InSight Magazine MAR -JUN 24

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, World Heritage Exhibition, Braemar Gallery, Hub Upstairs Gallery

Welcome

The City of the Blue Mountains is located within the Ngurra (Country) of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples. Blue Mountains Cultural Centre pays respect to Elders past and present while recognising the strength, capacity and resilience of past and present Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Blue Mountains region.

2 Just Below the Clouds

3 A Place for Artists and Art Lovers

4 InSight Membership

5 World Heritage Exhibition

6 Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

16 Exhibition Feature: Field

19

Cover image: POLLY NELSON NGALE (born c.1936) Anmatyerre language group Blue Tongue Lizard 1997, batik on silk, 90 x 90 cm. Photograph by Andrew Curtis. © Polly Nelson Ngale l Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd

Just Below the Clouds

Katrina Noorbergen –Acting Manager, Arts & Cultural Services

The Cultural Centre’s Autumn program brings a range of opportunities to be inspired by the best visual arts of the Blue Mountains. Bill Hope’s exhibition Living Room explores illustration and drawing practices and how possibilities are expanded by emerging technologies. Rebecca Waterstone’s multi-sensory exhibition Field is a gentle investigation of place through the use of ethereal and painterly materials such as wax, pigment and oil, alongside immersive video, and sound.

The opportunities to engage with First Nation’s arts practice are also ever expanding with two major exhibitions on offer for locals and visitors to our region. Ngurra Bayala (Country speaks) is now available to experience in the World Heritage exhibition space. This exhibition is a significant reworking of the World Heritage Exhibition that brings First Nations perspectives to the forefront through video and storytelling. Touring show Three Echoes – Western Desert Art, curated by Djon Mundine, is also sure to enthral audiences with a number of stunning and expansive creation stories from the desert transferred to canvas.

It is also my great pleasure to introduce Eric Holowacz who will begin as Manager of Arts and Cultural Services in March. Relocating to the Mountains from Katherine, NT, Eric most recently held the role of CEO – Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre which is one of the Northern Territory’s leading arts, culture, and heritage venues. I hope you will join us in welcoming Eric to the Blue Mountains!

A Place for Artists and Art Lovers

Acquisition News

In 2023 the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Fine Art Collection grew significantly with the addition of 29 works from seven local artists. These works have been acquired via purchase, donation, and the Cultural Gift Program.

We received a donation of four works by local photographer Bette Mifsud, as well as a significant donation of twenty coloured etchings by Anne Smith. Peachey & Mosig also donated a large photograph as a parting gift before moving away from the Blue Mountains.

The purchase of three First Nations video works by Aunty Sharyn Halls (with Craig Bender and Vera Hong), Jo Clancy and Leanne Tobin were a timely acquisition and will be on exhibition until December 2025 in Ngurra Bayala (Country speaks). And finally, the much-loved glass bubbles installation, Illusion 2017, by Kayo Yokoyama, that has become a permanent fixture in the cafe, has also been purchased.

BETTE MIFSUD Homage to Casper David Friedrich 2004, photographic archival pigment print on canvas, 160 x 85 cm. Donated to the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Collection by the artist 2023.

InSight Membership

B ecome an InSight Member today and join our community of art lovers. By becoming an InSight Member you will receive invitations to exclusive events at discounted rates, gain insider knowledge into the Cultural Centre Fine Art Collection and are supporting us in continuing to deliver dynamic exhibitions and programs.

YOUR INSIGHT MEMBERSHIP PLAN:

Individual Adult: $50*

Duo (2 adults, children 16 & under free): $70**

Concession: $40*

Individual Patron: $200 Business: $250

* 2 x complimentary guest tickets per membership.

**4 x complimentary guest tickets per duo membership. Complimentary tickets only valid when accompanied by an InSight Member.

HOW TO JOIN:

Visit our friendly staff at Reception or call 4780 5410 to join or renew. Staff can provide an InSight Membership Form where you can provide your details. This form can also be posted to;

Blue Mountains Cultural Centre InSight Membership Application

Locked Bag 1005, Katoomba NSW 2780

We now have online registration and renewals to make your InSight journey more convenient. Visit the InSight Membership page on our website for the link.

• UNLIMITED FREE entry to Blue Mountains City Art Gallery and Into the Blue

• DISCOUNTS on Cultural Centre public programs

• 10% DISCOUNT at the Gallery Shop and Gallery Café

• LIMITED complimentary tickets for guests *conditions apply

• INVITATIONS to exhibition openings and exclusive events

• INSIDER knowledge into the Cultural Centre Fine Art Collection

• SUBSCRIPTION to InSight Magazine, delivered three times a year

• SUBSCRIPTION to the Cultural Centre’s monthly e-newsletter

• ACCESS to InSight Members Lounge (Wednesday – Friday, subject to availability)

World Heritage Exhibition

Into the Blue

The Blue Mountains World Heritage Interpretive Centre.

A high-tech, interactive exhibition which explores the natural as well as the social landscapes of this unique area. Audiences are invited to navigate their way through these stories in an immersive exhibition experience, introducing them to the richness and wonders of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area.

Session times:

The World Heritage Exhibition is a 60-minute moving image program.

Ngurra Bayala (Country speaks) starts on the hour and runs for 45 minutes.

Into the Blue directly follows and runs for 15 minutes (starting at quarter to the hour, every hour).

Ngurra Bayala (Country speaks)

Co-curated with Dharug artist Leanne Tobin, Ngurra Bayala (Country speaks) celebrates the video work of seven female First Nations artists. Ngurra Bayala will be on permanent display, as per the Cultural Centre’s opening hours until December 2025.

National Gallery of Australia Artists: Megan Cope, Fiona Foley, Julie Gough and r e a.

Blue Mountains Aboriginal practitioners: Aunty Sharyn Halls (with Craig Bender and Vera Hong); Jo Clancy (with Sue Healey) and Leanne Tobin.

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

Blue Mountains Portraits 2024 3 Feb – 17 Mar

Blue Mountains Portraits is the Cultural Centre’s annual celebration of the local community and its diverse members. The exhibiting artists portray the unique people that make up the cultural fabric of the Blue Mountains and tell the stories behind the person. Over forty artworks in a broad range of styles and media such as painting, photography, drawing, collage and mixed media will be exhibited together with a selection of local students’ work.

A Blue Mountains City Art Gallery exhibition

TOHBY RIDDLE The Artist’s Younger Daughter 2023, acrylic on board, 45 x 45 cm

Behind the Portraits: Curator-led Tour

Thursday 14 Mar

11 – 11.30 am

Join us for a special Curator-led Tour of Blue Mountains Portraits 2024. Hear stories about the artists, how the exhibition has been created and the works on display. Free for seniors, all other tickets can be purchased on the day of the tour.

A Blue Mountains City Art Gallery exhibition

$5.50 Adult / $3.20 Concession / FREE for NSW Seniors Card holders and InSight Members. RSVP via email to culturalcentre@bmcc.nsw.gov.au.

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

Bill Hope: Living Room

9 Mar – 28 Apr

Bill Hope is one of Australia’s leading contemporary illustrators with a long list of accomplishments and accolades. In Living Room, Hope explores the township of Katoomba and the relationships we all have with our built environment and intimate spaces. Using architecture as a metaphor for the mind, the artist asks the viewer to re-examine their own relationship to their environment. How do you feel in your home, on your street, as a part of your broader community?

Living Room is a bold showcase of contemporary illustration, including live drawing, traditional formats and larger than life characters.

A Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Altitude exhibition

BILL HOPE Katoomba on the Move 2023, watercolour and coloured pencil, 100 x 64 cm

Artist Talk

Saturday 9 Mar 11 am – 12 pm

Join exhibiting artist Bill Hope for a floor talk in the Gallery.

FREE.

Tickets via Eventbrite.

Blue Mountains Zine Fair

Saturday 9 Mar

10.30 am – 3.30 pm

The Blue Mountains Zine Fair is on again! Our friends at the Mtns Zine Club will be bringing the love of zines, so join us and browse the stalls. You will find gems from makers and creatives coming here from all around Australia, and our makers station will be the best place to start your zine making journey.

Katoomba Library will be the place to be for an afternoon of talks and performances by makers, including local illustrator Bill Hope.

To celebrate the Zine Fair, Gallery entry will be free on Saturday 9 Mar.

Free event.

Illustrated panel discussion

Saturday 9 Mar 12.30 – 1 pm

Kicking off the Zine Fair performance program Bill Hope will visually document a panel discussion with live impromptu illustration. Here you can learn more about the artists’ processes and love for the zine format. Join us for this artmaking adventure as Bill adds pictures to visualise the panel speakers’ discussion of zine making culture.

Free event.

Three Echoes — Western Desert Art

23 Mar – 19 May

Three Echoes – Western Desert Art is a stunning exhibition exploring the poetic notion of echoes – how metaphorically and metaphonically we can echo a thought, a sentiment or a consciousness. In the 1970s Australian Aboriginal people from the desert began talking to the world through art, transferring their creation stories of the land and people to canvas. Now in the 2020s, this foundational echo is going back and forth. No longer a one-sided, outward calling, it reverberates multi-dimensionally within wider Australian and global communities.

Curated by celebrated curator, writer, artist and activist, Djon Mundine OAM FAHA Three Echoes – Western Desert Art showcases 81 paintings, prints and batiks by 57 acclaimed artists heralding from Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), Papunya and Utopia Aboriginal communities in the western desert regions of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Curator Talk

Saturday 23 Mar 11.30 am – 12.30 pm

Listen to Djon Mundine discuss his curatorial journey in creating this wonderful exhibition. This immersive talk takes place in our Gallery surrounded by the artworks discussed.

$5.50 / $3.20 Concession

FREE InSight Members

Tickets via Eventbrite.

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

Three Echoes – Western Desert Art is an initiative of Museums & Galleries Queensland developed in partnership with Karin Schack and Andrew Arnott, and curated by Djon Mundine OAM FAHA. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through its Visions of Australia program and through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. It is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Museums & Galleries Queensland is supported by the Tim Fairfax Foundation and receives funds through the Australian Cultural Fund.

LONG TOM TJAPANANGKA (born 1929 – 2006) Pintupi/Ngaatjatjarra language groups Mereenie Range with Sacred Tree and Snake, 1996, acrylic on linen, 152 x 198 cm. Photograph by Mark Ashkanasy. © Long Tom Tjapanangka l Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

Rebecca Waterstone: Field 4 May – 23 Jun

Rebecca Waterstone’s gentle process of artmaking begins by finding connections between an experience of place, merged with the tactile materiality of pigment and beeswax. Blending formal concepts of minimalist abstraction, remembered sensations, and emotive responses to nature, Waterstone’s works take the form of paintings, sometimes housed in found objects, and at other times she incorporates collaged images, veiled by beeswax.

A Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Altitude exhibition

REBECCA WATERSTONE Ethereal 2017, beeswax and oil on panel, 25 x 18 cm

Artist Talk

Saturday 22 Jun

11 am – 12 pm

Join exhibiting artist Rebecca Waterstone for a floor talk in the Gallery.

$5.50 / $3.20 Concession

FREE InSight Members

Tickets via Eventbrite.

Go With The Flow with Rebecca Waterstone

Saturday 15 Jun

10.30 am – 3.30 pm

Play with found objects and items that are meaningful to you and create a series of experimental compositions as starting points for future artworks. Rebecca will show you techniques and approaches to help you go with the flow and move past things that may be blocking you from achieving your creative ambitions. You will also learn how to trust your instincts to make better decisions during your art-making. Rebecca will share her creative processes, including research, development of ideas, and experimentation. Come and be part of this safe, supportive space where you will be encouraged to try things out, without the worry of being judged by others (or yourself!).

$140 / $120 InSight Members

Early Bird: $130 / $110 InSight Members, for bookings before Sunday 26 May Tickets through Eventbrite.

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

DOBELL DRAWING PRIZE #23

25 May – 28 Jul

The Dobell Drawing Prize is Australia’s leading prize for drawing, an unparalleled celebration of technique, innovation and expanded drawing practice. Presented by the National Art School in partnership with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, this biennial exhibition explores the enduring importance of drawing within contemporary art practice. This National Art School touring exhibition showcases a selection of 47 finalists’ works from the 2023 Prize, revealing the vitality of current Australian drawing.

JULIE RRAP Drawn Out 2022, video, 12 mins, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney and Arc One Gallery, Melbourne

Drawing in Action

Friday 24 – Sunday 26 May

Between 10 am – 4 pm

Exhibiting artist Luke Thurgate will be drawing his work directly on the wall as we install the Dobell Drawing Prize #23. Visitors can see the artist at work over these three days. Sneak a peek on Friday before the opening night or visit the exhibition on the weekend.

Charcoal Drawing Masterclass with Luke

Thurgate

Saturday 1 Jun

12 – 3.30 pm

Explore the expressive possibilities of charcoal drawing in this masterclass with Dobell Drawing Prize #23 finalist Luke Thurgate. Using still life set ups as the basis for observational drawing exercises, students will learn how to organise tonal values and convey subtle effects of light and shadow in their work. Through demonstration and group discussions, Luke will introduce a range of materials and techniques used by various artists to add to drama and tension to their drawings. Luke will guide students to test the emotive and poetic qualities of simple subject matter and develop an individual approach to mark-making and composition.

$75 / $60 InSight Members

Early Bird: $70 / $55 InSight Members, for bookings before Sunday 12 May

Tickets through Eventbrite

LUKE THURGATE Adore you (install image) 2023, charcoal on gallery wall, The Drawing Gallery, National Art School.

Photo: Tim Connolly

Exhibition Feature

Rebecca Waterstone: Field

Curator Hayley Zena Poynton interviews

Altitude artist Rebecca Waterstone about her upcoming exhibition Field.

Hayley Zena Poynton: Your practice is deeply intuitive, with an emphasis on the natural evolution of the artwork. With this in mind, how do you approach the process of artmaking?

Rebecca Waterstone: The process of making the work starts long before I actually put paint down. Walking, thinking, spending time in the landscape, gathering thoughts and ideas into a kind of mental collage, bound up with physical sensations, memories and feelings, all these experiences percolate sometimes for months or years before eventually emerging in the work itself. Once I feel the impetus to make work that expresses these things in physical form, it usually all comes out in a torrent of focused activity.

HZP: The mist of the Mountains is a strong motif within your work; to what extent do you think living in the Mountains informs your practice and even how you approach life itself?

RW: Living in the Mountains is everything. It’s like I’m plugged in to something that feeds me creatively and in my everyday life. Whenever I’m away from the Mountains, I feel myself being pulled back to them. The mist creates a world where I feel enveloped in something protective, wrapped up and safe, and all is right with the world. There’s nothing quite like a misty mountain day where the cloud is so low that everything is veiled in a thick, soft white blanket, and the black cockatoos are calling out as they soar over the landscape. Dropping into that sensation is when I feel most at home. That sense of peace is a central element of my work, both in the making of it and the final piece, I’m trying to get back to that place, that feeling.

HZP: From beeswax to pigment, oil paint to found objects; can you expand on your relationship with materiality?

RW: I’m a highly tactile person so the way something feels, and it’s physical qualities, is extremely important to me. Beeswax is both a liquid and a physical, more solid embodiment of the mist I was just describing – the way it partially obscures and veils imagery so it’s barely there, its opacity is akin to the qualities of the mist. The found objects and the collaged elements – old book covers, vintage papers, photographs, in wooden or metal housings – contain lived history and memory, evoking another time and place.

REBECCA WATERSTONE Ethereal 2 2023, beeswax and oil on board. Photo: Doqument Photography

Exhibition Feature

Bill Hope: Living Room

Curator Hayley Zena Poynton interviews

Altitude artist Bill Hope about his upcoming exhibition Living Room.

Hayley Zena Poynton: Your artistic practice often references the link between exterior spaces and interior states. What has drawn you to this contemplation?

Bill Hope: When I was a teenager, I had an affinity for the idea of my ‘room’ as a space that was my own and which could be a reflection of my burgeoning sense of self. I think that connection between a physical space and a sense of identity has extended into the studio space in which I work today and into a broader interest in architecture and how it influences us. Moving to the Mountains in 2019 gave me an increased awareness of my surroundings and community, and that has been reflected in my work

HZP: Illustration and drawing practices are beginning to venture into a new world of emerging technologies. How do you feel your practice has evolved through the aid of technology?

BH: I’ve always loved finding ways to extend my drawing practice through technology. I feel my practice is rooted in traditional drawing but digital media allows this drawing to become animation, projections, prints, installations, all sorts of things. Computers offer the allure of a kind of perfection in one’s work so I am often trying to find ways to ‘roughen up’ my digital drawing to keep the spontaneity and liveliness that is in so much traditional work.

HZP: You’re an incredibly prolific artist with a practice that spans multiple mediums and subjects. Do you have a favourite project you’ve worked on in recent years?

BH: Right now I’m working on a children’s book with the writer Andy Griffiths and that has been an absolute joy. Perhaps my favourite commercial job in the past few years has been designing Santa’s House at the Federation Square Christmas markets in Melbourne. The house was seen by thousands of families and it was so much fun to work on.

Seniors Festival

Seniors Festival Urban Art Tour

Saturday 23 Mar

10.30 – 11.30 am

Starting from the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre forecourt join one of our volunteer guides on a tour of the urban art found in the unique township of Katoomba. The tour includes entry to the current exhibition Three Echoes – Western Desert Art.

$5.50 Adult / $3.20 Concession

FREE for NSW Seniors card holders and InSight Members. Register your interest via email to culturalcentre@bmcc.nsw.gov.au. Purchase tickets on the day of the tour.

Free entry to the Gallery for NSW Seniors

Monday 11 – Sunday 17 Mar

To celerbate Seniors Fesitval 2024 we are offering free entry to all NSW Seniors card holders. On arrival, please visit Reception to receive your free ticket.

The Fruit Bats

Saturday 23 Mar

1.30 – 2.10 pm

The Fruit Bats will showcase a collection of short variety style acts, with elements of comedy and slapstick. Witness human pyramids, juggling, comedy and movement reminiscent of the vaudeville era of the 30s and the variety acts of the 50s. Polished by influential circus professionals and trainers from the Flying Fruit Fly School, this troupe of older circus performers will bring joy and warm your heart.

FREE event. RSVP via Eventbrite.

Behind the Portraits: Curator led Tour

Thursday 14 Mar 11 – 11.30 am

See details on the Blue Mountains Portraits pg 7 for more information.

What’s On

Exploring Drawing with Pam Vaughan

6-week term weekly on Wednesdays

Starting Wednesday 6 Mar

10 am – 12 pm

Led by experienced artist and teacher Pam Vaughan, you will explore a range of observational drawing techniques, and practice with a variety of media, including pencil, charcoal, chalk pastels, ink, collage, and paint. There will be an array of subject matter, with classes in still life, landscapes, and portraiture.

$260 / $230 InSight Members

Tickets through Eventbrite.

Bat Night and Gallery Up Late

Saturday 11 May

6 – 8 pm

Bat Night at the Cultural Centre is where you will discover the secrets of our enigmatic bats. Meet a Flying Fox up close, learn about microbats, listen to ancient local Indigenous stories, find the treasure in the library and get arty in the craft cave. With face painting, snacks from the Gallery Café and our gallery open free of charge, there will be something for everyone. Brought to you with help from our friends from the Australasian Bat Society, Blue Mountains City Council Healthy Waterways Team, Blue Mountains Conservation Society and Katoomba Library.

Image: student artwork sample

Image: Terry Reardon. Lesser Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus geoffroyi)

Culture Dose for Kids

8-week term weekly on Sundays

Starting Sunday 5 May 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Join us for Culture Dose for Kids (CDK), a term of Sunday morning art classes for children and parents to create together. Our Gallery is a safe space for self-expression to build confidence and foster social connections, to help support more children and families through stressful or anxious times. Sessions focus on children’s wellbeing by exploring nature, colour and feeling through looking at the natural world and artworks from both the current exhibition and the gallery’s collection.

CDK is brought to the Cultural Centre with the support of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute. It is an arts engagement program to support children with anxiety and those impacted by natural disasters. The development of this program has been funded by the Jibb Foundation and is a collaborative partnership between the Art Gallery of NSW and the Black Dog Institute.

FREE

Applications via the Cultural Centre website. Apologies to previous participants but, as this program has associated research outcomes, this class if for new participants only.

Gallery Café

The Gallery Café aims to operate with sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, providing a garden to table dining experience. The menu reflects these intentions through showcasing local and Indigenous produce as well as ingredients sourced from the Cultural Centre’s roof top garden.

Sweet Potato hummus w/ whipped feta & mountain pepper

Ingredients:

1 x medium size sweet potato, roasted

1 x garlic clove

2 x tablespoons Bush Tomato spice (sourced from The Bush Tucker Shop)

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

1 x tablespoon tahini

Olive oil to taste

Whipped Feta:

1 x cup plain Greek yoghurt

1/3 x cup smooth/Danish feta

1 x teaspoon Mountain Pepper spice (sourced from The Bush Tucker Shop) Ground Black Pepper to taste

Method:

Hommus:

1. Roast sweet potato at 180°C until completely cooked.

2. Drain and rinse chickpeas.

3. Combine sweet potato, chickpeas, garlic clove, tahini and Bush Tomato Spice and blend until smooth.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Whipped Feta:

1. Combine the feta and yoghurt, mix together until smooth.

2. Add Mountain Pepper spice and ground black pepper to taste.

Serve on toasted baguette or as a dip.

Gallery Shop

Offering a unique retail experience, the Gallery Shop stocks a wide variety of quality gifts, books and homewares, with a focus on Australian-made products, particularly those designed and made in the Blue Mountains.

InSight Members receive a 10% discount on items in the Shop and invitations to exclusive member sales throughout the year.

Dreamweaver Jewellery

Cathy Atkinson

The creation of Dreamweaver Jewellery and silversmithing, has become Cathy’s north star. After years of providing vegan and vegetarian food to the Blue Mountains, Cathy now works with silver and semi-precious gems to express her artistry. Each piece is individual and different, hand crafted and exquisite. Using stones such as tourmalines in pinks, blues and greens as well as stunning ametrines and rock crystals, Cathy is able to excite the senses and evoke joy through vibrant colour and beautiful, wearable jewellery such as rings, earrings, pendants and bangles.

Gift Vouchers available

We now have gift vouchers available for purchase from the Gallery Shop. Vouchers can be purchased in the amounts of $30, $50 and $100. These vouchers are a wonderful gift for those who like to shop locally or appreciate the unique range that can be found in a Gallery Shop. Visit Reception at the Cultural Centre to purchase.

S.Mountain Ceramics

Engaging with clay is a mindful journey, bridging our connection to the land and offering a glimpse into the artist’s mind. In her artmaking practice at S.Mountain Ceramics, Sharron Mountain delves into the vibrant Blue Mountains landscape and the dynamic hues of native fauna. Her mesmerizing use of colour weaves through textures and forms, drawing inspiration from over 30 years as an art educator and ceramics teacher. Sharron’s sculptural pieces capture the serene lines of the landscape, complemented by lively, functional forms for both the heart and home.

Braemar House & Gallery

Braemar House is home to the treasured Braemar Gallery, a Council operated community exhibition space for visual artists.

104 Macquarie Rd, Springwood Closed until mid 2024

Braemar House and Braemar Gallery is closed for heritage restoration building works. The works are anticipated to be completed mid 2024.

Braemar House is both a vibrant part of the Blue Mountains creative and cultural community, and a significant heritage building that forms part of the rich tapestry of Springwood’s history. Built in the late 1880s as a Sydney businessman’s country retreat, Braemar House has served a variety of purposes throughout the years – from guesthouse to doctor’s surgery, to library –before arriving at its current incarnation in 1988 with the opening of Braemar Gallery.

The heritage restoration works Council is undertaking are helping to preserve this history and ensure Braemar can continue to serve the community for years to come.

Council’s heritage restoration works include restoration of the interior cornicework, repair of cracks and minor structural consolidation work. Council is also taking this time to improve security and connectivity.

Photo: silversalt.

Hub Upstairs Gallery

Hub Upstairs Gallery is a display space in Springwood, showcasing our vibrant arts community with regularly changing exhibitions from Blue Mountains visual artists.

Level 1, Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub

Mon – Fri: 9 am – 6 pm

Sat – Sun: 10 am – 4 pm + when Blue Mountains Theatre is open

For further information on exhibitions and opportunities to exhibit, see under Braemar House at www.bluemountainstheatre.com.au

Helen Shields

Snap Crackle POP

4 Apr – 15 May

Snap Crackle POP is an exploration of Geometric Abstraction using bold and reductive form, repetition, seriality and colour. Via their playful colour juxtapositions and balance these works embrace the optimistic.

Frances Feasey Good Night Sun

17 May – 1 Jul

This series of paintings depicts artist Frances Feasey’s love of the local bush sunset. The sunset is historically seen as quintessentially Australian.

HELEN SHIELDS Baby Elephant Walk 2023, matte acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 cm

FRANCES FEASEY Rainbow Sundown 2023, oil on board, 28 x 28 cm

Meet the team

We think it’s important to put a face to a name. Here we introduce you to some of our team who you may see working in and around the Cultural Centre.

Anjum Olmo

Visual artist & arts worker

Anjum recently joined the Cultural Centre team as an Administration Officer.

From bank world to art world

Anjum has over 15 years experience working in corporate banking and in the last 4 years she decided to pursue her passion for the arts and retrained and studied Visual Arts. She has worked in the creative industry in arts administration for Penrith Regional Gallery, Norman Lindsay Gallery and now the Cultural Centre.

Art practice

Anjum is a Blue Mountains-based artist who has drawn from a young age. She has a Diploma in Visual Arts from the Design Centre Nepean, and Diploma in Interior Decorating and Styling from the Design Centre Enmore. Anjum’s expressive and playful approach to her art practice combines mark making, patterning and a gestural use of colour. Mindfulness is the foundation of her practice with each artwork evolving as a visceral embodiment of her connection to the Blue Mountains which provides an unending source of inspiration.

Exhibitions

Anjum has been involved in several group show’s in various galleries throughout Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and she has had 2 solo exhibitions, initially at Braemar Gallery which then gave her the opportunity to exhibit at Penrith Regional Gallery.

New Direction

Apart from her painting practice, Anjum has expanded her interest to working with textile constructions that include fabrics passed down from family members. This embrace of a new medium is an acknowledgment of her inherited cultural background (Indian heritage) and the significant role it has played in her life.

ADMISSION:

Adults: $5.50

Australian concession card holders: $3.20

InSight Members: Free

Children under 16: Free

Your admission ticket allows entry to our permanent exhibition Into the Blue and the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

We thank the dedicated volunteers at Blue Mountains Cultural Centre who provide valuable support to staff and visitors.

OPENING HOURS:

Monday – Friday: 10 am – 5 pm

Saturday + Sunday: 10 am – 4 pm

Closed public holidays

The Gallery Café opens 9.30 am weekdays.

Café closed public holidays

BLUE MOUNTAINS CULTURAL CENTRE:

Level 1, 30 Parke St Katoomba

02 4780 5410

info@bluemountainsculturalcentre.com.au bluemountainsculturalcentre.com.au

InSight Magazine is proudly designed and printed in the Blue Mountains.