THE Ballarat International Foto Biennale hosted an Online Yellow Dot Fundraiser last week to generate funding for their next festival in August of 2021.<\/p>\n
Hosted via Zoom, 171 contributing artists had photographic work for sale. There was also a live performance from Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier.<\/p>\n
BIFB artistic director, Fiona Sweet was able to discuss each photograph and its creator during the event, which is something that doesn\u2019t normally happen during an exhibition\u2019s opening night.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really enjoyed the explanation of who the artists are and where they\u2019ve exhibited. It was different and we were very happy,\u201d Ms Sweet said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sold 158 affordable works at $180 each, and a lot of the people who were purchasers, many Ballarat people, were able to purchase work from past Biennale artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve built up a community of followers in Ballarat, they\u2019re our core supporters, and that grows constantly, so this was an opportunity to get together, as well as a fundraiser.\u201d<\/p>\n
A not-for-profit, BIFB runs fundraisers every year to inject money into its upcoming festival, and the Yellow Dot sale is no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis goes straight to paying artists to exhibit in 2021. We now have operational funding so we can pay all the staff, but we still require money to actually put on the festival, contracting artists, curators, printing the works, framing it, hanging it,\u201d Ms Sweet said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are all the things that go into making a really good festival for Ballarat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ballarat International Foto Biennale has been cancelled for this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but will open next year on Saturday, 28 August.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t reveal any artists yet, but it looks like we\u2019ll be normal next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing some interesting planning with more outdoor works, and looking at some augmented reality components as well, where people can independently see things outside of a gallery space,\u201d Ms Sweet said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want it to be the best festival ever.\u201d<\/p>\n