Tickets are on sale now.
One of Australia’s most significant arts festivals, the 2021 Ballarat International Foto Biennale, has revealed its full festival program, comprising 260 artists across 100 venues over 60 days. Running from August 28, the annual event will this year include 25 Australian exclusives, a world-premiere, public art, projections, curator and artist talks, award announcements, foto walks, and food and drink experiences, providing regional Victoria with an incredible, immersive photographic experience.
The key takeaways
- The Ballarat International Foto Biennale has revealed its full 2021 program
- The BIFB will take over galleries, cafes, bars and laneways throughout Ballara
- The festival takes place in Ballarat from August 28 – October 24
Keep up with the latest in regional art and local events via our website.
At the centre of the 2021 program is the previously announced Australian Premiere and exclusive of the Linda McCartney: Retrospective, encompassing more than 200 photographs by the world-famous photographer. Curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, the retrospective offers an intimate look into the life of the McCartney family along with photographs of the 1960’s music scene, and a series of never-before-seen prints from McCartney’s time in Australia.
In an Australian exclusive, We will all eventually return to the earth brings together contemporary First Nations artists who interrogate notions of colonisation, ownership and cultural legacy through the photographic medium. Featuring work by Edith Amituanai (NZ), Nathan Beard (AUS), Arini Byng (AUS), Dennis Golding (AUS), Janna Ireland (US), Katayoun Javan (IRN, AUS), Meryl McMaster (CA), Sara Oscar (AUS), SLIPPAGE (AUS), Fiona Pardington (NZ) and Damien Shen (AUS), the exhibition presents works that challenge the western history of photography.
Premiering for the first time to the world, Styx sees French artist Alix Marie delve further into her interest in water deities, and the intersection between the body, its representation, and an expansive idea of photography. Co-commissioned by the Ballarat International Foto Biennale and Photoworks, this new work sees the artist using largescale cyanotypes, sound and video to create an immersive installation exploring the fragility of the contemporary world order. Conceived during the height of the pandemic in Europe the work also references the fragility of the body.
Notes from a Queer Mystic celebrates Steven Arnold, a quintessential icon ahead of his time and a revolutionary figure whose ideas and legacy have become strongly relevant in the cultural conversation of today. Curated by Sarina Meuleman and Fiona Sweet, this exclusive comprises Steven Arnold’s images of creatures of beauty and elegance, intricacy and identity. Demonstrating his Surrealist eye for detail, intricate tableau vivants were created with painting, drawing, set design, costume, makeup and casting in a single photograph – transforming subjects into ethereal, androgynous and mystical figures. From The Steven Arnold Museum and Archives, each photograph is infused with Arnold’s interest in filmmaking, sexuality, spirituality and gender, which forged new ideas surrounding gender fluidity, non-binary consciousness and radical acceptance.
An especially poignant exhibition this year will be Number One, an exhibition paying tribute to music icon Michael Gudinski. In this Australian exclusive, we’ll see photographs from music photographers around the country who were given the opportunity to submit photographs featuring artists under the Mushroom Group and Frontier Touring banner. An ode to Michael Gudinski, whose passion for music was legendary, this exhibition celebrates his advocacy for the arts and lasting impact.
Other program highlights include Raining Embers made in response to the devastating Australian bushfires of 2019-2020. Raining Embers examines the global climate crisis through the lens of Aletheia Casey, Gideon Mendel, Ruth Maddison and Rachel Mounsey who depict the devastation and despair of communities that were taken by the wildfires. This alongside Dibalik, an Australian exclusive which explores the experiences of Feminism in Indonesia with its longstanding history spurred by political revolution and decolonisation; In Translation which explores the approach of four leading contemporary photographers, Erieta Attali (ISR), Lard Buurman (NLD), Rory Gardiner (AUS) and John Gollings (AUS); The Poverty Line (2010 – 2020) which sees artists Chow and Lin (Stefen Chow and Huiyi Lin) use the universal lens of food to examine the daily choices faced by those living on the poverty line; and 24HRS in Photos which responds to the ongoing and ubiquitous overload of images, exploring our evolving relationship with photography during a globalised, hypermediated era in contemporary society
As part of the annual event, there’s also a free Outdoor Program which features a world of curated exhibitions, including Aïda Muluneh’s The World Is 9 which will take over Sturt Street. Infused with theatricality and imagination, Muluneh’s vibrant and symbolic images express an adornment for Ethiopian culture whilst also challenging the Western stereotypical perception of Africa; as well as a BIFB After Dark Dinner at Mr Jones Dining experience, which sees a modern Asian vegan banquet inspired by Linda McCartney with matched Attwood Wines.
That’s barely scraping the surface of the brilliant events and exhibitions set to take over Ballarat in August. Head to the website to explore the full program.
The 2021 Ballarat International Foto Biennale runs from August 28 – October 24. Tickets for all BIFB events are on sale now.
