The City of Ballarat is well known for its considerable public art collection and great free art walk trails, which has now been expanded with a new children's offering.
Two walks specifically designed for children and their families are now available via the Creative Ballarat website or can be picked up from the Art Space Gallery or Town Hall Visitor Information Centre.
Families can either participate in the trail on their own, or with Jessica Wilson, from Child Nation as a special guide at specific times.
Key features of this new offering allow participants to hear secrets and information from the art collection that make it easy for children to understand and encourage imagination to fill in gaps that history may have forgotten.
The Children's Public Art walks are:
- The Rulers and Risk-Takers Walk, which takes children around the Sturt Street gardens to see historic statues such as Queen Victoria and Albert Coates.
- The Bigger than Us Walk, which takes children around Lydiard Street, Sturt Street and Bridge Mall to see fountains, murals and the Titanic Memorial Bandstand.
To celebrate the new trail, an exhibition at the Art Space Gallery is hosting three unique installations in January. Designed specifically for little people, fostering imaginative play and creativity and to test everyone's memory.
The Art Space Gallery, 14 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am - 5pm.
Free children's art workshops are also available at the gallery over the holiday period until 2 February:
- Renowned young artists Jay and Annelise will help children discover fun techniques to transform their sketches into vibrant murals using techniques like the Grid and Scribble methods.
- Lauded storyteller theatre-maker Em Chandler will tell tales from around the world inspired by the Ballarat Art Walk. With rolling, rumbling pumpkins, Mother Earth's basket, animals, adventures and more - it's an hour of fun for everyone aged 5 and up.
The drop-in workshops and guided walks are available on the below dates, and there is no need to pre-book:
- Saturday, 18 January 2025:
- Mural Designs with Jay and Annelise from 11:00am - 12:00pm.
- Mural Designs with Jay and Annelise from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
- Sunday 19 January 2025:
- Storytelling with Em from 11:00am - 12:00pm.
- Storytelling with Em from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
- Wednesday, 22 January 2025:
- Public Art Adventures with Jessica from 11:00am - 12:00pm
- Public Art Adventures with Jessica from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
- Thursday, 23 January 2025:
- Mural Designs with Jay from 11:00am - 12:00pm.
- Friday, 24 January 2025:
- Mural Designs with Jay from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
- Saturday, 1 February 2025:
- Mural Designs with Jay from 11:00am - 12:00pm.
- Storytelling with Em from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
- Sunday, 2 February 2025:
- Mural Designs with Jay from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
Public art transforms Ballarat into an outdoor gallery, which is always accessible for all to enjoy. Each piece has been curated to showcase the city's rich cultural history and weave a visual narrative to connect the community and highlight the magic of creativity in public spaces.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said Ballarat is proud to have one of the largest collections of outdoor artworks in regional Australia.
"Ballarat has a vibrant public art collection, and it is so great to be able to tailor the art walks to suit the vibrant minds of children, to enjoy with their families", she said.
"We also have a variety of other public art walks suitable for all ages for residents and visitors to enjoy, so why not spend an afternoon on the Contemporary Public Art Walk, or the War History Public Art Walk?"
