Festival of art heroes

The Ballan Autumn Festival might still be a month away, but the streets of Ballan are already brightening up, and events are being held, as the big day approaches.

The superheroes theme, originally planned for the cancelled 2020 BAF, has been revived, and the Wombat Regional Arts Network is doing what it does best, bringing colour and flair to Ballan in the lead-up to the Festival.

Comic book themed banners have gone up on trees along Inglis Street, and if you’ve been to the post office lately, you would have already noticed the superhero mannequins on the pillars out the front.

Lou Callow from the Wombat Regional Arts Network, who created the mannequins, said the works complemented her regular themes of the earth and environmental conservation, while also tying in with BAF’s superheroes theme this year.

“It’s also about acknowledging our local heroes and all our wonderful community volunteers,” she said.

Ms Callow put a focus on re-using items for the artwork – the mannequins for her four superheroes the Extinguisher, the Wildlife Warrior, the Earth Healer, and the Negotiator, are all re-used for example, having previously featured as window installations for White Night Ballarat in 2018 and as human birds for Birds in Ballan in 2021.

“Everything’s recycled: the mannequins are recycled, the banners are recycled, and people have given me little bits and pieces. The little koala came from the op shop, the op shops here are very generous on giving things,” Ms Callow told the Moorabool News.

“My favourite’s the Wildlife Warrior, I’m big on animals. I started with the materials I had and scrounged, then I sat down and had a deep think about what I wanted the message to be. The colours became significant – the red and black with the fires, the blue and the green with the earth, et cetera.”

Ms Callow said that over the years, local businesses and the community had adopted the art installations that come with each BAF with open arms.

“I think they’ve come to trust us, and just let us go for it. It’s really nice. There’s an installation going in at Zest and probably a few other businesses, the street trees are going to have banners on them with superheroes too,” she said.

“We’ve been doing it for so long, I think they value it. It helps business, as quirky as some of the things are, it still brings people into town.”

BAF 2023 will be not just about theoretical superheroes – Ms Callow says there will also be a focus on “local heroes – our volunteers, individuals, service clubs and community groups across the region, all of whom make much valued contributions to community wellbeing”.

BAF 2023 will kick off on Sunday 19 March. For more information on BAF, and the lead-up events running over the coming weeks, visit ballanautumnfestival.com.au.