Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

A great event happens every two years in the depths of winter in Ballarat. In contrast to the grey skies above, we start seeing a lot of yellow around the city—yellow signage, people dressed in yellow, the umbrellas in the iconic umbrella laneway in the CBD suddenly become yellow, and in the streets people are carrying bright yellow bags. It means that the Ballarat International Foto Biennale has begun. This year's exhibitions explore life force. The photography that fills the city, the buildings, the laneways, our restaurants and a range of other beautiful venues explores what it is and what it means to be alive—this thrumming energy of living things.

More than 360 artists are featured in this year's Biennale, from the arresting work of British-Ghanaian photographer and filmmaker Campbell Addy to the celebrated Robert Mapplethorpe. This year features the world premiere of Catherine Leroy's One-Way Ticket to Vietnam. The French photographer was 21 and had a camera and $100 in her pocket when she arrived to document the Vietnam War in 1966. It was the beginning of a career of fearless war photography.

The 11th Ballarat International Foto Biennale includes more than 2,000 photographic works. Overall, there are 111 exhibitions, one of which was made possible with support from the Albanese government's Festival Australia Fund. Mumu Mirri was designed by the Wathawurrung artist Dr Deanne Gilson and constructed by Natimuk artist Dave Jones. It is simply unmissable. It's an enormous bogong moth installed on the façade of the National Centre for Photography on Lydiard Street. It gently flutters by day and it glows at night.

While visitors will flock to Ballarat over the next eight weeks, the festival is embraced by locals, too. In fact, more than 200 volunteers will ensure the smooth running of the Biennale. The last three festivals have brought $93 million of economic benefit to our region, and it is an astonishing achievement for the Biennale team, led by Artistic Director and CEO Vanessa Gerrans, with General Manager Kate O'Hehir and Chair of the Board Alicia Linley.

Trying to use words to describe the Ballarat Foto Biennale doesn't quite work. You really have to see it for yourselves. So I'd encourage anyone who can to visit Ballarat between now and 19 October. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed by the magnificent works that are on display.

See this speech in context