Huge boost for International Foto Biennale

Councillors voted to give an enormous funding boost to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale in the hope a revamped event will help the city recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

The major new strategic partnership was discussed in the chamber last night, with council agreeing to put $200,000 a year towards the event over the next four years. The agreement will start at the beginning of July this year until end June 2024.

It means the festival will be doubled in length to 60 days the next time it is held in the city in 2021. A total of of $800,000 will be granted to the festival organisers over the course of the agreement, covering the next two events in the city - in 2021 and 2023.

It represents an eight-fold increase in funding provided by the City of Ballarat compared to the previous strategic partnership, which was in place from 2015 to 2019. For that agreement, there was $25,000 granted each year.

Several expressed concerns that the event could move location if there were not ample funding. "We don't want to get involved in a bidding war," said councillor Mark Harris.

I would remind councillors: it is not as though our finances are in the best of conditionCr Mark Harris

Cr Harris was in fact the lone voice advising against councillors giving the full amount of funding, instead suggesting that councillors consider $100,000 a year - the third highest amount of four options put forward by council officers.

"I would remind councillors: it is not as though our finances are in the best of condition," he said.

Director Angelique Lush said that the COVID-19 crisis was likely to affect the amount of philanthropic donations the event organisers were able to attract.

The not for profit event was first held in 2005 in Daylesford, then transferred to Ballarat in 2009. According to the council officers' report, it attracted 37,844 people when it was held last year - a leap of more than 10,000 visitors from 2017. The last event added $4.6m to the local economy, with an estimated 76 per cent of visitors coming from outside of Ballarat.

This would be the third funding agreement from the City of Ballarat. Council also provides organisers free office space in the mining Exchange, the free 30-day hire of the mining Exchange exhibition space and the use of several other venues, totalling the equivalent $89,500 of in-kind support.

After extended discussion, councillors agreed to receiving quarterly update reports on the funding rather than a senior council officer being installed on the board.

The deputy mayor Cr Belinda Coates said: "It is just so great to see such support for arts in the city."

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