The Ballarat International Foto Biennale [1] is a 60-day festival of photography held every two years in the city of Ballarat, in regional Victoria, Australia. The Biennale is presented by the not-for-profit organisation Ballarat International Foto Biennale Inc. [2] The festival delivers a curated program showcasing significant Australian and international [3] artists, with recent highlights including Campbell Addy and Robert Mapplethorpe in 2025, Platon in 2023, Linda McCartney in 2021, and David LaChappelle in 2017.
The Biennale was originally launched by photographer and curator Jeff Moorfoot OAM [4] in Daylesford in 2005, returning in 2007. [5] In 2009 the festival relocated to the city of Ballarat, where it has continued. Moorfoot remained as Director, overseeing successive festivals in 2011, 2013, and 2015, before stepping down in 2015.
Fiona Sweet, founder of Sweet Creative and co-founder of the Acland Street Projection Festival, was appointed as CEO and Artistic Director of the Biennale in 2016, and continued in the role through to 2021, overseeing successive festivals in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Sweet also undertook the site purchase and initial stages of renovation for the National Centre for Photography, Australia’s newest and only regional gallery dedicated exclusively to photography.
Vanessa Gerrans, previously director at Warrnambool Art Gallery, was appointed as CEO and Artistic Director of the Biennale in 2022, and has overseen successive festivals in 2023 and 2025. Gerrans has also continued the development of the National Centre for Photography.
The Ballarat International Foto Biennale features a curated 'Core Program' of leading Australian and international photographic artists, presented in prominent landmark buildings throughout Ballarat including the Ballarat Mining Exchange, the Ballarat Town Hall and the Art Gallery of Ballarat. This Core Program is complemented by a community access 'Open Program', a city-wide presentation of over 200 artists staged in more than 80 venues including cafes and galleries, project spaces, and public sites.
The Biennale exhibitions are complemented by an Events Program that encourages an egalitarian interface with participation of the public and of photographic practitioners of all levels through its program of workshops, seminars, audio-visual projections, master-classes, artist floor-talks, portfolio reviews, an education program and photographic competitions and prizes. [6] [7]
In 2025, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale was held over 60 days from Saturday 23 August to Sunday 19 October, with core exhibitions showcasing the work of British-Ghanaian photographer Campbell Addy, documentation of the Vietnam War by French photojournalist Catherine Leroy, and works by the iconic US photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, curated by Edward Enninful, stylist and former editor of Vogue magazine. [8] [9]
In 2023, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale held its 10th festival. The festival launched on Saturday 26 August and ran until Sunday 22 October. This festival was celebrated as a major milestone for Ballarat Foto and brought in 39,228 visitors to look at the work of 437 artists. The theme for the 2023 festival was The Real Thing which prompted a profound exploration of reality in today’s world. The program featured British photographer Platon, Polaroid portraits by US artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, and Swedish artist Erik Johansson. [10] [11]
The 9th Ballarat International Foto Biennale festival showcased the works of Linda McCartney:Retrospective following along the 2021 theme of Past, Present, Now., which exhibited work with the ferociousness of existence, marking the singular moments and ideas that punctuate and transcended time. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and consequential government restrictions, the festival was extended until Sunday 9 January 2022, with a total attendance of over 26,200 visitors. [10]
In 2021, the opening of the Biennale was delayed as regional Victoria was in a COVID-19 lockdown for the scheduled opening date. It was originally due to open on Saturday 28 August and run until Sunday 24 October. After the regional lockdown was lifted on 10 September, the Biennale was then set to open on 15 September. However, Ballarat was put into a local snap lockdown, its eighth lockdown, from 11:59 pm that same day for at least seven days. This was because the town had four recent COVID cases as well as "widespread" wastewater detections, and multiple exposure sites.
The 8th Ballarat International Foto Biennale, in2019, launched on Saturday 24 August and ran until Sunday 20 October. Exhibiting works of artists who represented their worlds in unconventional ways and in unpredictable circumstances, in line with the theme Hello World, the festival attracted 37,846 visitors and the event was extended to its new length of 60 days for the first time. Headlining this festival was Chinese 'concealment' artist Liu Bolin who showcased Camouflage, an exhibition of works from the past 15 years of his artistic practice. [12] [13]
The 2017 7th Ballarat International Foto Biennale headlined the work of David LaChapelle with an additional 200+ artists whose work surrounded the theme of Performance of Identity. The festival ran from Saturday 19 August until Sunday 17 September, where Ballarat Foto greeted 26,800+ festival visitors throughout the 2017 festival. [14] [15]
The 2015 6th Ballarat International Foto Biennale ran from Saturday 22 August until Sunday 20 September. Featuring the work of Nan Goldin and David Goldblatt, the 2015 festival focused on the theme of A World of ideas, thus including a range of projects highlighting social and cultural issues. [16]
The 2013 festival was the 5th festival for Ballarat International Foto Biennale. Opening on Saturday 17 August the festival ran until Sunday 15 September. Showcasing the work of photographer John Cato and photographer Gregory Cewdson for the 29 day duration of the festival, and circling around the theme of The Changing World, the works shown in the 2013 festival demonstrated international photography coinciding with the impact of global shifts.
Ballarat International Foto Biennale’s 4th festival featured photographers including Peter Lik and William Eggleston circling around the theme of The Future of Photography. Exhibiting work of emerging artists alongside the headlining photographers, the 2011 festival opened on Saturday 20 August remaining open for visitors until Sunday 18 September.
Held from Saturday 4 September to Sunday 4 October, this was the third biennial festival and the first to run under the new name and at its new home, Ballarat International Foto Biennale. Intending to brand the festival as an international event with high community engagement the theme for this festival was The Big Picture. Showcasing works from 100+ artists alongside, panels, artist talks, workshops and events.
Known as Daylesford Foto Biennale, the second international festival of photography took place from Saturday 2 June to Sunday 1 July. The festival was held in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.
The festival's debut was in Daylesford running from Saturday 3 June to Sunday 3 July 2005. The 2005 Festival established a foundation that went on to support the event’s expansion and continuation.
In 2018, Ballarat International Foto Biennale purchased the heritage-listed Union Bank building at 4 Bath Lane, Ballarat Central, to establish a centre for photographic excellence in Ballarat. With funding of $6,700,000 from the Victorian State Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund announced in November 2020, work has commenced on the restoration and development of the building for Stage 1 of the National Centre for Photography project. The National Centre for Photography will be Australia’s newest and only regional gallery dedicated exclusively to photography and visual imaging culture, with Stage 1 scheduled to be completed in early 2026.