at Meadowbank Tafe.

Notetaking devices - notebook or laptop