Ballarat Cabaret Festival 2026 - now calling for performers for 2027
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.
Current Projects & News
Image provided by artist.
NIna Hassall: Eidolons
8 aug to 6 sept - Art space
Nina Hassall is exhibiting her show Eidolons this month in Art Space Ballarat.
Nina writes:
The work is an exploration into dreams and perception, in relation to place and time. I attempt to capture and transmute forms and feelings found in the dream state so they may be experienced in a new context. The land is ever changing, crumbling, re co-herring, as is our relationship with it.
I’m interested in working within this flux and examining how intrinsically linked we are to our environment and immediate surroundings and how this feeds back into our own internal worlds, in pursuit of an awareness and careful understanding of place in time. Imagery of the land is woven together with motifs from dreams, memories and connections made through place and objects.”
Image: Ta Da! Exhibition flyer.
Ta Da! By arthur creative artists in Unicorn Lane
Ta Da! A collection of works by 18 Arthur Creative artists is now on show at Unicorn Lane.
Working across a wide range of mediums Ta Da! showcases the diverse creative practices of the artists, and is bringing colour, creativity and much joy to our winter days in Ballarat.
The exhibition is curated collaboratively by the featured artists and our arts facilitators. Artworks by Belinda, Simon, Sue, Ronni, Millie, David, Ruby, Maddie, Tessa, Liam, Ashleigh, Jenna, Sarah, Barry, James, Chantelle, Keziah, Drew, and can be seen day and night at Unicorn Lane.
Image: Ballarat Cabaret Festival 2026
CALLING ALL PERFORMERS!
Meet, greet and pitch with the Ballarat Cabaret Festival in preparation for the 2027 event. The Festival organisers are looking for community music groups, dance groups and performing artists of all genres.
You’ll soon be able to book in for an informal chat. Tell them all about you, why you love your artform and show your photos and share your recordindings.
Are you interested in being involved, but don’t want to perform? The Ballarat Cabaret Festival is also looking for volunteers.
Image by Sunflower Imaging Studio.
Creative Inspiration Grant
2026/27 round opens 1 Aug
The 2026/27 Creative Inspiration Grant (CIG) round will be open from the 1 to 30 August 2026.
Creatives from all sectors and levels of experience are invited to apply, however you must live, work or study in the Ballarat municipality.
The CIG can support a new project, event or your creative practice. Be sure to read the Guidelines before beginning your application. Successful applicants will be notified by mid November 2026.
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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.
FIND WHAT’S ON
Looking for a great night out? A local experience? Check out Ballarat In the Know, designed by locals for locals.
Or do you have an event, exhibition or show you want to promote?
Composer Chee Wei Tay performing at Creative’s Catch Up at BPAC. Photo by Coulter Productions (2026).
Annaliese Belladonna in her exhibition. Photographed by Sunflower Imaging Studio (2026)
Michael Creaney with works showcased in Art Space Ballarat. Photo by Sunflower Imaging Photo Studio (2026).