Artists announced for new opportunities at Blue Mountains Cultural Centre

The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre is excited to announce the two selected artists from recent Expressions of Interests to design a new artwork for the entry staircase and a design to be produced on merchandise in the Gallery Shop. 

Maria Harding and Nastia Gladushchenko, both emerging Blue Mountains-based artists, have been selected from two very competitive rounds of submissions.

Maria Harding is the selected staircase artist and will create a new painting from her series of contemporary and whimsical birds in motion that will be installed in panels onto the stairs. The EOI called for female artists to submit a proposal to enliven and enhance the urban streetscape surrounding the Cultural Centre. Harding’s new design will feature a local favourite, the female bowerbird. 

“I love living in the Blue Mountains, the natural beauty of the landscape gives me inspiration, and my home studio is my sanctuary as well as work place. I’m excited and honoured to be given this opportunity to create the Cultural Centre's staircase artwork,” Harding said.

Nastia Gladushchenko’s Shop EOI submissions is an existing design that she recently installed in the popular Katoomba Street Art Walk. Gladushchenko’s designs are modern botanical murals and often feature iconic Blue Mountains flora. 

“As a mural artist, the nature of my work is impermanent and site-specific so the fact that one of my outdoor mural works will become a small piece for people to keep in their homes is a very special thing,” Gladushchenko said.

"This collaboration with the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre is the perfect way to mark one year since I painted my mural of the same design along the Katoomba Street Art Walk and I hope people's days are brightened by the joyful, botanical design of these tea towels and postcards."

These opportunities are two of the many currently being offered to Blue Mountains artists in an effort to support our dynamic arts community in the current economic climate. 

Blue Mountains City Council Manager, Arts and Cultural Services, Paul Brinkman said “Supporting our local artists, particularly in these challenging times, is something the Cultural Centre is dedicated to and I hope the Mountains community supports these important initiatives.” 

“Maria and Nastia are two highly skilled local artists that we are excited to engage in these projects. Maria’s large scale artwork at the Cultural Centre’s entrance will entice visitors from Katoomba Street, while the reproduction of Nastia’s work on various products in the Cultural Centre Shop will provide visitors with a lasting memory of the creative talent to be found in the Blue Mountains, he said.”