Olivia Hiester is a painter and printmaker living and working in her hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Her work functions as a visual diary and tactile playground, a place for remembering, understanding, and imagining the events of her daily life. Her practice lies somewhere between writing poetry and going to the gym, serving as both simple physical ritual and a way to make meaning. 

She graduated with a BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she was a recipient of the James J. and Frances M. Maguire Artistic Excellence Scholarship and the Raymond and Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship. She holds a Barnes-De Mazia Certificate from the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA. In 2024, she received a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. Olivia’s work has been exhibited in Philadelphia, New York, and Berlin. 


EDUCATION

  • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Painting, BFA, 2025

  • Barnes Foundation, Barnes-de Mazia Certificate, 2024

  • Mount Gretna School of Art, Summer Intensive Program, 2022-24

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • Now and Again, Francis Cook Gallery at Saint Kate Arts, Milwaukee, WI, 2025

  • Visitor, Oxford Arts Alliance, Oxford, PA, 2023 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • Under 30 Under Pressure, juror: Carrie Patterson, The Painting Center, New York, NY, 2026

  • 215/610 CONTEMPORARY, juror: Jane Irish, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA, 2026

  • The Drawing Show, Procession Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2025

  • Euphony, THERE Projects, New York, NY, 2025

  • Summer Juried Exhibition, juror: Bill Scott, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY, 2025

  • Signs of Life, Francis Cook Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2025

  • Summer Juried Exhibition, juror: Stuart Shils, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY, 2025

  • 124th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2025

RESIDENCIES

  • The Artist House at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, MD, 2026 

  • The Lois and Charles X. Carlson Landscape Painting Residency, Nottingham, PA, 2023

GRANTS AND AWARDS

  • The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, 2024 

  • The Raymond and Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship (PAFA), 2024

  • The James J. and Frances M. Maguire Artistic Excellence Scholarship (PAFA), 2021-2025

  • The Faculty Award (PAFA), 2025 

  • The Fine Arts Venture Fund (PAFA), 2022, 2023, 2025

TEXT

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Curation & Writing 

  • Writer, catalog essay for Liam Murphy Torres: A Dirty Arcadia, Francis Cook Gallery, Berlin, DE, 2025

  • Guest Curator:  At the Beginning of Seeing, Oxford Arts Alliance, Oxford, PA, 2024

Teaching & Service 

  • Alumni Representative, Board of Directors,  Mount Gretna School of Art, 2025-present 

  • After School Teaching Fellow, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2023-24

Technical 

  • Conservation Assistant, Gillman Conservation, Philadelphia, PA, 2026-present