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.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT FOR BALLARAT CRAFT & DESIGN WEEK

Seeking affiliated events

Are you interested in running an affiliated event during Ballarat Craft & Design Week? Applications are now open. We’re seeking events which align with the City of Ballarat’s UNESCO Creative City status, celebrating fine arts and crafts, trades and traditional skills which merge with contemporary thinking.

This might be a talk, a performance, a retail offering, a workshop or an exhibition. You might be planning on opening your studio, or showing your craft.

Applications are now open for individuals, groups, organisations or retail spaces to register and join the Ballarat Craft and Design Week program. Applications close midnight March 30th, 2026. Please note, there is no funding to support affiliated events.

SETTING THEATRE & PERFORMANCE ALIGHT

New workshops available

Creative Ballarat is pleased to be working with emergent theatre and performance group, The Rat Lab, on a tailored development program. The Rat Lab is a small group of independent artists who provide rehearsal space and support to Ballarat performing artists including writers, performers, directors and creators.They exist exist to foster and celebrate new performance work for Ballarat audiences.

Ignite is an exciting new artist development program from The Rat Lab supporting Ballarat writers and performers to develop new work and build creative skills. Applications for PilotLight and SpotLight open December 2025. They are open to writers and performers located in the Ballarat region (both new/emerging and established).

Reclamation

16 Feb - 22 March 2026

Reclamation is a group exhibition featuring four artists who each explore the theme of reclaiming the physical, psychological, or spiritual. Through a variety of mediums—ranging from furniture restoration and upholstery to painting, lino cutting, and tufting. The exhibition highlights the power of reclaiming what has been lost, overlooked, or undervalued. By showcasing both traditional craft and contemporary art, Reclamation fosters an engaging dialogue between innovation and heritage.

This exhibition showcases an exciting mix of artistic practices that bridge the gap between fine art and craft, offering viewers a unique experience of multidisciplinary creativity. Artists included in Reclamation are Alice Stewart, Tegan Ford, Rebekah Bailey, and Marce King.

Gallery Hours:
14 Lydiard St Nth, Ballarat.

MOrphing Identities

31 Jan to 5 March 26| Unicorn Lane

Ballarat emerging artist, Erin Dickinson’s exhibition explores the naturally complex and ambiguous flow of identity, and the constant journey of growth that is part of the human experience.

Through the malleable practice of clay sculpting and ceramics, Erin attempts to convey the natural transformation that we continually experience as cognitive beings. These sculptures take on a somewhat primal aspect by portraying the mortal characteristics of the skull imbedded with our connection to the natural world. Capturing the in between moment when identity is evolving yet never revealing the end result. Leaving us to question which way the sculpture is moving towards. From skull to nature, nature to skull, are both pulling and pushing into one another? 

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