Last night at an Ordinary Council Meeting, Councillors approved a four-year Strategic Partnership Grant with the Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB).
The partnership, which will be in place until 2024, comprises of:
$200,000 cash funding per year
$44,750 of In-Kind support per event, for the requested four-year term (including provision of the Art Gallery of Ballarat and A Hall exhibition space, and the Mining Exchange office space).
The funding will be provided with the conditions relevant to Grant and will include a Covid-19 provision to protect Council’s contribution and the appointment of a senior City of Ballarat Officer to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale Board.
The partnership acknowledges the significant growth and development of the 2017 and 2019 Biennales. The 2017 Biennale was extremely successful attracting over 26,000 attendees and producing an economic impact of $3.89 million.
The Ballarat International Foto Biennale has received continuous Ballarat City Council funding since it first came to Ballarat in 2009 after having its origins in Daylesford.
The partnership aligns with the 2018-2028 City of Ballarat Events Strategy and the Creative City Strategy.
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Ben Taylor says BIFB holds an important position in Ballarat’s thriving arts calendar.
“Ballarat is a proud creative city, rich in heritage and culture, strong in artistic endeavor, and with an enthusiastic and committed culture-loving community.”
“As a city we are enormously proud to be supporting and hosting this world-class photographic event. This grant will enable the team at BIFB to continue their work on the exciting plans and developments install for 2021.”
BIFB Festival and Artistic Director Fiona Sweet says the financial support from Ballarat Council is a powerful vote to keep the Biennale in Ballarat.
“We are immensely grateful to the City of Ballarat for the recognition of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale’s impact on Ballarat and we are beyond excited to paint the city yellow in 2021.”
“The Biennale has grown to the point that it’s now recognised nationally and Internationally, but we are most proud of how it has grown to become part of the fabric of Ballarat – embraced as an essential fixture in the cultural calendar, and an ongoing source of tourism revenue and local employment opportunities.”
“Council support means we can be part of the stimulus our city needs to recover post Covid-19, and we will work hard to bring back tourists to reignite our hospitality industry and local traders as well as support our artists who are all doing it tough. The financial support of our city council is a powerful vote to keep the Biennale here in Ballarat.”
