Foto shutter finally fully open

A SOMEWHAT delayed Ballarat International Foto Biennale full program officially opened to regional audiences yesterday and is set for an extended run until January next year.

As part of the city-wide festival, there are photographic exhibitions at 100 venues, from the Art Gallery of Ballarat, to cafes, restaurants and bars, laneways and beyond, with 170 global creatives are showcased.

BIFB artistic director Fiona Sweet said 25 of the exhibitions are Australian premieres, including Linda McCartney: Retrospective with photos of the late artist’s family life and the music world, curated by Stella, Mary and Paul McCartney.

“In the last year there have been many moments when the past and future seem to collapse and the immediacy of the here and now dominates,” Ms Sweet said.

“We long for a return to the known and imagine what may come next. Of their time, the photographic artists of the nineth Biennale work with the ferociousness of existence, marking the singular moments and ideas that punctuate and transcend time.

“I’m really excited by this year’s program, and I can’t wait for people to explore it.”

In memory and celebration of the late Michael Gudinski, Number One|Gudinski is presented at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute in partnership with Mushroom Group, showcasing snapshots of musicians; bands and solo artists.

The Martin Kantor Portrait Prize includes photographs of significant Australians, and The Fineman New Photography Award spotlights impressive emerging Asia-Pacific creatives.

We will all eventually return to earth looks at culture, colonisation, ownership and authorship, featuring 11 international photographers, while Dibalik presents the perspectives of four female-identifying Indonesians.

Alix Marie’s Styx, the late Steven Arnold’s Notes from a Queer Mystic, Chow and Lin’s The Poverty Line, the collaborative In Translation and Raining Embers and Erik Kessels’ 24HRS in Photos are also part of the program.

Visit ballaratfoto.org for venue information, tickets, passes, and virtual galleries.