Almanac Cultural Activities: A day at The Ballarat International Foto Biennale

 

 

If you’re visiting Ballarat for the Biennale, start with a hearty breakfast at Café Lekker, 11 Doveton St in the heart of town. Great food and service.

 

You’ll find all the core exhibitions are within a stone’s throw of each other. Wandering the streets and alley ways of Ballarat is a bonus and you never know what you’ll discover.

 

Firstly we visited The Martin Kantor Portrait Prize. This year it’s held at the Government Hub, a large under utilised space next to the newly refurbished library.

 

The prize is open to anyone and comes with a $15k prize to the winner which is chosen by us, the public. There is a QR Code available so you can vote when you leave.

 

 

 

 

A two minute walk took us to The Miners Tavern in Lydiard St, a place that’s never been open in the two years we’ve lived here.

 

It is staging a couple of exhibits. Firstly the Prompted Peculiar International AI Prize. I’m afraid I have little interest in AI and won’t have during my last twenty or so years on this planet so I can’t comment other than to say I’m sure it will appeal to the young-uns!

 

 

 

Adjacent to the AI exhibit upstairs is a spectacular ballroom housing Long Exposure, The Legacy of Prahran College. There are some beautiful photos amongst this collection and a continuous reel of images celebrating the College which produced many fine artists, actors and writers in the 70s and 80s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word is that the Miners Tavern will be brought to life again shortly. It’s the type of pub you would see in Scotland or Ireland. Enough bluestone to withstand a nuclear holocaust!

 

 

 

 

Lydiard St is the central hub for the Biennale and for The Art Gallery, The Regent Theatre and Her Majesty’s Theatre. It also is the home to my favourite building, The Mining Exchange.

 

This year it is hosting I love Campbell, by young British artist Campbell Addy. The Mining Exchange is the perfect setting for his work, utilising the booths which were once used to exchange gold and cash in the mid 1800s, to display his stunning photographs.

 

 

 

 

There was also a capsule with internal mirrors and a sculpture that provided unconditional hugs. I’ll take what I can get.

 

 

Next down to the corner of Lydiard and the main drag, Sturt St is the old Post Office Building which is housing the late Robert Mapplethorpe’s exhibition Enninful X.

 

There are approximately two dozen photos including the iconic Patti Smith portrait which adorned the cover of her classic Horses album. If you haven’t read Patti’s book Just Kids, copies are available at The Hub on Lydiard St. What a great read it is.

 

 

 

 

Of course there may be a second hand copy at Everybody Knows Books on Sturt St. Head on down and meet the lovely John and Marion especially if you’re a Carlton supporter. You’ll be welcomed with open arms and he might even make you a coffee.

 

Next up was quite special. Imagine being a twenty one year old female, a keen photographer with no experience and deciding to leave France and head to the Vietnam war to photograph the front line.

 

Australian Neil Davis did that but not only was he an experienced photo journalist, but he was a six foot three former footballer. Catherine Leroy was five foot tall and weighed ninety pounds dripping wet!

 

In One Way Ticket to Vietnam 1966-1968 we saw a very powerful exhibition from an extraordinarily brave individual.

 

During her time in Vietnam she spent an extended period with American Marines, then got wounded and evacuated, went back to the front line then was captured by the Viet Cong before befriending them just as Davis did, and was able to document their struggle.

 

She even trained with the Marines so she could parachute into the frontline with them.

 

Catherine returned a couple of times to Vietnam and then would end up covering other conflicts such as Lebanon in the 80s. She passed away from cancer in 2006.

 

This is a ripper of an exhibition, a real surprise packet. It’s the world premiere and there is a new book being launched in October in Ballarat but I couldn’t wait and ordered a previous biography on line when we got home, such was the interest generated from this exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was it for the Biennale in that day. There is still plenty to see but they are the core exhibitions in town. I hope you can make it. There’s plenty of time and this is the website.

 

Just quickly, a few movies we’ve seen recently.

 

The Roses is a remake of the Kathleen Turner/Michael Douglas film, War of the Roses. Despite some funny dialogue and solid chemistry from Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbatch, the film falls away into a Hollywood farce. We are big fans of Olivia especially her comedic work in Peep Show and she does her best here but the script doesn’t hold up unfortunately. 6.5/10

 

Careless. Released as part of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, this documentary is a very personal journey by Melbourne filmmaker Sue Thompson. Sue follows her 89YO Mum as she transitions into aged care from living independently. It highlights the appalling reality of Australia’s treatment of the elderly from successive governments over the decades. It’s not all doom though, and has some hilarious and joyful moments. Look out for it on the ABC or SBS. 8/10

 

The Thread is a cracking French courtroom drama with a twist. If you like this genre then you won’t be disappointed. Sometimes its hard to read subtitles and focus on the film but this is beautifully paced, brilliantly acted  and thoroughly engaging. 9/10

 

 

More from Ian Wilson can be read Here.

 

 

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