Home of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, the new National Centre For Photography building in Lydiard Street has undergone a drastic makeover in the past few months.
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Once decked out in drab beiges and chipboard panels, a dramatic restoration and repurposing has seen the shopfittings of the past 30 or 40 years removed to reveal the strong bones of the building.
Although some of the original period features have been long destroyed, such as the ornate chamber ceiling, BIFB director Fiona Sweet says the structures revealed beneath what was once a plaster masterpiece are just as impressive.
"We ripped (the office fittings out), put all the original render back on, and gone back to the original terrazzo floors," Ms Sweet says.
"It looks very simple but it's taken six weeks. We did all the walls and floors, rewired and put in the best German lighting and rigging system."
Over the years the former Union Bank building had suffered a series of indignities, including a series of additions which closed in the rear of the premises, making blind corridors and bricked-in doorways.
Combined with false ceilings and an array of commercial carpets and other horrors, the original architect-designed 1860s gem was difficult to discern.
"We've done the whole front section and the bit in the middle, which connects the two, and we've set up the back space for three exhibitions," says Ms Sweet.
"We've used local tradespeople, we're trying to speak to people in Ballarat.
"I started as director at a point where the festival used to 'come in, do, and leave', Ms Sweet says.
"I'm saying, 'come in - stay - engage and grow'. And with the new building, that's what we intend to do. We do need to have significant international artists. Why? Not just for tourism. People say, 'tourism, tourism', but no. What we want is pride in a sense of place for this town.
"We want our community to come and see this work and think, 'This is ours; we created this biennale, and we've got the coolest artists in the world exhibiting in our town. And that's actually valid."
The 2019 Ballarat International Foto Biennale runs until October 20. The exhibitions at the National Centre For Photography are free to the public and are open every day, staffed by volunteers.