Ballarat International Foto Biennale in Ballarat, Victoria | Festival

Ballarat International Foto Biennale

Locality: Ballarat, Victoria

Address: 12 Lydiard Street North 3350 Ballarat, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.ballaratfoto.org

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23.01.2022 As NAIDOC week continues for its final day, we’re celebrating First Nations artists and reflecting on two of the Biennale’s major exhibitions that showcased contemporary Indigenous photography. For the 2017 exhibition ‘Tell’, the Pitcha Makin Fellas created a series of new works that expanded their practice into the realm of photography. Using acrylic paint to overlay their stamp patterning over photographic imagery, the group created a new series inspired by the environment ...and their collective cultural histories. The Pitcha MAKIN Fellas are a group of artists and writers based in Ballarat who are passionate about their community and culture. The group came together to find a way to co-operatively express a strong and necessary presence for themselves, their community and their history in a place and time where Aboriginal people are still kept away from the centre of things. Pitcha Makin Fellas includes Myles Walsh, Peter-Shane Rotumah, Adrian Rigney, Ted Laxton and Thomas Marks. Image: Pitcha Makin Fellas, ‘Fella Looking’, 2017’

23.01.2022 Our good friends at Arts Project Australia have partnered with Leonard Joel - Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers (supporters of our 2017 Biennale) for their auction 'Virtual Gala'. With only 24 hours to go and 130 Virtual Gala artworks still waiting for an opening bid, now is the time to find a new artwork to add to your collection and support local artists! Bid via the link: https://auctions.leonardjoel.com.au/cust/searchresults.asp... Image: Eden Menta, 'Emerald Bug' 2018 digital print on Ilford Smooth Pearl. This work is now open for bidding, Eden Menta's work featured in our 2019 Biennale. 100% sales are paid to artists.

18.01.2022 Great feature on ArtsHub today about our National Centre For Photography! "The National Centre For Photography will now allow us to support artists and our community year-round." - Fiona Sweet, BIFB Artistic Director

17.01.2022 We are extremely excited to see Jesse Marlow's new book Second City now open for pre-order, well done Jesse! Jesse has been tirelessly working on our #massisolation education program. Click here to find out more and grab a copy: http://www.jessemarlow.com/books

15.01.2022 Image: Zanele Muholi, Bona, Charlottesville, 2015. Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist; Stevenson, Cape Town / Johannesburg; and Yancey Richardson, New York. Image from Zanele Muholi’s major new exhibition at Tate Modern titled Aftermath (2004). Zanele Muholi featured in our 2017 Biennale.

15.01.2022 Images: Singapore International Photography Festival OPEN CALL 2020 WINNING PORTFOLIO 'A Convenient Sunset l A Convenient Holdup' by Miti Ruangkrtiya (Thailand) Find out more: https://sipf.sg/a-convenient-sunset/... There are approximately 10,268 7-Eleven stores in Thailand with an average of 11.8 million daily visitors (2019). 7-Eleven stores operate 24 hours per day and have become a common sight within the urban landscape. Miti Ruangkritya The juxtaposition of the tranquil, properly composed photographs of the stores at twilight with the messy, newspaper-y images of those stores in their helplessness forms the conceptual backbone of Ruangkritya’s new show titled A CONVENIENT SUNSET | A CONVENIENT HOLDUP. At once precise and dreamy, placid and absurd, inviting and eerie, it teases our expectations, provokes interpretation, and above all hints at the inevitability of chaos even in the environment as controlled and manufactured as those brightly-lit stores frequented by almost every Thai every day. The sketchy, short-lived online images intended for fast news in the HOLDUP part of A CONVENIENT SUNSET | A CONVENIENT HOLDUP highlight that haunting quality in Ruangkritya’s work. In these pictures, we witness the lurking force symbolized by small-time crooks and lo-tech thieves, their faces hidden under masks or hoods: They are the invisible people squeezed dry by the economic hierarchy, pervasive inequality and corporate dominance, and thus Miti’s photographs of Thailand’s favorite convenience store chain suggest all the unspoken inconveniences concealed beneath the bright neon glare. Part of a press release written by Kong Rithdee for A Convenient Sunset | A Convenient Holdup exhibition in 2019 at Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Thailand.

15.01.2022 Honey Long and Prue Stent's latest exhibition 'Touching Pool' is currently showing at ARC ONE Gallery, untill the 5th of December. Prue Stent and Honey Long exhibited in our 2017 Biennale. Find out more: https://arcone.com.au/honey-long-prue-stent-touching-pool... According to Art Almanac: "Using a pared-down visual language of colour, texture, and form, ‘Touching Pool’ captures performative encounters between bodies and the natural environment. Scenes of the natural environment in Australia and Vanuatu are beguilingly interrupted with otherworldly, but recognisable forms, such as feet, nipples and a woman’s torso in the performative and photographic work of the collaborative duo. Often in ‘Touching Pool’, writes Kathleen Linn ‘screens or coverings abstract the body as a sculptural form, foregrounding the shape and acting to dissipate the sexualised projections frequently made onto naked female bodies.’" Image: HONEY LONG & PRUE STENT 'Hydro' Archival pigment print, edition of 5 108 x 72 cm

12.01.2022 In celebration of NAIDOC week, we reflected on two of the Biennale’s major exhibitions showcasing First Nations artists and the photographic practice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’, is an important assertion of Indigenous connection to country and a reminder to recognise that Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. We celebrate the First Nations’ 65,000+ year history and culture, having highlighted works from the 2017 and 2019 respective exhibitions ‘Tell’ curated by Jessica Clark and ‘Who are these strangers and where are they going?’ with Badtjala artist Dr Fiona Foley. We pay our respects to all First Nations peoples, and their elders past, present and emerging. Image: Fiona Foley, ‘The Oyster Fisherman 1’, 2011

11.01.2022 We are thrilled to see Donna Crebbin shortlisted in the Australian Photography Awards - APA again this year. Donna's work featured in our Open Program. Image: Donna Crebbin 'The Voice' "He calls to his Mob, always on alert to keep them safe. The Wild Brumby Stallion is not alone in his call, there are many advocating for the heritage status of these wild horses of Australia"... To see more work in this years awards visit: https://www.australianphotographyawards.com.au/

10.01.2022 Through the exploration of my history, culture and identity, I take an introspective look at the complexity of Indigeneity and place, in aim of creating a pacifying space a place to breathe, but not forget. Hayley Millar-Baker Hayley Millar-Baker is a Gunditjmara artist raised on Wathaurong land in Victoria. Her practice is influenced and informed by her Koorie heritage and her own experience, existing in a contemporary urban culture. Her connection to culture is inher...ent to her contemporary practice that explores themes of displacement, alienation, suppression, and social confinement. Hayley Millar-Baker, and this work ‘Even if the race is fated to disappear 1 (Peeneeyt Meerreeng/Before, Now, Tomorrow)’, 2017, featured in our 2017 exhibition ‘Tell’ curated by Jessica Clark. This exhibition featured artists using new photographic techniques and technologies to create a contemporary narrative of the experience of life as an Indigenous person, incorporating personal stories with history, politics, community and culture.

10.01.2022 GradFoto 2020 Exhibition NOW ONLINE - We're featuring all twenty finalists of the GradFoto 2020 award, showcasing a new graduate artist each day. Finalist Yasar Tulek from Monash University Art Design & Architecture, with their project 'Spirit Principals'. Yasar Tulek says, "This project aims to represent the principal spirit of the subject and its search in the setting of the house. Being confined at home started the idea of this project... this setting allowed me to use lon...g exposure and lights to create an eerie profile of me roaming the house. Through this I aim to highlight how a metaphysical depiction, that is based off my movements, occupies the different spaces of my house." One finalist will be awarded the People's Choice Award, as voted by the public. You can submit your vote via the online exhibition! https://ballaratfoto.org/gradfoto-2020-exhibition/ Image: Yasar Tulek, Spirit Principals, 2020

09.01.2022 Final call for GradFoto 2020! There's less than a week to enter our inaugural GradFoto 2020 award, celebrating the artistic excellence of up and coming graduates. Hurry, applications close this Sunday, 22 November. If you're a graduating artist from the following institutions you're eligible to apply. Open to tertiary students from Deakin University; Federation University Australia; LCI Melbourne; Monash University; National Art School; Photography Studies College; RMIT Uni...versity; Swinburne University of Technology; University of New South Wales; University of Tasmania; University of Wollongong; Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Find out more and apply: https://ballaratfoto.org/gradfoto-award/

08.01.2022 Incredible news! We're absolutely thrilled to announce the $6.7 million investment by the Andrews Labor Government for our National Centre For Photography. BIFB would like to sincerely thank Dan Andrews, Juliana Addison MP, Michaela Settle MP, Martin Pakula, Jaclyn Symes for recognising the National Centre For Photography and supporting the arts in regional Victoria. This funding is a meaningful contribution to the arts and the future of Ballarat as a major cultural city. Th...e National Centre For Photography will be a world class centre for the art of photography and photo media, with extensive opportunities for artists at a local and national level. The NCFP will feature state-of-the-art gallery spaces for major temporary exhibitions, opportunities for community artists to exhibit, and a dedicated photobook library. This project is estimated to generate $75.7 million in economic benefit across the next 15 years, bringing more than 54,000 visitors over two years. Ballarat Council Visit Ballarat Visit Victoria Corporate Committee for Ballarat Ballarat Arts Alive Admin Commerce Ballarat Ballarat Arts Foundation

08.01.2022 Exhibiting acclaimed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander photographers, our 2017 exhibition ‘Tell’ featured new commissions and contemporary works curated by Jessica Clark, a proud Palawa woman based in Naarm (Melbourne). One of the leading artists featured in this exhibition is Kaytej man Warwick Thornton. Warwick Thornton’s artistic practice negotiates traces of colonial history and the continued presence in contemporary landscapes of Indigenous Australians. This work by ...Thornton, ‘Untitled 1’, 2013, is part of a series in which the artist depicts himself as a policeman, a priest and a cowboy. The looming authoritarian figures have been superimposed over a blood red transcendental landscape. The highly stylised and carefully constructed images tell stories that reveal the powerful spirituality of Aboriginal culture emphasising First nations peoples inextricable link between Country, identity and culture and positioning this representation in comparison to colonial figures of authority. By placing himself in the position of a costumed authority, Thornton cinematically deconstructs colonial notions of power, referencing at once the present and the past to share introspective stories that speak to a wider social narrative surrounding the politics of representation.

07.01.2022 Through my artworks, I am reconstructing the shapes and structures of the built environment to reflect the shapes of and designs on the belongings of the First People of Australia. The new shapes of the built environment, and the shapes that colonialism brought with it, are being re-imagined and reconstructed to reflect the long history of Indigenous people in this country and to reaffirm identity and connectivity. Kent Morris @kent_morris_artist Featured in the 2017 exh...ibition ‘Tell’, Kent Morris is a Barkindji man, photographer and curator currently living and working in Naarm (Melbourne). Morris’s photographic work exposes and questions the colonial mindset that permeates Australian culture and society. He uses motif, reflection and symbolism in his photographic work as visual recognition of the vitality of Indigeneity regardless of colonial imposition. Image: Kent Morris, ‘Boonwurrung (Windsor) Crow’, 2017, from Cultural Reflections Up Above #3 series

07.01.2022 In celebration of NAIDOC week, we’re reflecting on past exhibitions featuring acclaimed Indigenous artists. We’re proud to showcase First Nations artists and the photographic practice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ is an important assertion of Indigenous connection to country and a reminder to recognise that Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. Destiny Deacon is a descendant of the KuKu (far north Queensland) and Erub/Mer (Torres Strait) people. She featured in our 2017 exhibition ‘Tell’, curated by Palawa woman Jessica Clark, including this work ‘Daisy and Heather Discuss Race’, 2016. Talking about race can be an endless topic. Our gals are just getting started! Destiny Deacon

06.01.2022 Wonderful news to see Nicole Reed's Image 'SMILE. A pandemic self portrait' the winner of this years Australian Photography Awards - APA Portrait category, well done Nicole! Nicole's work featured heavily in our #massisolationAUS project that has created a visual record of the COVID-19 crisis on Instagram. See more of Nicole Reed's work at:... https://nicolereed.photography/ According to APA: "This image by Nicole is an original, unique and artful reflection of 2020. As a self-portrait, this photograph is elevated even further. We feel Nicole’s image is a testament to how many of us have had to find new ways to make art. Nicole has reflected inward to produce something truly special, something universal, something raw. For us, this photograph perfectly balances traditional portraiture with a contemporary approach, serious issues with humour. We feel that Nicole’s image is a great example of the powerful, original storytelling that can exist in a single frame. This year more than ever we have been searching for original imagery that really tells a story. Judging panel for this one Lee Grant, Ilsa Wynne-Hoelscher Kidd, Sally Brownbill and Mags King." View more at: https://www.australianphotographyawards.com.au/galleries/

06.01.2022 Featuring works from Dr Fiona Foley’s 30-year career, the 2019 exhibition ‘Who are these strangers and where are they going?’ was curated by leading Indigenous writer, artist and activist, Djon Mundine OAM. Dr Fiona Foley works across the mediums of photography, printmaking, sculpture, film and installation. In part her art is informed by her Badtjala heritage, history and country, which is Thoorgine or K’gari (Fraser Island), the world’s largest sand island, and the adjacent Queensland mainland. References to Aboriginal and settler history are revealed in her work, where aesthetics, culture, the personal and the political are interwoven. Image: Dr Fiona Foley, ‘HHH #1’, 2004

01.01.2022 Three more days until submissions close! Final call for students to enter our first ever GradFoto 2020 award. Applications close this Sunday, 22 November 11.59pm AEDT. Enter here: https://ballaratfoto.org/gradfoto-award/ If you’re a graduating artist whose practice includes photography, don’t miss out on a chance to be in the running to win a cash prize and exhibit in the Ballarat International Foto Biennale GradFoto 2020 online exhibition. Entry is free for all graduates fro...m 12 major institutions across Australia. All applicants will have their submissions reviewed by a panel of leading Australian artists, curators and directors. Judges will award one cash prize of AUD $500 to the overall winner, with another prize of AUD $200 for the People’s Choice Award. We can’t wait to see more of the amazing work by up and coming graduates! Enter via our website: https://ballaratfoto.org/gradfoto-award/ Ballarat Arts Alive FedUni Arts Academy RMIT University Deakin University - Arts and Education Deakin University Monash University Art Design & Architecture Monash University National Art School Photography Studies College (Melbourne) UOW: University of Wollongong, Australia Victorian College of the Arts Art Guide Australia Visit Ballarat Ballarat Council Commerce Ballarat Gertrude Contemporary State Library Victoria Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory