That is exactly what will happen for many of the winners and contributors of the Young Archie Portrait Prize when their works feature in Ballarat’s White Night next month.

The Young Archie portraits will form part of a projection piece from The Electric Canvas called Look at Me! 

White Night artistic director and executive producer David Atkins says his company were able to obtain the rights to the images, which will be projected onto a Lydiard Street building. 

“There will be about five different sets of imagery projecting across that building,” he says. “For the kids involved, to see your painting projected upon a building is pretty cool.”

Mr Atkins says many of the projections on the night reflect the city’s past including its indigenous, colonial and European history. 

“That has been part of the agenda to retell stories and there are also stories about people from Ballarat like (in the piece) Rebel Elders,” he says.

While the full program has now been unveiled, Mr Atkins promises there will also be a few surprises to happen on the night.

“We’ve got live performances and bands, installations and projections, and there are also the local institutions with a few events going on such as the Art Gallery, Sutton House of Music, The Mechanics Institute and The Lost Ones Gallery,” he says. “There is a lot going on.”

With so many events on offer, no one experience will be the same. 

Live Music Marathon

Mr Atkins says one of the stand out events is a marathon music concert, which will feature live performances from bands and vocalists all night long. 

The event takes place on a stage at the end of Lydiard Street (near Dana Street). 

Performances include:

Swing City

Catch performances from ballroom dancers, including state champions, or have a go yourself with the help of dance tuition and demonstrations. 

Swing star John Morrison will provide the music.

“It is a dance marathon that continues all the way through the night, and involves performances of every sort of social dance with a live band,” Mr Atkins says. “It has a jive and jitterbug focus and it is going to be a real highlight.”

The event takes place inside The Mining Exchange.

Yes. 

Mr Atkins says one of the key differences will be the spacing of the precinct – Melbourne spans a much larger area whereas Ballarat will be much more compact.

“Within the one space along Lydiard Street, starting at the Art Gallery and going to Craig’s Hotel, there are seven different buildings with projections,” he says.

“But to see seven projections in Melbourne you have to walk a couple of miles.” 

Mr Atkins says Ballarat also lends itself to the event because of its wide streets, which will handle the crowds more easily, and heritage buildings.

“There are beautiful Victorian facades and architecture that we can project on and they’re right alongside each other so that makes Ballarat really unique,” he says. 

Mr Atkins says Ballarat is a city with a long history and tradition of supporting the arts and the event has received some “fantastic” feedback from local artists.

“It is a unique regional centre as far as the arts are concerned,” he says. “There are so many local artists involved and they’re really excited about the opportunity.”

He is now hoping the public will have a similar response.

“White Night is enormously successful in Melbourne and I can’t see any reason why it won’t have the same impact in Ballarat,” he says. “I’m sure people will really embrace it.”

The following restaurants and cafes will remain open, but hours may vary.

White Night Ballarat takes place over 12 hours starting on the evening of Saturday, March 4, from 7pm until 7am.

The event will take over the heart of the city, focusing on Lydiard Street (between Ballarat Station in the north and Dana Street in the south) and Sturt Street (between Armstrong and Albert Streets).

Majority of the event is free. Venues that are hosting ticketed events are marked on the online program listings along with booking details.

For updates and information on the night visit White Night Ballarat’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

For more information or to see the program of events visit whitenightballarat.com.au.