The pop-up business known as BARBOAA, opened as a fund-raising venture for the cash-starved Biennale of Australian Art, has closed after six weeks.
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BOAA director and proprietor of the bar Julie Collins says the rental agreement struck with the owners of the Lydiard Street premises where the bar was located had moved into its second phase, requiring the payment of rental.
She says while the income of the bar was enough to cover the rent, there would not have been enough money left afterwards to make inroads into the debts owed to artists and others owed funds from the 2018 art festival, which ran from September to November 2018.
"The purpose of the bar was to raise funds to reduce the debt, and it could have covered the rent but not raised that money, so I made the call to close it," Julie Collins said.
"I'd thought we might have more support, but we didn't hit the targets we wanted, and I realised it would be better to put our energies into major fundraising events, into raising large amounts of money in shorter periods."
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BOAA finished owing $400,000 after ticket sales fell short of expectations, despite inputs of $175,000 from the City of Ballarat and $200,000 from the Victorian State Government.
A further $500,000 sought from the Commonwealth Government did not materialise.
Ms Collins says the feedback from those who had patronised BARBOAA was positive, and many had made donations, including people who weren't really aware of what the Biennale was about.
She says some of the patrons were simply coming to the bar as a place to drink and had no idea it had been set up to reduce the debt of BOAA; when they learned it was, they mentioned their 'mothers had enjoyed the art' and were more than willing to donate to the cause of paying BOAA's debts.
While the attendances at the bar were not strong enough to sustain it as a going concern, Ms Collins says she was pleased that those who had come in seemed to enjoy it.
The purpose of the bar was to raise funds to reduce the debt, and it could have covered the rent but not raised that money, so I made the call to close it
- Julie Collins
"Look, there were some people who were conspicuous by their absence," she says.
"There are people who are still suspicious of our motives; the rumours are still out there. But we're going ahead with building a fund-raising committee and are still seeking a major donor to assist us."
The bar fit-out from Lydiard Street will now move to the George Farmer building in Eureka Street in preparation for further fund-raising events, Ms Collins said.
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