Biography
Agata Mayes is a Polish-born visual artist and educator living in Melbourne, Australia, since 2012. Her interest in psychology and philosophy, combined with education in both photography and computer technologies, forms the foundation of her current art practice.
Agata's natural affinity for video and installation, coupled with her courage to explore themes and ideas that are both personal and universal, enables her to create strong and thought-provoking work.
In 2022, Agata received the South Side Festival Artistic Commission for an experimental projection installation and was awarded 'Victorian Emerging Photographer of the Year' by the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) in 2018. She continues her growth through further experimentation with lens-based media, projection mapping, extended realities, light installations and working with recycled technology.
Agata works and exhibits with several art and music organisations, including The Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Tempo Rubato Concert Hall and the Polish Art Foundation. She is also a lecturer at the Photography Studies College in Melbourne.
Curriculum Vitae
BORN
1979 Tychy, Poland; lived Verona Italy, London UK 2003-2010, arrived Australia 2011, lives and works in Melbourne, Australia
EDUCATION
2016-2019 Advanced Diploma in Photography, Art Major, Photography Studies College, Melbourne
1999-2003 Bachelor and Master of Informatics, University of Economics, Katowice, Poland
EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2023 Architecture of Inner Space, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Melbourne (solo exhibition)
2022 Architecture of Inner Space, Frankston Art Centre, Melbourne, Artistic Commission for the South Side Festival
2021 Faces of the Polish Community, Polish Art Foundation, Melbourne
2021 Change, Frankston Art Centre, Frankston
2021 Fifty Squared Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2021 The Essence, Frankston Art Centre, Melbourne (solo exhibition)
2021 Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2020 Vibes, Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne
2020 Art Red Hill, Art Fair, Red Hill
2019 Fresh 19, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Woman in Art, Frankston Art Centre, Frankston
2019 Effloresce, The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne
2019 Art Red Hill, Art Fair, Red Hill
2019 International Women’s Day Exhibition, Melbourne Camera Club, Melbourne
2018 Reverie, The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne
2018 AIPP Awards Showcase exhibition, PSC Pop-up Gallery, Melbourne
2017 De/pict, Media House Gallery, Melbourne
2017 Elements, The Queen Victoria Womens Centre, Melbourne
2015 Salon Exhibition, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
COLLABORATIONS, JOINED PROJECTS (selected)
2020 Ania Massetti Piano + (with Ania Massetti, Heather Lander, Brandon Lee Koto, Ellen Mentiplay, Pedro Fuentes), Tempo Rubato, Melbourne
2018 Silence the Origin of Sound (with Ania Massetti), short film, Melbourne
AWARDS
2018 AIPP Victorian Emerging Photographer of the Year, Melbourne
2015 The Best Commercial Work Award, Salon Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
GRANTS
2002-2003 The European Union Leonardo Da Vinci Programme, Verona, Italy
VOLUNTEERING
2020 - 2022 ACMI, Melbourne - Guide Tour, Visitors Experience Team, Education Programmes
2020 - present Polish Art Foundation, Melbourne, Contemporary Media
PUBLICATIONS (selected)
The Essence by Agata Mayes, Capture Magazine, January 2021
A Fresh Outlook (image), Art.BASE, November 2019
A Fresh Outlook: Fresh 19 Exhibition (image), November 2019
Photography Studies College graduate exhibition (image), Photo review, November 2019
Fresh 19 Print Auction (image), Capture Magazine, September 2019
PSC photography students' work to go under the hammer (image, text), Australian Photography, 9 September 2019
Emma Doherty,Conceptual photographer wins coveted award (interview), Southbank News, 8 May 2018
PSC student named 2018 AIPP VIC Emerging Photographer of the Year, (image, text) Capture Magazine, 16 April 2018
The Learning Curve (image), Australian Photography, August 2018
Talent - Emerging photographers strut their stuff, Capture Magazine (interview), Jul-Aug 2017
MEDIA
Architektura naszej przestrzeni wewnętrznej, SBS Radio, 2023 (Polish language)
The visual and musical art installation "Architecture of Inner Space" by Polish artist Agata Mayes, SBS Radio, 2022, (Polish language)