Last chance to visit Foto Biennale

TOMORROW, Saturday 18 October, marks the start of the last weekend of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

There is still plenty to see at the festival that brings international photographers and digital creators together to celebrate the visual image.

This year’s event was themed around lifeforce, which is a spark that leads people to connect and create.

“The festival has been going really wonderfully, it’s lovely to see people’s pouring off the trains with their yellow bags,” Vanessa Gerrans, BIFB artistic director said.

“This is the last weekend for people to come and see exhibitions that will never be seen in Australia again.”

On Saturday 18 October, Adelaide-based creative photographer Jane Marr will lead a stroll through Ballarat’s hidden streets, encouraging mindfulness and gratitude.

A world first musical performance about classic silent cinematic movie The Passion of Joan of Arc will occur on Sunday 19 March to close out the festival.

The film will be accompanied with music by French composer Erik Satie which has been adapted by Federation University Arts Academy director Professor Richard Chew.

The works of French photojournalist and war photographer Catherine Leroy are on display in the Ballarat Town Hall, showcasing the emotion and humanity present during times of conflict.

Leroy began photographing the conflict in Vietnam at 21-years-old and was the first and only accredited female and civilian journalist.

She was wounded in action, captured by the People’s Army of Vietnam and later documented the Fall of Saigon.

She went on to photograph conflicts in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Libya and became the first woman to receive the Robert Capa Gold Medal for her coverage of the Civil War in Lebanon.

“People are spending a lot of time in here and it’s an exhibition that is about her experience in the Vietnam War,” Ms Gerrans said.

“This exhibition can be deeply moving but is also a story of bravery, courage and care.”

At the Ballarat Mining Exchange, visit the Australian exclusive showcase of work by photographer Campbell Addy.

I ❤ Campbell is Addy’s first solo exhibition which premiered in London in 2023 and combines photography, painting, and film.

The festival concludes on Sunday 19 October. For the full program visit ballaratfoto.org.