Acknowledgement of Country

Ballarat International Foto Biennale acknowledges the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, work and create. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and honour the deep traditions of storytelling, culture and connection held by First Nations peoples across Australia.

The Hon. Robert Ian Knowles AO, Ballarat International Foto Biennale Ambassador 2019-2026

We acknowledge with sadness the passing of The Hon. Robert Ian Knowles AO — farmer, statesman, lifelong champion of his community, and knowledgeable ambassador of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

Rob gave 23 years to the Victorian Parliament and a lifetime of community service to the region he loved. His legacy of compassionate reform in health, aged care, and mental health, continues to shape the lives of Victorians. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007.

Through his role as an ambassador for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Rob brought genuine attention and care to the cultural work of our organisation. He understood that a festival rooted in Ballarat was not a small or peripheral thing. He knew that the arts, like good policy, are a matter of community wellbeing, of what a society chooses to value and sustain.

He had a natural warmth and an engaging presence that we will greatly miss. We are honoured to have had him alongside us.

 

Photo: courtesy Robert Knowles.