25 years of Arts Foundation to be celebrated

JOIN Paula Nicholson and alumni of the Ballarat Arts Foundation at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute on Wednesday 26 November to celebrate 25 years of BAF.

In conversation with Dr Phil Roberts, the Twilight Talk will examine the foundation’s beginnings, its impact on the Ballarat community, and the stories of alumni.

“Our stories are really about the people who have received a grant, what they’ve done with it, where it’s taken them, why the support was important,” Ms Nicholson said.

“People will find out a bit about the projects we have supported and there’s some really interesting ones.”

The Ballarat Arts Foundation is entirely community funded and has more than 500 alumni who have lived, worked or studied locally.

Ms Nicholson said she believes the organisation has seen success due to the support of the community and how funds are distributed.

“There are a lot of passionate arts supporters in Ballarat, and I feel like Ballarat has always been fond of the arts,” she said.

“But it’s also the model as there’s no middle man.

“We receive donations from our donors and philanthropists, and we have a bunch of named awards so people can specifically donate to a genre or an area, but we contribute funds directly to the artists.”

The Foundation supports artists of any genre and Ms Nicholson said it provides them with validation of work and connections.

“They know they really want a career in art but are often at that starting point… so it’s important to get a leg up financially but I think the big thing that comes through is the validation,” she said.

“They also get the value of the network; the network is about 500 alumni.”

The Twilight Talk will run from 5.30pm until 6.30pm. To purchase a ticket, visit the BMI website.