A celebration of spoken poetry, jazz and nonchalance is coming to Sydney as part of NAS Nights.

The National Art School presents NAS Nights: The Beat Generation on Thursday July 14, celebrating the style, music, spontaneous creativity and non-conformist ideologies which defined bohemian subculture in the 1950s and ’60s.

The night is themed around the current exhibition Ann Thomson & Contemporariesand is accompanied by a Floor Talk from curator Judith Blackall and Thomson herself.The exhibition celebrates the heady times at East Sydney Tech in the late 1950s and early 1960s, an era that produced some of Australia’s best artists includingGodfrey Miller, John Passmore, John Olsen, Vivienne Binns, Elisabeth Cummings and Martin Sharp.

Also joining the night is Chicago spoken-word poet Miles Merrill, who will be performing poetry inspired by the beat poets Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.

The bill also includes a freeAction Painting Workshop, an abstract style where paint is randomly splashed and poured onto the canvas, made popular by Jackson Pollock in the ’50s.

Music will be provided byFrances Castley, playingan acoustic ’60s-inspired set, plus video projections by Gary Shead, mulled wine by The Hangout Cafe and wine by Cake Wines.

The free night will be held on Thursday July 14 from 6-9pm at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. Check out the website for more information and RSVP to the event on Facebook.

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