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Available to see in person until 26 May or in our immersive online gallery.

A collection of works by 18 Blue Mountains artists, Out of the Blue is all about hope and resilience. Brought together by the Blue Mountains Creative Arts Network (BMCAN), the exhibition showcases the artists' deep attachment to the Blue Mountains local community and its inspiring landscape.

Featuring paintings and photography, the exhibition reveals the beauty of the wildness tempered by fears for its fragility, particularly after the devastating bushfires. Local 'characters' provide an antidote to the dilemmas of the pandemic and consumerism. The artists' hope to draw the viewers into the intrinsic balm of nature thereby releasing them into a quieter, gentler place – so truly out of the blue.

 The vibrant works were selected by BMCAN to appear at Parliament House by a panel of judges including Dr David Cubby (Western Sydney University), Paul Brinkman (BM Cultural Centre) and Kath Von Witt (Hawkesbury Cultural Centre). Further exploration of the artists' motivation, inspirations and current practice is revealed in the booklet In Their Own Words, available in the Fountain Court exhibition space.

 The exhibition is being hosted at NSW Parliament House by Trish Doyle, Member for Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains Creative Arts Network (BMCAN) is a not-for-profit organisation of volunteers dedicated to supporting local creatives across many fields – visual artists, photographers, sculptors, jewellers, musicians, writers and performance artists.

BMCAN offers a range of activities and exhibition spaces to assist the Blue Mountains arts community in expanding their connections with a wide audience, such as through the Out of the Blue exhibition.

In person: Visit the Fountain Court exhibition space at NSW Parliament (6 Macquarie Street, Sydney) on weekdays, 9am-5pm, between Tuesday 3 and Thursday 26 May 2022. Entry is via the gatehouse to the left of the building, and the Fountain Court is just beyond the main reception desks. As part of COVID safety measures, visitors will be required to have their temperature checked and must not enter if experiencing any symptoms of illness, however mild.

Online: If you can't make it in person, view these magnificent works in our virtual exhibition space.

Learn about our exhibition spaces and how to apply to have your works displayed on our information page here.