Aldona Kmieć (b. Poland) is a photographer and visual artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. She migrated to Australia in 2009, setting up a studio in Ballarat. Working across photography and installation, her art practice merges aspects of conceptual, staged and documentary photography.
Recent projects include Veil (2024), which explores memory and time through long-exposure photography, movement and colour; ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ installation of pavement street art in Greensborough (2024), commissioned exhibition Winterbloom at RACV Goldfields and Ballarat Foto Biennale festival, State Library Victoria documentary photography commissions (2021-2022), and earlier projects In the Process of Healing (2017) site-specific installation, We R You – participatory paste up project in Ballarat (2013-2015), and Under the Floorboards visual art residency (2012-13).
Aldona has received project funding from City of Melbourne (2025), Ballarat and Banyule City Councils, East Gippsland Shire and Uniting Care. In 2024 she undertook a 3-month residency and mentorship at Gasworks Arts Park.
Winner and finalist of several photographic awards including Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize (2024), Contemporary Landscapes in Photography Award (2024), Linden Postcard Show Play Award (2024), Ballarat Arts Foundation’s Eureka Art Prize (2023, 2014, 2013), and multiple finalist of Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women and HeadOn Photography Festival awards.
Aldona’s work has been exhibited in galleries throughout Australia, UK and Poland. Aldona is a volunteer at Heide Museum of Modern Art.
Artist statement
Photography has been a constant thread throughout my life, shaped by the environment of my childhood and the experiences that followed. Growing up in a small village in Poland during the fall of communism, I witnessed a community strong in resilience.
I am drawn to a range of human expressions and the discoveries that emerge through process-driven experimentation. My practice often explores repetitive patterns and layered textures as a way to evoke emotion.
Through my work, I seek to capture the fleeting magic of childhood, the echoes of untold stories, and the memories that shaped my early years. I’m especially interested in the symbolism embedded in mundane objects and the narratives they carry. Whether working with portraits, landscapes, or installations, my work is a reflection of life’s impermanence and the deep connection between memory and place.
I acknowledge the sovereignty of the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and work: Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri and Gunaikurnai people of Victoria.
2025 TAE40122 Cert IV Training and Assessment, RMIT Melbourne
2008 Advanced Diploma in Photography, London Metropolitan University
State Library of Victoria [Oral histories and photographs for the Rural and Regional Commission 2020-2023]
SJOG Art Collection
Ballarat Arts Foundation
M.A.D.E. Museum of Democracy at Eureka [former]
private collections
2024 Trocadero Projects Mentorship Recipient
2024 City of Melbourne Arts Grant 2025
2024 Art in Public Spaces, Banyule City Council
2024 Mass, Drawing Intensive, Loft 275 Gallery, Ivanhoe
2024 Gasworks Arts Park, Melbourne
2024 Mungga Artist Studio, Ivanhoe
2023 Hospitals as a Place, SJOG Art Collection, Perth
2022 State of Change, State Library Victoria
2020 Focus on Country Victoria, State Library Victoria
2018 BOAA Biennale of Australian Art, Ballarat
2017 Paste up Photography Grant, East Gippsland Council
2013 We R You Paste-ups Project Facilitator, City of Ballarat
2012-2013 Under the Floorboards, Uniting Care Ballarat
2011 Photography Grant, Ballarat Arts Foundation
2025 Finalist, Omnia Art Prize
2024 Finalist, OptiKA 2024 Photographic Award
2024 Semi-Finalist, Head On Landscape Award
2024 Finalist, Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize
2024 Finalist, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize
2024 Finalist, Contemporary Landscapes in Photography (CLIP) Award, Perth Centre for Photography
2024 Winner, Linden Postcard Show Play Award
2023 Winner, Public Choice Ballarat Arts Foundation Eureka Prize
2023 Finalist, Head On Landscape Award
2023 Finalist, Nyland Photography Prize
2022 Finalist, Maggie Diaz Photography Prize
2018 Finalist, Cambridge Studio Gallery Portrait Prize
2018 Finalist, Art Lovers Australia Prize
2018 Finalist, Contemporary Art Awards
2017 Finalist, Maggie Diaz Photography Prize
2017 Winner 3rd Prize Airbnb Fear of Flying story
2016 Finalist, Eureka Art Prize Ballarat Arts Foundation
2015 Finalist, Maggie Diaz Photography Prize
2014 Winner, Eureka Art Prize Ballarat Arts Foundation
2014 Finalist, Bowness Photography Prize
2014 Finalist, Head On Portrait Award
2013 Winner, CCP Leica Salon Most Humorous Image
2013 Winner, Eureka Art Prize Ballarat Arts Foundation
2012 Honourable Mention Fine Art 7th Black & White Awards
2012 Finalist, ‘My migration. Moja Emigracja’ book
2011 Finalist, AOP Open Photography Awards London
2008 Graduate Award Winner, Advanced Dip in Photog, AOP Gallery, London
2025 Hills Hoist Melbourne City Library 12 Nov – 7 Dec 2025 *upcoming
2024 Invisible Lives, Glass Cube Gallery, Frankston Arts Centre VIC 15 Oct – 16 Dec 2024
2024 Veil, Tacit Art, Abbotsford VIC 31 July – 18 Aug 2024
2024 Winterbloom, Loft 275 Gallery Ivanhoe Jan – Feb 2024
2023 Winterbloom, Ballarat Foto Biennale, RACV Goldfields Gallery 26 Aug – 22 Oct 2023
2017 In the Process of Healing, Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale, Ballarat Convent 19 Aug – 17 Sept
2015 Dreamscapes, Ballarat International Foto Biennale 22 Aug- 20 Sept
2013 Lost but Found, Ballarat International Foto Biennale 17 Aug – 15 Sept
2011 Lost in Translation, Ballarat International Foto Biennale 20 Aug – 18 Sept
2025/2026
2025 PolArt festival, Adelaide SA Dec – Jan 2025-26*
2024
2024/25 Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art
2024 Inner West Art Fair, The Substation, Newport 22–24 Nov
2024 Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artist Society 9–16 Oct
2024 Biennale Of Colour and Light, West End Art Space 5 Oct-2 Nov
2024 Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize, East Gippsland Art Gallery 13-19 Oct
2024 Finalists MCPP Prize Muswellbrook Art Gallery 15 Aug-12 Oct
2024 Veil, Tacit Art, Abbotsford 31 July – 18 Aug
2024 Head On finalists, Pingyao International Photography Festival 19-23 Sept
2024 Banyule Artists, Loft 275 Gallery, Ivanhoe 5 – 22 Sept
2024 Art of Nature, Cube Gallery Frankston Art Centre 15 Aug – 13 Sept
2024 Equine shrine, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell 12 July – 27 Oct
2024 CLIP Award finalists, Perth Centre for Photography
2024 Fifty Squared Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery
2024 Mass, Drawing Intensive, LOFT 275 Gallery Ivanhoe
2023
2023 Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery
2023 EGAG Wrap Prize, East Gippsland Art Gallery, Bairnsdale
2023 Eureka Art Award, Fairbanks Gallery, Ballarat
2023 Head On Portrait Award finalists, Bondi Pavilion Sydney
2023 Hospitals as a Place, St John of God Health Care HQ Perth
2023 PAF Contemporary Drawing Biennale, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
2023 Echoes of a Gaze, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2023 Winterbloom, commissioned by RACV for Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2023 The Real Thing, commissioned for Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2022
2022 CCP Summer Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2022 Head On Photography Festival ‘Add On’ Bondi Pavilion Sydney
2022 Borders, Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
2022 Maggie Diaz Photography Prize Finalists , Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
2022 State of Change: Regional & rural stories of 2020 touring exhibition (Colac, Bright, Geelong)
2022 Banyule Art Salon, Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, Melbourne
2021
2021 Faces, Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artist Society Melbourne
2021 Regional bushfires and COVID recovery, State Library Victoria, Melbourne
2021 STAGES: life in lockdown, Monash Gallery of Art
2021 CCP Salon, Centre of Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2020 Mass Isolation Australia, Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2020 Vibes, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
2020 Members Group Exhibition, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2019 Colours of World Cultures, Backspace Ballarat Art Gallery
2019 Beyond 50%, Backspace Gallery, Ballarat
2018 Pol-Art Festival, QCA Galleries South Bank, Brisbane
2018 BAF Eureka Art Award Finalists, Post Office Gallery, Ballarat
2018 Mixed Blessings, SHAC Mercure Hotel & Convention Centre, Ballarat
2018 Open studio ArtWalk, SHAC Soldiers Hill Artist Collective, Ballarat
2018 Portrait Prize, Cambridge Studio Gallery, Collingwood
2017
2017 Our Place, Soldiers Hill Artist Collective Backspace Ballarat Art Gallery
2017 Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women, Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
2017 BAF Eureka Art Award Finalists, Ballarat Art Gallery
2016
2016 BAF Eureka Art Award Finalists, Post Office Gallery, Ballarat
2016 Impressions Polish Arts Foundation, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
2016 Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 THIS IS ME: Examination of the art of self image, The Lost Ones Gallery, Ballarat
2015
2015 Pol-Art Festival, Steps Gallery, Carlton
2015 Maggie Diaz Photography Prize finalists, Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
2014
2014 Eureka Art Prize Finalists , Post Office Gallery, Ballarat
2014 Bowness Photography Prize Finalists, Monash Gallery of Art
2014 Head On Portrait Finalists, Paddington Reservoir Gallery, Sydney
2013 Under the Floorboards, Art Gallery Ballarat
2012 Pol-Art Festival, Perth
2011 Transient, Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale, Craig’s Royal Hotel Ballarat
2011 Lost in Translation: collaboration with painter Casey Tosh, Portico Ballarat
2011 AOP Open Awards Finalists, Truman Brewery Bricklane London
2025- Member, Polish Art Foundation, VIC
2024- Volunteer, Heide Museum of Modern Art
2024 Guest Speaker: PSC Photography Studies College, Melbourne
2024 Member, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
2024 Member, Australian Photographic Society
2024 Member, Soldiers Hill Artist Collective
2018 Gippsland Community Leadership Program (1 year scholarship)
2015-16
2015 Artist Talk: Renata Dąbrowska, Paweł Roman i Aldona Kmieć o portrecie, Galeria Odwach Czestochowa, Poland
2014 Ballarat Community Leadership Program (1 year scholarship)
2013 “On moving from communism to democracy” Women Guest Speaker series M.A.D.E Museum of Democracy at Eureka 15.05.2013
2014-2016 Culture Diversity Advisor, Ballarat City Council
2012-2014 Intercultural Ambassador Ballarat City Council
2012-2015 Board Member, Ballarat Arts Alive
2010-2015 Festival Production Team, Ballarat Foto Biennale festival
2025 Australian Photographic Society Magazine, April edition
2024 SBS Radio Interview Veil exhibition (in Polish)
2024 Australian Photographic Society Magazine Free Expressions Magazine, No. 88 Aug 2024
2024 Australian Photographic Society Magazine, July edition
2024 Australian Photography Magazine MCPP 2024 finalists
2024 SBS Radio Interview Winterbloom (in Polish)
2023 Polish Art Foundation Contemporary Drawing Biennale catalogue
2023 The Guardian Australia from-mullets-to-muhammad-ali-in-pictures
2023 Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale festival program
2023 Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale The Real Thing exhibition catalogue
2022 Polish Art Foundation Borders exhibition catalogue
2021 Mass Isolation Australia book photographs
2021 Polish Art Foundation Faces exhibition catalogue
2020 Polish Art Foundation Vibes exhibition catalogue
2020 Artist Profile by Anthea Dorsett
2019 SBS Polish Radio Interview An interesting story behind the photo
2017 SBS Radio Interview Photographic Inspirations (In Polish)
2017 SBS Radio Interview In the Process of Healing (In Polish)
2017 Artist Interview In the Process of Healing Diprose, Kirsten ABC Radio Ballarat
2017 Capture Magazine Ballarat International Foto Biennale – a visual sampler
2016 Ballarat’s top artistic talent goes on show Wilson, Amber The Ballarat Courier
2016 Artist Interview “A developing vision” Cluff, Caleb The Ballarat Courier
2015 Radio Interview 26 June 2015, Fiat FM, Czestochowa Poland
2015 Artist Feature The Design Files
2015 TV Artist Feature “Tara meets an inspirational Ballarat artist”, BH&G TV
2015 Photos take audience to the land of dreams Dellaram Vreeland, The Ballarat Courier
2015 PolArt Visual Arts Program catalogue
2014 Finalists Bowness Photography Prize artist catalogue
2014 We R You Book, ISBN Hardcover: 9781366715890 Published: Jun 24, 2014
2013 “Lost But Found: Do you recognise this woman” Sweet, Emily The Ballarat Courier
2013 Under the Floorboards exhibition catalogue
2013 “We R You: public art project celebrates the faces of Ballarat” Partland, Lily ABC Radio Ballarat
2013 “A red carpet is rolled out for some, while others tread under the floorboards, away from the lights and the sun” Brine, Dominic ABC Radio Ballarat
2012 Artist Interview “Everyone’s journey is different”, Brine, Dominic ABC Radio Ballarat
2012 Moja emigracja [My Migration]. Buccan, Queensland: Favoryta ISBN 978-0-9871769-4-3
