Ballarat International Foto Biennale’s 2025 program is a force of life

Famous portraits, fashion profiles, and foreign photography envelope this year's program.

It’s big and it’s bold. The Ballarat International Foto Biennale breaths life into their 2025 festival with a dynamic range of exhibitions, showcases, events and artist talks.

Ballarat International Foto Biennale

• When: 23 August – 19 October 2025
• Where: Activations across Ballarat in various venues

Keep up to date with all things arts, exhibitions and stage here.

 

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Presented by Intrepid Travel, this eight-week festival brings the world’s leading photographers, digital creators and innovators together in a celebration of the vital energy and creative spark that animates both artist and audience. This year the theme has been revealed as Lifeforce, threading the deeply evocative artistry of the renowned photographers together. From famous portrait work, capturing celebrities to powerful images of citizens, the tales of life are littered through this series.

Below is a breakdown of the full program:

 

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I Love Campbell | Campbell Addy (GHA/GBR)
Australian Exclusive | Ballarat Mining Exchange
The British Ghanaian photographer, fashion visionary and activist presents a body of work defined by its celebration of beauty, diversity and visibility. Addy’s portraits of icons including Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé and Lizzo have redefined contemporary fashion photography, gracing the pages of Vogue, Time, and Dazed.

Enninful x Mapplethorpe | Robert Mapplethorpe (USA)
Australian Exclusive | Post Office Gallery
Curated by British Vogue editor Edward Enninful OBE, this unprecedented exhibition pairs 46 of Robert Mapplethorpe’s iconic prints to invite audiences into fresh, powerful dialogues with the photographer’s legacy.

Catherine Leroy: One Way Ticket to Vietnam 1966–1968 | Catherine Leroy (FRA)
World Premiere | Ballarat Town Hall
The fearless French photojournalist’s raw, emotive work from the Vietnam War is unveiled for the first time in this landmark retrospective.

Long Exposure: The Legacy of Prahran College

World Premiere | Miners Tavern
Celebrating generations of photographers shaped by Prahran College in Melbourne, this collective exhibition showcases 50 artists whose work continues to resonate decades later.

Thành Phẩm | Lê Nguyên Phương (VNM/AUS)
World Premiere | Ballarat Library
Vietnamese artist Lê Nguyên Phương reclaims the narrative of the Vietnam War with a counter-archive of tender, familial images challenging dominant Western perspectives.

Nature~ista
World Premiere | RACV Goldfields Resort
Featuring Leila Jeffreys (AUS) and Maria Fernanda Cardoso (COL), this exhibition celebrates the flamboyance and personality of the natural world through photography and sculpture.

Prompted Peculiar International AI Prize
World Premiere | Miners Tavern
The cutting-edge competition returns to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and artistic creation.

 

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Hagoromo (Full Flower Moon) | Hiromi Tango (JAP/AUS)

World Premiere | RACV Goldfields Resort

Inspired by classical Japanese theatre, Noh 能, as well as Hanakatoba 花言葉, (the Japanese language of flowers), the Hagoromo (Full Flower Moon) series explores the artist’s Japanese—Australian cultural identity, delving into uncomfortable spaces of grief, separation, longing, and loss.

Martin Kantor Portrait Prize
World Premiere | GovHub
The prestigious $15,000 acquisitive prize celebrates excellence in photographic portraiture.

Ballarat’s streets and laneways come alive with a vibrant outdoor program, transforming the regional city into a walkable art tour. Among the public art highlights include:

Mumu Mirri | Dave Jones (AUS) & Dr Deanne Gilson (AUS)
Exterior of the National Centre for Photography
Following the success of Lisa Roet’s ‘Golden Monkey’ in 2023, this year’s centrepiece public artwork is Mumu Mirri – a shimmering moth sculpture celebrating resilience, transformation and interconnectedness. Mumu Mirri is a dazzling sculptural tribute to the Bogong Moth, a vital totem of sustenance and survival for First Nations people.

Memory Matrix | Jody Haines (AUS) & Debasish Mukherjee (IND)
Bridge Mall & The Goods Shed
A cross-cultural collaboration exploring memory, place and identity through large-scale outdoor works.

High Exposure | Annelìse Seréna Belladonna (AUS), Max Deutscher (AUS), Jett Leduc (AUS)
Various laneways around Ballarat
Featuring emerging Ballarat-based artists whose work reflects the theme Lifeforce across the city’s heritage architecture.

GradFoto | Monika Makour (AUS), Harry Merriman (AUS), Jesse Pretorius (AUS), Emily Raffaele (AUS)

GovHub Precinct Gardens

Capturing a new generation of artists working in contemporary photography.

Leicolhn McKellar (AUS)

Guma

Art Screen, Alfred Deakin Place

Highlighting the ties between place and identity, Guma means blood in the Budjiti language.

 

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Key Events & Experiences

In addition, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale has a wide program of events, workshops, artists talks, live podcasts, dancing and more. The events allow for audiences to be further engaged with the works involved in the Lifeforce festival.  Highlight events include:

Lifeforce Gala | Ballarat Mining Exchange

23.08.2025, 7pm

Celebrate the creative force of this year’s exhibiting artists in the company of fellow art lovers, cultural leaders, and visionaries. Proceeds from the gala support our mission to champion photographic excellence and creative innovation.

The Art of Lunch | RACV Goldfields Resort

24.08.2025, 12pm

An exclusive long lunch at RACV Goldfields Resort with artists Campbell Addy, Lê Nguyên Phương and Hiromi Tango. Delve into their practice with a menu inspired by their artworks.

Todd Hido in person | The Goods Shed

04.09.2025, 6pm

Join acclaimed American photographer and photobook maker, Todd Hido in conversation with Professor Daniel Palmer, RMIT University. Presented in partnership with Leica Australia.

Women Shaping Photojournalism | 101 Lydiard

14.09.2025, 2pm

Join award-winning documentary photographer and photojournalist, Christina Simons in conversation with photojournalists Carla Gottgens and Penny Stephens as they reflect on their careers, the challenges they’ve faced and the evolving role of women behind the lens. Presented in partnership with Nikon Australia.

Negotiating the Nude | Craig’s Royal Hotel

13.09.2025, 10am–5pm

Join photographer and educator, Ali Choudhry and model, Richard Musumeci (Artmodel Richard) to explore nude photography through theory, a live demonstration and by making photographs.

Boot scooting with Country Struts | Ballarat Mining Exchange

18.10.2025 5:45pm

Kick up your heels with the high-energy team from Country Struts for a fun-filled evening of line dancing—perfect for seasoned scootin’ pros and total beginners alike.

The Passion of Joan of Arc | Ballarat Performing Arts Community

19.10.2025 7:30pm

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) by Carl Theodore Dreyer is considered a masterpiece of early silent cinema. By turns surreal, intense and deeply moving, the film continues to shock and amaze. This screening of the work will feature a curated score of gothic-inspired music by French composer Erik Satie in the centenary year of his death.

The entire Ballarat International Foto Biennale program is up now with tickets on sale. Ballarat International Foto Biennale runs from 23 August until 19 October 2025. Tickets and further information can be found at ballaratfoto.org