Welcome to our creative city

Ballarat is working to become the city of the sustainable and resilient practitioner, and we’re supporting all forms of artist, maker, creative and producer. Whether you are seeking to develop a fine arts practice and devote yourself to being a professional practising artist, or wanting to grow your creative business, the City of Ballarat wants to see you succeed. Designated a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art we’re steadily working towards economic resilience through support of the micro and artisanal.

Here you’ll be able to find opportunities for makers, creatives and artists alike. We’re working to create a clearinghouse of opportunities - expressions of interest, open jobs and other briefs - and support networks you can call on. You can also find out what kind of happenings are going on around town, perfect for the local creative. We profile our growing community of artists, makers, performers and producers, building a better city for all.

Ballarat’s heart of creativity

Over two years the City of Ballarat was focused on the development of it’s Creative City Strategy. This strategy is one that embraces the energies of makers, crafters, artists, innovators, entrepreneurs and problem solvers, linking them closer to the engine room of the city’s heart.

We know that a creative city is one that can wear the changes in economic forces, delivers new ideas, drives businesses to grow and delivers greater community cohesion and wellbeing. The creative sector in Ballarat is crucial to our prosperity, helping create better people and better places to live and work. It is creative thinking that helps all sectors to blossom, and underpins a healthier, happier and wealthier city. The City of Ballarat is dedicated to embedding creativity within its very fabric.

tickets on sale

Walk away with a collection of artisanal works from The Great Takeaway - 23 May 2024

The Great Takeaway is a chance for visitors to dine amongst some of the finest materials, textiles, glassware and ceramics produced in the Ballarat region – and then be able to take the handcrafted dining setting home with them.

A ticketed event, the Great Takeaway is an exclusively tailored dinner for up to 60 guests who will be seated in the exhibition display of Craft Lab in the heritage venue of the Ballarat Mining Exchange to enjoy a three-course meal with drinks and entertainment.

The six tables will be individually dressed by commissioned high-profile local ceramicists, each supplying a handcrafted main and side plate. The ceramicists are Steph Wallace, Koji Hoashi, Karima Baadilla, Ruby Pilven, Jan Alexander, and recent graduates Erin Coomans and Sarah Mischker. The settings are matched with glassware made by Tegan Hamilton and napery handwoven by Ana Petidis.

bread and roses in art space

Latest exhibition in Art Space Ballarat is Future Proof by the Bread and Roses Collective.

The Bread and Roses Collective are showcasing a thought-provoking collection of new artworks in the exhibition Future Proof.

Each artist has responded to different themes including ecology and the environment, sustainability, impact of technology, the human spirit, resilience, women, knowledge and culture.

The Collective artists are Sylvia Aguirre, Julie Mahnken, Patrick Duffy, Scott Fredericks, Heather Horrocks, Keith Low and Jess Schroeter.

Visit the exhibition and meet the artists who are keen to chat about their work and different approaches to their artistic practice.  

Open 11am - 3pm Wednesday to Friday, 10am - 4pm on weekends. Art Space is at 14 Lydiard St N, Ballarat.

sara nash in Unicorn Lane

DeSign by Sara Nash
19 March to 29 May 2024

Street photographer Sara Nash is always on the look out for hidden spaces devoid of human existence.

Sara enjoys unearthing the beauty of the discarded, the abandoned, the everyday - the forgotten places of Ballarat and surrounds.

DeSign captures the essence of the mundane, breathtaking moments that may be lacking, yet still radiates beauty through simplicity.

Unicorn Lane is located just off Sturt St near the Unicorn Hotel and can be viewed 24/7.

Artist in residence update

Art Hub welcomes Artist-in-Residence Rose Hudson

This March we are excited to welcome our second Artist-in-Residence in Art Hub, theatrical milliner Rose Hudson.

Rose will be in residence for 6 months, working on new creations and duplicating fragile hats and head wear in the Gold Museum collection.

Rose has four decades of experience in traditional millinery. She is a renowned educator and has worked with the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victoria, exhibited in galleries including the NGV and works on private commissions.

Rose will be inviting the Ballarat community in to Art Hub to see her practice and will be offering workshops during her residency.

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FIND PLACES TO GO

There are heaps of tiny galleries, small studios, workspaces and hiding places for our creative community. Have a little scout of our open studios and micro-enterprises.

CREATIVE STRATEGY ACTIONS

SUPPORTING CREATIVES THROUGH COVID

OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY