BAF unveils 2026 program

THE launch of the Ballarat Arts Foundation’s 2026 program of events took place last week at the Canberra Hotel.

Members of the organisation, local artists, foundation donors and supporters got a sneak peek at what’s to come throughout the year, including the return of the mentorship initiative.

Attendees were able to network with creatives and discover other projects underway across the city.

The 2026 program includes the next grand round which opens for applications on 1 June, a Victorian Opera concert in August, the AGM and grant award ceremony in October.

BAF chair Paula Nicholson led a conversation with foundation grant round 38 recipients, multi-disciplinary visual artist and author Georgie Stokol and filmmaker Diana Paez.

Stokol is developing an exhibition of sculptures and paintings exploring transformation and change, while Paez is entering the editing suite for a film on Women of the Well’s Mary Top, with an aim to screen it during June’s Refugee Week.

Applications for the five-month-long, Rotary Club of Ballarat-sponsored mentoring program are open from 1 to 30 April, with the first workshop in June, and the final session in November.

A previous participant, Stokol was mentored by poet Megan J Riedl.

She said the experience gave her the confidence to cut unessential things from her process under the pressure of time constraints and to focus on her priorities.

Visit ballaratartsfoundation.org.au for more information.