Ballarat International Foto Biennale facts for kids

The Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB) is a special festival that celebrates photography. It happens every two years in Ballarat, a city in Victoria, Australia. This festival lasts for 60 days. It shows amazing photos from artists from Australia and all over the world. It also helps new photographers share their work.

How the Festival Started

The idea for this photography festival began in 2005. It was first held in Daylesford. Jeff Moorfoot OAM was the first person to lead it. In 2009, the festival moved to Ballarat. It has been held there ever since.

Fiona Sweet became the Artistic Director and CEO in 2016. She used to work in design. She also helped with other arts festivals.

In 2018, Fiona Sweet had a big idea. She wanted to create a special place for photography in Ballarat. She found money to make this happen. Now, she also leads the National Centre for Photography. This is Australia's newest gallery. It is the only one outside a big city that focuses only on photography.

Challenges During COVID-19

In 2021, the festival faced some challenges. Its opening was delayed because of a COVID-19 lockdown in regional Victoria. It was supposed to open on August 28 and run until October.

After the lockdown ended on September 10, the festival was set to open on September 15. However, Ballarat then went into another local lockdown. This happened because there were new COVID cases in the town. These lockdowns caused the festival to open later than planned.

What the Festival Offers

The Ballarat International Foto Biennale has two main parts. One is the Core Program. This part shows photos from about 20 top Australian and international photographic artists. Their work is displayed in eight historic buildings around Ballarat.

The other part is the Fringe Program. This is open to many artists. Over 200 artists show their work all over the city. You can find their photos in more than 80 places. These include cafes, galleries, and public spaces.

The festival also has an Events Program. This program lets everyone get involved. It offers workshops where you can learn about photography. There are also talks by artists and special classes. You can see photo shows and get advice on your own photos. There are even photography competitions and prizes.

In 2021, the festival also featured a special show. It was a collection of photos by the famous artist Linda McCartney.

Festival's Positive Impact

The festival brings many visitors to Ballarat. In 2017, when Fiona Sweet was new, over 26,800 people came. This brought about $3.89 million into the local economy. The main artist that year was the American photographer David LaChapelle.

In 2019, even more people visited. Over 37,000 visitors came to the festival. This added about $7.8 million to the city's economy. The main artist that year was Liu Bolin from China. He is known for his "Camouflage" series. In these photos, he blends into different backgrounds.