Frolic open for arty submissions

BALLARAT Frolic Festival are inviting expressions of interest for regional artists to display work in their upcoming Backspace Gallery show.

With the festival set to take place this year over the June long weekend, the Festival coordinator for art and literature projects Sarah Hart said the 2021 event will be a shorter, tighter but COVID-safe.

“Given that we’re having it in June, we’re going for a bit of a darker, weirder, stranger feel to embrace the cold weather, one of the things Ballarat is known for,” she said.

“We will have the old favourite, the cabaret, which always sells out and we’re thinking about doing quite a significant art piece, an immersive experience that covers a range of different mediums and performances.

“Also, the art show which we’ve done every year since the inception of the festival, but this is the first year we will be in Backspace.”

Having previously held the Frolic art show in a variety of locations around Ballarat including the Miner’s Tavern and the George Hotel, Ms Hart said organisers are excited to make the most of being part of the Backspace program.

“This is the first year we will be in the heart of the arts precinct which is great visibility and a real sign of acceptance and solidarity by the arts community,” she said.

“With the exhibition scheduled to run 13 May to 20 June, it also means we have access to curatorial access and that sense of professionalism, we’re really happy about it.”

Including the art show, Ms Hart said that after 2020, the Frolic Festival is an important opportunity for the LGBTQI+ community to finally celebrate.

“The festival is so important particularly for the queer community who always struggle with issues around isolation,” she said.

“We’ve all lost a sense of community over the past year, we literally haven’t been able to get together.

“Our safe places are less and everyone’s struggling a bit so the chance to actually get together and celebrate what makes us different is going to be a really wonderful thing.”

With applications closing towards the end of April, Ms Hart said regional artists can get in touch with Frolic organisers and they will send through the theme and necessary information.

“We don’t have any restrictions on medium or size or anything like that apart from obvious logistical restrictions of the space itself,” she said.

“There’s no fee to apply and there will be a couple of prizes as well which is quite nice because there are not many exhibitions in Ballarat that do award prizes to emerging artists.”

To apply, contact the Frolic Festival organiser through the Facebook page or at [email protected].