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.
Eric Holowacz Manager, Arts & Cultural Services
I arrived in the Blue Mountains from the Northern Territory in February, and could not have imagined how creative, engaging, and provocative this year would turn out to be. My life since has been full of wonderful creative people, collaborations, ideas, and cultural activities—live music, dance works, film screenings, never-ending creative workshops, artist residencies, and so much more. Add to that all of the projects, ideas, and initiatives still in development—and we really have an extraordinary creative place.
As an astute reader of InSight, you already know about the amazing work of our Arts and Culture teams, the artists we support, the creative development activities we host, markets, festivals, and ongoing exhibitions. Like me, I hope you feel lucky to live in a community that supports, cultivates, and advances that magical (sometimes mysterious) thing we call culture. And before this year ends, there are still a few great experiences yet to be had.
Join us over summer to experience the magic of Cunning Revived, an exhibition featuring nine female artists exploring ritual and ceremony as acts of empowerment. Cunning Revived will have a joint exhibition opening on Friday 29 November alongside Venessa Possum: Gulumun—with live performance pieces from artists from both exhibitions.
The Cultural Centre welcomes back curator, artist and activist Djon Mundine OAM for an In Conversation with DharugMuringong artist Venessa Possum on Saturday 25 January.
For me, this year has been about fascinating creative opportunities, artists making new work, people reflecting our place and environment, and provocations that only the arts can bring about. There is a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke that ends with these words—which also sum up my first year working with all of you here in the Blue Mountains:
“In between us the garland hangs by chance; but if you pin it up, higher and higher, and take a good look: Everything becomes a festival!”
From the desk of
Rilka Oakley, Artistic Program Leader
We are thrilled to announce the latest addition into the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Fine Art Collection, Liam Benson’s Ophelia.
The video work critiques the expectations and perceived gendered emotions associated with profound love. Benson channels his own experience of profound love, acting out his emotions through the act of submerging himself in a pool of water surrounded by flowers whilst singing Elton John’s Your Song.
Benson elaborates, “Ophelia represents a meaningful and significant time in my life, when I met and fell in love with my partner, who was living in the Blue Mountains at the time. The Blue Mountains, lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, is considered a powerful place that holds the memory of the people who share a connection to the region. For me it was a site of new love and relationship that would become a critical part of my life. Without my partner Steven’s support, I would not be an artist today. A small but earnest part of our relationship, which is connected to the Blue Mountains, is represented through this sitespecific performance created at the Jellybean Pools in 2006. It’s a story of queer love connected to Western Sydney. I am honoured to have Ophelia in the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Collection.”
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.
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)
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.
SIXTY: The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962–2022 12 Oct – 24 Nov
SIXTY:TheJournalofAustralianCeramics60thAnniversary1962–2022is a special Australian Design Centre On Tour exhibition project presented in partnership with The Australian Ceramics Association to acknowledge this significant anniversary.
The Journal of Australian Ceramics (JAC) has, over its sixty years of print publication, presented the history of ceramics in Australia. It has acknowledged the achievements of so many in that time, as well as educating readers on the importance and position of ceramics within Australian art. The JAC has been at the forefront of addressing significant issues of the time and, in turn, is a dynamic source of contemporary history.
Over the sixty-year history of The JAC what has unified the thousands of artists is their sense of community, as well as the generosity in passing on skills and knowledge to their fellow artists and for the next generation of makers. It is because of the many that have been involved over the years that The JAC has been such a success.
We find ourselves at a fundamental time in contemporary ceramics. The significant interest in ceramic art is recognition of the accomplishments of Australia’s ceramic artists and potters and The JAC and its contributors have played a key role in this revival.
The exhibiting artists are:
Glenn Barkley | Alison Milyika Carroll | Kirsten Coelho | Greg Daly | Pippin Drysdale | Dan Elborne Penny Evans | Honor Freeman | Susan Frost | Shannon Garson | Patsy Hely | Jeffery Mincham Damon Moon | David Ray | Ben Richardson | Tania Rollond | Owen Rye | Jane Sawyer | Yul Scarf Vipoo Srivilasa | Kenji Uranishi | Gerry Wedd
This celebratory exhibition was guest curated by Anna Grigson and ADC’s Lisa Cahill with design by Studio Garbett and video by Jane Curtis.
19 Oct – 24 Nov
Every year the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Fine Art Collection grows through donations and purchases. Our most recent acquisitions include works by: Vicky Browne, Bette Mifsud, Peachey & Mosig, Michael Shirley, Anne Smith, and Leanne Tobin.
A Blue Mountains City Art Gallery exhibition.
Blue Mountains City Art Gallery
Cunning Revived 30 Nov 2024 – 9 Feb 2025
Cunning Revived observes nine artists engaging in ritual and ceremony as an act of empowerment. Everyday rites are woven through personal and creative practices to initiate a stronger connection to bodily autonomy, with the potential to provoke collective change. These artists employ the magic of ritual process with intention, as a conduit for progress. The exhibition signals a necessary revision of historical depictions of Cunning Folk, their unique practices, and the tools they’ve used to heal our communities through the ages. A contemporary vision of the importance of these unique processes is crucial in order to forge a path of intersectional, magical resistance.
Featuring: Daisy Beattie, Tamara Elkins, Yvette Hamilton, Gianna Hayes, Emily Hunt, Adriana Māhanga Lear, Hayley Millar Baker, Katy B Plummer and Justine Youssef.
A Blue Mountains City Art Gallery exhibition curated by Hayley Zena Poynton.
Cunning Revived and Venessa Possum: Gulumun Opening
Event
Friday 29 Nov 6 – 8 pm
Celebrate the opening of two thought-provoking exhibitions, featuring a smoking ceremony by Venessa Possum and artists’ performances in the Gallery.
We look forward to welcoming you into the gallery, and collectively marking the end of 2024.
Cunning Revived Panel Discussion
Saturday 30 Nov 11 am – 12 pm
Join us in the Gallery with select Cunning Revived artists for a dynamic panel discussion. Led by Curator Hayley Zena Poynton, this conversation will delve into key concepts of the exhibition including magical resistance, the importance of ceremonial acts, and bodily autonomy.
Participating artists: Daisy Beattie, Tamara Elkins, Yvette Hamilton, Gianna Hayes, Adriana Māhanga Lear, Katy B Plummer and Justine Youssef.
$5.50 / $3.20 Concession FREE InSight Members Tickets via Eventbrite.
Venessa Possum: Gulumun
30 Nov 2024 – 9 Feb 2025
I am a Dharug-Muringong artist living in the Blue Mountains and pay my respects to Ngurra and my ancestors, in turn honouring paths of connectedness with neighbouring footsteps and voices.
In recent years, I have embarked on a profound path of personal learning and growth, digging deeply to uncover embedded ways of being and doing a gulumun practice from long ago. A gulumun, also known as a coolamon, is not just a significant cultural artefact but a vessel of Indigenous traditions. Crafted from various materials and techniques, it serves to carry and preserve valuable items.
A highly significant role for a gulumun is in preparing for a birth, symbolising the potential to hold and nurture a new life. It also plays a crucial part in sacred Indigenous smoking ceremonies, where it is used when it’s not possible to place fire directly on Ngurra (Country). The gulumun, therefore, is a powerful symbol of reverence for ancestral presence and ecologies, including land, water, and cosmos, and inherent respect for ‘all of life’ sustenance and sustainability.
My exhibition highlights the potential for carrying an open and experiential gulumun. Symbolic presences include footsteps and voices of Ngurra – Earth and Sky Country guiding my muru, a path of ways towards embodied cycles of inspiration, intuition, creativity, and serendipity. My gulumun practice is enriched by an embodiment of relational material cultures informing diverse and layered expressions. Imprints of Ngurra are experienced as a threshold ‘in the making’ and ‘informing’ an accumulation of values, being mindful of the potential for suspended thoughts within an emerging gulumun archive.
Venessa Possum In Conversation
Saturday 25 Jan 11 am – 12 pm
Come along to hear exhibiting artist Venessa Possum in conversation with curator, artist, writer and activist Djon Mundine OAM.
$5.50 / $3.20 Concession FREE InSight Members Tickets via Eventbrite.
Blue Mountains City Art Gallery
Blue Mountains Portraits 2025
15 Feb – 13 Apr
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 thirty 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.
Blue Mountains Portraits 2025 Opening Event
Friday 14 Feb 6 – 8 pm
You are warmly invited to attend this opening event as we celebrate this much-loved community exhibition. Come along and mingle with some of the exhibiting artists and subjects.
Free event, all welcome.
Ben Pearse’s Studio Portraits
Friday 14 Feb, 5 – 8 pm
Saturday 15 Feb, 10 am – 12 pm & 1 – 4 pm
To celebrate Blue Mountains Portraits 2025 we are inviting our community to become the subject in this exciting community portrait project. Photographer Ben Pearse will set up a free portrait studio in our Seminar Room over two days and the photos taken will be on display at the Cultural Centre. Photos will be free of charge with digital copies available.
Blue Mountains City Art Gallery
forage: symbiotic (trans)formations
15 Feb – 13 Apr
In a period of concerning climate change, forage: symbiotic (trans)formations explores, interprets, transforms and preserves nature’s ephemera and our relationships to it; inviting visitors to pursue deepened connections with their surroundings, environmental awareness and the veneration of our human-enviro symbiosis.
The exhibition brings together eight east coast, metro and regional female artists for whom foraging natural materials is at the core of their artistic practices. The artists introduce fresh and original methods to conventional artistic mediums such as printmaking, painting, weaving, fibre art, textiles, film, ceramics, sculptural installation and digital AI. They achieve this by integrating natural debris, saps, pigments, and the surrounding atmosphere.
Exhibiting Artists: Alyson Bell, Katherine Boland, Heather Burness, Katie Harris-MacLeod, Catriona Pollard, Rhonda Pryor, Jo Victoria and the late Liz Williamson.
Curated by Nicole Wallace
Curator Talk
Saturday 15 Feb 11 am – 12 pm
Join Nicole Wallace and some of the exhibiting artists to discuss the exhibition forage: symbiotic (trans)formations.
$5.50 / $3.20 Concession FREE InSight Members Tickets via Eventbrite.
Forage Opening Night Friday 14 Feb 6 – 8 pm
Free event, all welcome.
Foraged Assemblages for the Curious Saturday 15 Mar 10:30 am – 1 pm
A small sculpture workshop, where you will explore interplay between natural objects – like rocks as old as time – and one of the earliest products of human labour: fibre and textile. This workshop is for creatives who enjoy working with fibre and those wishing to explore more fibre-based art.
$65 / $55 InSight Members
Early bird price: $60 / $50 InSight Members, for bookings before Sunday 26 January Tickets via Eventbrite
Curator Hayley Zena Poynton interviews artist Tamara Elkins about the themes found in her artwork for the exhibition Cunning Revived and explores the inclusion of ceremony and ritual in the everyday.
Hayley Zena Poynton: Your work often follows themes of matrilineal strength and resilience, in particular your mother and grandmother. How have their lived experiences shaped your beliefs?
Tamara Elkins: Both my mother and grandmother are (and were) very resilient people and original thinkers. They both gave to me, from a very young age, a sense of safety and security while also allowing me to be very independent. There are so many experiences that shaped both of their lives. They both came from the country, then moved to a small city and eventually travelled further abroad (something my grandmother never thought possible in her lifetime). They both endured multiple deaths in the family, sexism and classism. They also both shared with me a strong sense of what’s fair, allowing the people around them to be who and what they are without judgement, the only caveat being that everyone is safe and healthy; and this has influenced me and my beliefs at a core level.
HZP: The video works in CunningRevivedreference gestures and habits as spells. What brought you to this concept?
TE: I was thinking about how spells or magic are frequently an action paired with intention, how physical gesture is an action that has intention both conscious and unconscious. We pick up gestures from our family, often imitating them without even realising. Ways of using our hands can be passed on through many generations, becoming habits that we no longer know the origin of. I saw here a parallel with sigil magic. In sigil magic, you create a symbol imbuing it with your intention. The spell and potency of the sigil is really activated when you begin to forget what the intention was. So, in this sense, I’m speculating about whether matrilineal knowledge and histories act as a spell, when we re-create them unconsciously in gesture.
HZP: Familial archives are foundational to your practice. Do you follow a process when trawling through them?
TE: The Family archive is in essence, a living archive. It is made up of the objects, clothing and photographs that live within the house and cupboards of my mother and grandmother. When I was younger and visiting my grandmother’s house, I would obsessively go through her cupboards. I would look through everything, putting it back where I found it. When asked what I was looking for, I would reply that I was just looking. I have been approaching the archive in the same way, entering this state of ritualistic cataloguing through looking and finding, sometimes photographing and then putting it back. The only difference has been this intention of thinking about where all of this information will lead, how is it going into my practice? Since my grandmother passed away last year things have changed. All objects are now coming out of the cupboards permanently, dispersing amongst the family. It is interesting to see how that changes the archive, what’s deemed valuable, part of our family history, and what is not.
HZP: How do you include ritual and ceremony in your everyday?
TE: I have a bad habit of stewing on things for far too long, so to break the cycle I write down what has been bothering me and then I burn the paper to help release it from my thoughts. My partner and I have a cauldron (a.k.a. cast-iron pot) on the balcony for such use. Also, whenever I am about to start a difficult project, I pull a tarot card while asking the deck what I need to know. This has been a great way of checking in where my thoughts are because you can draw the same card on multiple occasions, but it can read differently depending on where your thoughts and feelings are at.
Venessa Possum: Gulumun
Artistic Program Leader Rilka Oakley interviews Dharug-Muringong artist Venessa Possum about her upcoming solo show Gulumun.
Rilka Oakley: Can you tell us about your artistic journey/process and how this has led you to making gulumun.
Venessa Possum: In recent years, I have embarked on a path of personal learning and growth, culminating in my gulumun exhibition, which is an element of my Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Art. My path has enhanced my imaginative skills and allowed me to find my expressive voice. I have walked my homeland paths, listened and made artworks that respond to Ngurra – Country.
RO: What is the significance of the gulumun to you?
VP: A gulumun is a powerful symbol of reverence for ancestral presence and ecologies, including land, water, and cosmos, and inherent respect for ‘all of life’ sustenance and sustainability. A gulumun, also known as a coolamon, is not just a significant cultural artefact but a vessel of Indigenous traditions. Crafted from various materials and techniques, it serves to carry and preserve valuable items. A highly significant role for a gulumun is in preparing for a birth. It also plays a crucial part in sacred Indigenous smoking ceremonies, where it is used when it’s not possible to place fire directly on Ngurra – Country.
RO: What stories are you telling in this exhibition and how are you connected to these stories?
VP: My gulumun exhibition highlights the potential of yanlanganya – walk together on a path of experiential learning. I am sharing my story of carrying an open gulumun on a path which includes igniting the deeply embedded languages of Country, ancestral presences and material cultures. My gulumun path has also collected symbolic cultural ways of being and doing, a path of ways, being mindful of holding space for positive potential. My Mother calls this serendipity.
RO: Who are your main influences/mentors/heroes in art and/or culture?
VP: My gulumun story honours my Muringong ancestors. They are my inspiration alongside numerous influences and mentors. It takes a community to raise a gurung – child. Therefore, I acknowledge all mudyin – family and mentors who have supported and inspired my creative path from long ago. I am also inspired by Sally Gabori’s Seeing with Far Eyes as well as Professor Margo Neale’s teachings about the original Indigenous Archive of Country. Both of these mentors express their deep connectedness and cultural values in relation to homelands.
Christmas Edition
Wollemi Artisan Markets
Saturday 23 Nov 10 am – 2 pm
Stock up on local products made by our creative community. Indulge in delicious treats from food vendors and the Gallery Café, find that special Christmas gift and support our local makers. To celebrate the exhibition SIXTY: The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962–2022 this Christmas Edition of the Wollemi Artisan Markets will have a special focus on local ceramic artisans.
Inspired by Art Drop-in and Make
Tuesday 3 Dec 1.30 – 3.30 pm
In celebration of the International Day of Disability our Inspired by Art class is open to everyone for a special afternoon of artmaking. Drop in anytime from 1.30 – 3.30 pm and join a fun session of creating and conversation.
Inspired by Art is in its 10th year of continuous classes. Open to all and welcoming artmakers of all abilities, this access art program is a class where you can explore your creativity. Our skilled tutor, Clare Delaney, is dedicated to ensuring everyone can express themselves through art.
Mtns Zine Club Monthly Meet-up
Third Sunday of each month
1.30 – 3.30 pm
Join us for a cup of tea, some snipping and gluing, good company, abundant inspiration and some creative fun. Everyone is welcome, there is no need to register in advance. Hosted by Mtns Zine Club members, children 17 years and under need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. We value inclusivity and accessibility, please let us know of any needs or questions you might have.
All materials are provided, plus tea and coffee; bring your own cup. FREE event
During school holidays. Dates coming soon.
Starting in January 2025, ARTbabies are dropin artist-led creative sessions for 0-5-year-olds and their carers. Sessions include activities that foster connection and learning through exploring texture, colour, shape, sound and touch. Adult participation is required to assist with openended activities.
Free drop-in sessions
This project is supported by Create NSW’s Audience Development Fund, a devolved funding program administered by Museums & Galleries of NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
Bat Night 2025
Saturday 15 Mar 6 – 8.30 pm
Join us for Bat Night 2025! Bring the kids for this fun family-friendly event and discover the mysteries of our fascinating bats through talks from bat experts, displays and artmaking. Explore the library for hidden treasures and unleash your creativity in the craft cave. With face painting, delicious snacks from the Gallery Café, and free access to our Gallery, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
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.
Ingredients:
Wattleseed scones
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried wattleseed (sourced from The Bush Tucker Shop)
Lemon and honey ricotta
1 cup ricotta cheese
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1-2 teaspoons honey, depending on desired level of sweetness
1-2 teaspoons fresh mint, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Method:
Wattleseed scones
1. Steep wattle seed in just enough boiling water to cover the seeds for 10 minutes or longer if needed.
2. In a separate bowl, add wattle seed and self raising flour, mix until combined
3. Add softened butter to flour mixture by hand and mix until combined
4. Add milk and stir gently until mixture is combined
5. Flour your work surface and gently kneed until a dough forms Press dough lightly onto floured work surface and use a round biscuit cutter to cut out scones from the dough
6. Place scones on a lined baking tray and bake in oven at 180°C for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
Ricotta
1. Combine ricotta, lemon zest/juice, honey, mint and salt (if using) in a bowl and mix until combined.
Serve scones warm and top with the ricotta mixture.
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.
Based in Katoomba, Aprili Designs hand crafts statement jewellery, overlooking the majestic Blue Mountains. Graduating from The University of Newcastle in 2005 with a B.F.A. (Honors) Aprili’s metalworking sculpture practice has turned its focus to wearable adornments in Sterling Silver or Brass. After studying in India the traditional craft of embossing metal using impression dies, Aprili embraced this technique which is at the core of her work today. Drawing inspiration from her dance background, ethnic adornment, textiles, amulets, talismans and patterns within sacred geometry Aprili creates detail rich, symbolic, wearable artworks where ancient traditions meet the modern world. Worn by people internationally, Aprili’s work intends to adorn and protect the wearer through life’s journey while bringing the exotic into the everyday.
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.
Marina Taylor Pottery is created in the Blue Mountains. Every single piece is handmade and typically features elements of hand painting or hand carving.
Marina draws inspiration from magical memories of playing in nature. Pulling elements of our natural world, imagined scenery and fairytale imagery she decorates all her functional wares to resemble something that would sit comfortably in a hobbit house or witch’s cottage.
Each item is made of mid-fired earthenware clay, with intentionally selected glazes to be functional and beautiful.
Braemar House is home to the treasured Braemar Gallery which presents changing exhibitions from local artists, while the front lawns are home to a Public Sculpture Garden. The community gallery operates thanks to a volunteer team, and new volunteers are always welcome!
104 Macquarie Rd, Springwood. Free admission Thu to Sun 10 am – 4 pm
For exhibition program and volunteer information visit Braemar House: bluemountainstheatre.com.au
The Braemar House Creative Spaces Pilot Program invites Blue Mountains desk-based artists and creatives to apply for a trial co-work space.
Selected participants will receive a space free of charge until the end of the pilot period, and their feedback will help shape a formal program.
Please email the Cultural Development team for more information and to request a tour at: culturaldevelopment@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Nastia Gladuschenko has finished her latest mural artwork at the western ramp, Great Western Highway in Leura. The concept of bringing local flora to this area of town – distinctively lacking in colour – was approved by the Blue Mountains City Council’s City Art Committee earlier this year and Nastia enjoyed a couple of sunny days at the start of October painting onsite.
The result is a striking and colourful artwork that animates the bus shelter’s brutalist style. This selfinitiated project was also a chance for Nastia to experiment with her mural approach, creating a more layered effect that is closer in style to her art on canvas.
Hub Upstairs Gallery is a display space in Springwood, showcasing our vibrant arts community with regularly changing exhibitions.
Level 1, Blue Mountains Theatre + Community Hub, Macquarie Rd, Springwood Mon to Fri: 9 am – 6 pm, Sat & Sun: 10 am – 4 pm, and when Theatre is open
Operation Art
30 Sep to 15 Dec
Operation Art is an annual exhibition celebrating its 29th Anniversary this year. These 50 artworks created by students across NSW will tour the state before finding their home at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where they will help make sick children feel better through the power of art.
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.
Kyle Walmsley
Blue Mountains City Council
Creative Industries Project Officer
What are you most excited about jumping into as you embark on this exciting new position?
Meeting more creatives and businesses across the Mountains and finding out how to best support a sustainable creative economy. Knowing how strong the artistic voices of the creative community are here, I really enjoy the puzzle of working out how to support all ends of the industry, from those emerging and building their creative businesses through to showcasing the well-established creative work beyond our own backyard.
Do you have your own art practice?
My background is as a performer and I’ve spent most of my time working in theatre. I went to clown school for a bit in France which was brilliant and terrifying. I get more energy and joy from supporting other artists at the moment than driving my own practice. Accessibility is a cornerstone of my values around arts engagement. I also enjoy the tricky challenge of audience development, making sure art is valued more broadly and we’re able to clearly articulate that value from warm and fuzzies into numbers and data and economic impact too. Being an artist is such a different path for everyone but I can’t help but continually be obsessed with artists for their curiosity, their ingenuity, their vulnerability, their tenacity.
Why should creatives signs up to be MTNS MADE members?
MTNS MADE, built on the shoulders of everyone who has come before me (and particular shout out to the brilliant Heidi Axelsen who has just finished up in this role) has been grown by the artists themselves over many years and careers in the mountains. I think it’s a network, a promotional tool, a recognised brand and everything to date is only the beginning of what we’ve got planned. Come join the community and stay tuned for some very exciting announcements in the coming months.
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
