People in Ballarat's CBD are being asked to look up, as the cityscape is transformed into a public art gallery for the annual Foto Biennale.
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With just over a week until the start of the festival, visitors to Lydiard Street may have already noticed large-scale photographic works being put in place in places such as The Regent and The Sporting Globe.
It is all part of Biennale's plan to pretty-up Ballarat with more than 2000 art works being installed around town.
![A public art mural on Lydiard Street. Picture by Lachlan Bence A public art mural on Lydiard Street. Picture by Lachlan Bence](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/116423175/a8cc6d90-1a0f-4db6-9a1b-3c0e2f01a9e9.jpg/r0_0_6192_4128_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Other locations of note include:
- Vineet Vohra (next to Bubble Tea)
- Telly Tuita - Sturt Street and the Goods Shed plaza
- Oculi laneway pasteups throughout Ballarat
- Artscreen - video testing for Jonathan Sawada and Serwah Attafuah
- Erik Johansson install between 17 - 19 August in Mining Exchange
- Stephen Dupont Post Office Gallery (next week)
Chief among the public displays will be a giant golden monkey taking up residence on Lydiard Street's National Centre for Photography.
Australian artist Lisa Roet's Golden Monkey statue is an endangered Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, discovered in 2010 when it was heard sneezing in the rain in the jungle.
The nine-metre monkey, about the size of the 'Ballarat's Big Miner' statue, will cling to the historic former Union Bank Building with digital images highlighting urban and environmental concerns, and the reality of species extinction.
Ballarat International Foto Biennale chief executive Vanessa Gerrans told locals and visitors alike to prepare to see Ballarat in a new, "magical" light.
"We are busily installing the Ballarat International Foto Biennale with mysterious and magical photographs being put on display around the city," she said.
"Look up above buildings, look down laneways and explore our extraordinary city through a new lens. This is for the curious adventurer, so keep an eye out for the unexpected."
The Foto Biennale will begin on August 26 and run until October 22.
For more information, visit their website.
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