Local artists announced for Living Lanes

Five laneways in the Katoomba town centre are set to be transformed by five new contemporary art installations created by local artists for Living Lanes; the new visual arts project dedicated to strengthening the liveability and vibrancy of our towns. 

An Expression of Interest opened at the beginning of 2021 for artists from Greater Western Sydney to submit proposals that considered a range of criteria.

Andrew Belletty, Mark Leacy & Bianca Hayden, Mark Surtees, Heidi Axelsen & Hugo Moline and Georgina Donovan & Freedom Wilson have all been selected to develop contemporary art installations for each laneway. All five artworks respond to and celebrate the theme of ‘sustainability,’ with each work presenting a unique and creative perspective on this theme.

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “The laneways that weave through the main streets of Katoomba's town centre have enormous potential and often lead to some of the City’s best kept secrets. Cafes and restaurants, hotels, small retail businesses and art galleries play a huge role in both the cultural and economic fabric of the city and we are thrilled to be able to showcase these through the Living Lanes project.”

The five installations will revitalise the township and build on the successes of the existing Street Art Walk created in 2017 by Street Art Murals Australia and Blue Mountains City Council. The Blue Mountains is the state's inaugural City of the Arts and the project is committed to expanding on this vision with the aim to attract many new visitors.

Katoomba residents Freedom Wilson & Georgina Donovan are in the midst of developing their work, ‘Mushroom Matrix’ to be installed in Penny Lane. 

“As artists from the community who love what we do, we’re beyond excited to have been selected to produce a unique work that not only celebrates the beautiful natural environment that surrounds us, but that utilises the enormous potential our streets have to offer.”

Install of the artworks will commence in the coming months and the project is expected to be launched late this year, subject to COVID-19 restrictions.

Living Lanes is a community visual arts initiative developed in partnership between Blue Mountains City Council and Toolo, the Blue Mountains Tool Library.