The 2025 Ballarat International Foto Biennale marked the 11th edition of the festival, first established in 2005.
Running from 23 August to 19 October 2025, the festival once again transformed Ballarat into a city-wide celebration of photography and lens-based art. The Core Program showcased significant Australian and international artists, anchored by three headline exhibitions: I Love Campbell by British-Ghanaian artist Campbell Addy; Enninful x Mapplethorpe, featuring original silver gelatin prints by Robert Mapplethorpe curated by Edward Enninful OBE; and Catherine Leroy: One-Way Ticket to Vietnam 1966–1968, presenting the remarkable photography of French photojournalist Catherine Leroy.
The Core Program also included Prompted Peculiar, the international AI photography prize, the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize, Long Exposure: The Legacy of Prahran College, and Thành Phẩm by Lê Nguyên Phương.
The festival continued to champion creative experimentation and public engagement. The Outdoor Program brought large-scale photographic installations and artist commissions to laneways, historic buildings, and civic sites, including works such as Mumu Mirri, Memory Matrix, and Guma, inviting audiences to encounter art through movement, everyday spaces, and shared social environments.
The Open Program extended across Ballarat’s galleries, cafés, shopfronts, cultural venues, and temporary spaces, enabling artists at all stages to present new work and engage with festival audiences. This city-wide approach reinforced the Biennale’s role in supporting local creative practice, arts access, and regional cultural tourism.
Across the two-month festival, the public was invited to participate in workshops, artist talks, panel discussions, portfolio reviews, and special events, such as The Art of Lunch at RACV Goldfields Resort and curated visitor itineraries such as the Pyrenees Photo Trail and regional arts travel experiences.
The 2025 Biennale further strengthened Ballarat’s profile as a cultural destination and contributed to sector development by supporting artists, expanding audiences, building industry networks, and deepening community engagement with art and ideas.
