09/06/2026
What an incredible night celebrating our local arts community! 🎨✨
On Friday the 5th of June, I had the absolute honour of attending the Bent Art Inc. awards, proudly representing Community Bank Katoomba - Upper Blue Mountains as a Platinum Sponsor.
The annual bentART exhibition brings together LGBTQIA+ artists from across Australia in a curated exhibition held in the Blue Mountains each June long weekend.
It was a truly fantastic evening filled with wonderful energy, and the sheer talent on display from our local artists was absolutely breathtaking. It is always so inspiring to see the creativity that thrives right here in the Mountains.
A personal highlight for me was having the privilege of taking the stage to present the award for the Overall Winner.
A huge congratulations to all the artists who exhibited, and a special shoutout to this year’s amazing award recipients:
🏆 Overall Winner: Jack Oliver Owen — Kane | Oil and carborundum monotype on paper
🥈 Overall Runner-Up: Imogen Kelly — WoManticor | Bastardised ceramic
🌟 Youth Winner: Conny Knight — I Want to See Flowers | Digital media
✨ Youth Runner-Up: Ash Huxham — Stinkhorn | Lino print
🎖️ Highly Commended: Brett Goodrich — Vessel 002 | Stoneware ceramic
🎖️ Highly Commended: Maree Azzopardi — The Crossing XI | Charcoal, ink, found objects on cotton rag paper
🎭 Curator's Award: Mark (REDHERRING) Wilson — Self Portrait | Sculpture — earthenware ceramics
Thank you to the Bent Art Inc. team for a spectacular event!
