Art Gallery of Ballarat Director Louise Tegart and City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves.

Art Gallery of Ballarat to close until early 2026 for $5.5M upgrade

The major upgrades will enable the gallery to display more works from its permanent collection and secure more international exhibitions.

Art Gallery of Ballarat announced last Friday it will close in March to prepare for an extensive interior upgrades project.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here. 

 

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From Monday 3 February some galleries will close to de-install temporary exhibitions such as Medieval to Metal. Other galleries, along with the permanent collection, will remain open.

On Monday 3 March the Art Gallery of Ballarat will close entirely. It is anticipated that it will re-open in early 2026.

Once closed, the de-installation of the remaining temporary exhibitions and permanent collection will begin, ahead of stage one of the works.

The first stage includes interior wall lining enhancement which will enable dynamic salon hangs, meaning art can be hung higher and lower than eye level, allowing more of the 11,500 permanent collection artworks to be displayed.

Additional works include:

• An upgrade to the building’s skylights to energy efficient LED panels so we can display more works on paper
• A new Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system that meets international museum standards, which is essential for securing the best international exhibitions and loans of significance
• Refurbishment of both the passenger and freight lifts

While closed, the Gallery Shop and off-site programs will continue to run. These include:

• The Gallery Shop pop-up at 50 Lydiard Street, Nth (formerly Evans Bakery)
• Backspace exhibition program to continue at 43 Mair Street off-site venue
• NextGen 2025, which showcases the best student art from the Ballarat region, taking place at GovHub
• More off-site education and public program activities to be announced

Art Gallery of Ballarat Director, Louise Tegart, understands that a period of closure is disappointing for those who love visiting regularly, but that the interior upgrades are essential to maintain operations and will result in more compelling experiences.

Go and see the gallery’s current exhibitions and permanent collection before they close in early March.  

words by staff writer