New director for Lorne Sculpture Biennale

THE LORNE Sculpture Biennale has appointed a new chief for its 2024 event, with artistic director Fiona Sweet taking on the role this month.

Ms Sweet, who spent the past six years as artistic director and CEO of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, is now tasked with charting a new course for Victoria’s largest outdoor art event.

“I look forward to championing and challenging the artform with diverse and contemporary artists… and to lead an event firmly embedded within the community toward a compelling and world class destination,” she said.

Ms Sweet has held senior exhibition and governance positions in the arts, and along with the with the Ballarat International Foto Biennale has worked with the Melbourne Fringe, Australian Graphic Design Association, co-founded Melbourne’s Acland Street Projection Festival and received an Ian Potter Foundation Travel Grant in 2018 for her research into international art festival best practice.

Exhibition president Andrew Stobart described her as the “perfect fit” for a new chapter in the organisation’s future, where Ms Sweet’s focus will be on generating growth and new audiences and developing an inclusive and ambitious program that redefines the sculptural narrative.

“I am truly excited to join the Lorne Sculpture Biennale in this pivotal time of transformation… to steer a new vision for this major festival and strengthen the creative and cultural identity of the Surf Coast Shire,” Ms Sweet said.

The next iteration of the outdoor art exhibition that uses the Great Ocean Road as backdrop for large-scale sculptures will be the eighth since it was first staged in 2007, and now includes a public events program called Sculpture Plus with free and ticketed performances, nature walks, Indigenous education events and workshops.