I've spent a lot of time in Ballarat and I was there again yesterday - this time, as with many times before it was to see the Ballarat International Foto Biennale or BIFB which is a amazing photography festival which has about a 100 hundred exhibition, some by professional photographers (which tend to be paid), some by amateurs (all free). If you find yourself around Ballarat over the next month it is well worth a look.
And Ballarat itself is a fascinating place, anyone with some knowledge of Australian history will know it was the epicentre of the gold rush in the 1860's, for a time it was the richest city in the world, and a lot of that history is still around, beautiful 1860's buildings are everywhere, but like a lot of these thing that history is faded, and occasionally a little bit out of steps with the times. \