Born 1977 Poland
Arrived United Kingdom 2004, Australia 2009
Lives and works in Melbourne
2025 self-represented
2024 Tacit Art, Abbotsford
2025 Certificate IV Training and Assessment TAE40122, RMIT Melbourne
2021 Mastering Digital Project Management, DPM School, online
2018 GCLP Gippsland Community Leadership Program (scholarship)
2014 LBWR Ballarat Community Leadership Program (scholarship)
2010 Certificate IV Small Business Management, Ballarat
2008 Advanced Diploma in Photography, London Metropolitan University
State Library of Victoria (Oral histories and photographs for the Rural and Regional Commission 2020-2023)
St John of God Hospitals VIC, WA
Ballarat Arts Foundation
Former Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.)
Ruah Centre for Women and Children, Perth WA
private collections worldwide
2024/25 Trocadero Projects Mentorship Recipient (mentors Gian Manik, Manisha Anjali)
2024 City of Melbourne Arts Grant 2025
2024 Neighbourhood Watch project, Art in Public Spaces, Banyule City Council
2023 Hospitals as a Place, SJOG Art Collection, Perth
2022 State of Change, State Library Victoria
2020 Focus on Country Victoria, State Library Victoria
2017 Photography Grant, East Gippsland Council
2015 The Campaign for Disability Rights, Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka
2011 Photography Grant, Ballarat Arts Foundation
2025- present, Artist Studio, Montsalvat Arts Centre, Eltham
2025 Hills Hoist Artist residency, Poland
2024 Gasworks Arts Park, Melbourne
2024 Mass, Drawing Intensive, Loft 275 Gallery, Ivanhoe
2024 Mungga Artist Studio, Ivanhoe
2018 BOAA Biennale of Australian Art, Ballarat
2017 BRMC Ballarat Welcome Centre, formerly Ballarat Convent
2013 We R You Paste-ups Project Facilitator, City of Ballarat
2012/13 Under the Floorboards, Uniting Care Ballarat
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), 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 Intl, 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 Winner, Graduate Show Award, AOP Gallery, London
2025 Hills Hoist, City Library Gallery Melbourne, VIC 12 Nov – 7 Dec
2025 Veil, Brimbank Gallery Sunshine, VIC 5 Sept – 28 Nov
2025 Veil, RACV Inverloch, VIC 26 July-29 Nov
2024 Invisible Lives, Glass Cube Gallery, Frankston Arts Centre VIC 15 Oct – 16 Dec
2024 Veil, Tacit Art, Abbotsford VIC 31 July – 18 Aug
2024 Winterbloom, Loft 275 Gallery Ivanhoe Jan – Feb
2023 Winterbloom, Ballarat Foto Biennale, RACV Goldfields Gallery 26 Aug – 22 Oct
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
2026
Cut & Composed, West End Art Space *upcoming
MIFGS Royal Exhibition Building
r.a.g.e. – random acts of gentle expression, Trocadero Projects, Footscray
Summer Haze, Satellite Projects, T3 Collingwood
PolArt festival, Adelaide SA
2025
Speculative Futures, Polish Art Foundation, Cato Gallery VAS
Omnia Art Prize finalist St Kevin’s College Toorak VIC
Assembly, Jacky Winter Gallery
2024
Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery
Inner West Art Fair, The Substation, Newport 22–24 Nov
Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artist Society 9–16 Oct
Biennale Of Colour and Light, West End Art Space 5 Oct-2 Nov
Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize, East Gippsland Art Gallery 13-19 Oct
Finalists MCPP Prize, Muswellbrook Art Gallery 15 Aug-12 Oct
Veil, Tacit Art, Abbotsford 31 July – 18 Aug
Banyule Artists, Loft 275 Gallery, Ivanhoe 5 – 22 Sept
Art of Nature, Cube Gallery Frankston Art Centre 15 Aug – 13 Sept
Equine shrine, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell 12 July – 27 Oct
CLIP Award finalists, Perth Centre for Photography
Fifty Squared Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery
Mass, Drawing Intensive, LOFT 275 Gallery Ivanhoe
2023
Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery
EGAG Wrap Prize, East Gippsland Art Gallery, Bairnsdale
Eureka Art Award, Fairbanks Gallery, Ballarat
Head On Portrait Award finalists, Bondi Pavilion Sydney
Hospitals as a Place, St John of God Health Care HQ Perth
PAF Contemporary Drawing Biennale, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
Echoes of a Gaze, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Winterbloom, RACV for Ballarat International Foto Biennale
The Real Thing, Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2022
CCP Summer Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
Head On Photography Festival, Bondi Pavilion Sydney
Borders, Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
Maggie Diaz Photography Prize, Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
State of Change: Regional & rural stories of 2020 touring exhibition VIC
Banyule Art Salon, Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, Melbourne
2021
Faces, Polish Art Foundation, Victorian Artist Society Melbourne
Regional bushfires and COVID recovery, State Library Victoria, Melbourne
STAGES: life in lockdown, Museum of Australian Photography, Melbourne
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
Our Place, Soldiers Hill Artist Collective Backspace Ballarat Art Gallery
Maggie Diaz Photography Prize, Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
BAF Eureka Art Award Finalists, Ballarat Art Gallery
2016
BAF Eureka Art Award Finalists, Post Office Gallery, Ballarat
Impressions Polish Arts Foundation, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art Gallery, Melbourne
THIS IS ME: Examination of the art of self image, The Lost Ones Gallery, Ballarat
2015
Pol-Art Festival, Steps Gallery, Carlton
Maggie Diaz Photography Prize, Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda
2014
Eureka Art Prize Finalists , Post Office Gallery, Ballarat
Bowness Photography Prize Finalists, Monash Gallery of Art
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
Member of NAVA, Polish Art Foundation, Soldiers Hill Artist Collective (SHAC)
Volunteer at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2024-25 Guest Speaker PSC Photography Studies College, Melbourne
2015-16
2015 Artist Talk: Renata Dąbrowska, Paweł Roman i Aldona Kmieć o portrecie, Galeria Odwach Czestochowa, Poland
2013 “On moving from communism to democracy” Women Guest Speaker series at the opening of M.A.D.E Museum of Democracy at Eureka
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
Watts, Richard, SmartArts program, Triple R 102.7FM, 26-03-2026
Car, Sean, cbdnews.com.au/hills-hoist-a-meditation-on-memory-migration-and-the-quiet-poetry-of-daily-life, 26-11-2025
Gee, Jessamy, Artist Interview Uncommon Sense, Triple R 102.7FM, 18-11-2025
Banasiak, Dorota, Artist Interview Wystawa ‘Hills Hoist’ w Melbourne, SBS Radio Polish, 14-11-2025
Messinis, Stavros, m-artlens.com/how-a-backyard-icon-became-a-story-of-migration, M-Artlens, 12-11-2025
Jaskólska, Magda, Exhibition Hills Hoist by Aldona Kmieć, Tygodnik Polski / Polish Weekly 09-11-2025
Porter, Sam, Migration explored through photography, Star Weekly, 17-10-2025
Messinis, Stavros, Migration, Memory & Making Art, M-Artlens, 03-07-2025
Brownbill Sally, Tarbuck Harriett, S02 E04 – Aldona Kmieć, When Harri Met Sally – A Photography Podcast, 20-05-2025
Rope, Brian, April edition, Australian Photographic Society Magazine, 04-04-2024
Buchowiecki, Dariusz, Artist Interview Wystawa ‘Veil’ Aldony Kmieć, SBS Radio Polish, 31-07-2024
McMillan, Greg, Free Expressions No. 88, Australian Photographic Society Magazine, 01-08-2024
Rope, Brian, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize News, Australian Photographic Society Magazine, 01-07-2024
Finalists of 2024 Mullins Contemporary Photography Prize announced, Australian Photography Magazine 05-07- 2024
Buchowiecki, Dariusz, Artist Interview Winterbloom: Aldona Kmieć, SBS Radio Polish, 01-02-2024
Contemporary Drawing Biennale 2023 catalogue, Polish Art Foundation, 16-10-2023
Ballarat International Foto Biennale: from mullets to Muhammad Ali – in pictures, The Guardian Australia, 26-08-2023
Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale festival program, 2023
Ballarat Intl Foto Biennale The Real Thing exhibition catalogue, 2023
Polish Art Foundation Borders exhibition catalogue, 2022
Mass Isolation Australia book Ballarat International Foto Biennale, 20-12-2020
Faces exhibition catalogue, Polish Art Foundation 2021
Vibes exhibition catalogue, Polish Art Foundation 2020
Dorsett, Anthea, Inside the mind of Aldona Kmieć, Artist Profile, 2020
SBS Polish Radio Artist Interview An interesting story behind the photo, 2019
SBS Radio Artist Interview Photographic Inspirations, 2017
SBS Radio Artist Interview In the Process of Healing, 2017
Diprose, Kirsten, Artist Interview In the Process of Healing, ABC Radio Ballarat, 2017
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 Radio, Czestochowa, Poland, 26-06-2015
Feagins, Lucy, Artist Feature, The Design Files, 01-04-2015
BH&G Artist Feature, Tara meets an inspirational Ballarat artist, Better Homes and Gardens, 29-09-2015
Vreeland, Dellaram, Photos take audience to the land of dreams, The Ballarat Courier, 26-08-2015
PolArt Visual Arts Program catalogue, 2015
Finalists Bowness Photography Prize artist catalogue, Monash Gallery of Art, 2014
We R You Book, ISBN Hardcover: 9781366715890, Blurb, Published 24-06-2014
Sweet, Emily, Lost But Found: Do you recognise this woman, The Ballarat Courier, August 27 -08-2013
Under the Floorboards exhibition catalogue, Uniting Care Ballarat, 2013
Partland, Lily, We R You: public art project celebrates the faces of Ballarat, ABC Radio Ballarat, 26-06-2013
Brine, Dominic, A red carpet is rolled out for some, while others tread under the floorboards, away from the lights and the sun, ABC Radio Ballarat, 2013
Brine, Dominic, Artist Interview Everyone’s journey is different, ABC Radio Ballarat, 2012
Moja emigracja [My Migration] book. Buccan, Queensland: Favoryta ISBN 978-0-9871769-4-3, 2012