Blue Mountains News

Gianna Hayes, Ebony Wightman and Linda Swinfield will each develop a body of work that will be exhibited alongside significant national touring and inhouse curated exhibitions throughout the 2025 calendar year.

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said, “Through this ongoing program we have the privilege of supporting three local artists to extend their practice by working with our experienced exhibition, marketing and public programming teams.

“Congratulations to the successful candidates. We are proud to support them on their artistic journeys and look forward to experiencing their creative endeavours as each develops their unique practice.”

Artistic Program Leader Rilka Oakley said the three female artists were selected from a highly competitive round of applications from over 40 artists.  The three exhibitions selected highlight the breadth of practice and creative talent in the Blue Mountains and Western Sydney arts community.

“I am delighted to be able to extend this opportunity to Gianna, Ebony and Linda to further their artistic careers and we look forward to seeing their proposals unfold in the Gallery.”

Gianna Hayes is a multidisciplinary artist whose hand-dyed works incorporate plants that are connected to her lineage and overall plant healing journey.

She said of her selection, "I am deeply honoured and grateful for being selected to the Altitude program. This program provides access for me to expand on my concepts, experiment with new materials and engage with the community on ecology, diasporic connections, and ancestral remembrance.”

Ebony Wightman is a designer, illustrator and artist. Ebony’s work reflects on her experience of complex mental and physical health challenges in addition to her lived experience as an Autistic person. Through her work, Ebony advocates for the intersectional rights and identities of autistic and neurodiverse communities and people with disability at large.

Ebony explains the concept for her upcoming exhibition: “The vision for my exhibition 'Comfort' is to redefine arts involvement for individuals like myself with disabilities who have felt disconnected from the wider arts community. Grounded in authentic community-engaged conversation and process-driven art making, this exhibition will serve as an experimental interrogation of cultural safety, intersectionality, and the privilege of 'Comfort'.”

Linda Swinfield is a contemporary artist and printmaker living in Medlow Bath. She has said of being selected. “I am "over the moon" to be given this exhibition opportunity. The Altitude project is a gift that will assist me to extend, and rework pre-existing groups of my work that have never been exhibited. I hope that visitors to my exhibition will think about their own family histories, and our collective social histories, and perhaps consider the layers of history within our landscape.”

The Altitude Exhibition Program is open to artists, curators, artist groups and arts collectives residing in the Blue Mountains City Council Local Government Area and the Greater Western Sydney Region. Applications for the 2026 program will open November 2024.