Current exhibition:
16 Days of Activism: 25 November – 10 December
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign that runs from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day). It calls for us all to take action to prevent and eliminate all gender-based violence.
We warmly invite you to visit the following exhibition to pause, reflect, and engage.
Transforming Pain into Power: Courage through Creativity Art Exhibition
Launching on Tuesday 25 November at 1pm, Ballarat Library
Ballarat Library, 178 Doveton Street North
The exhibition, held in solidarity with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, will feature creative pieces that reflect the lived experiences of survivors and members of the community. They aim to challenge us to confront the realities of gender-based violence and imagine a future free from harm.
Trigger Warning
The artworks and stories in this exhibition explore themes of gender-based violence, trauma and recovery. Some viewers may find this content distressing or triggering.
Please take care of yourself. Step away, seek support or reach out to someone you trust if needed.
Previous exhibitions:
Ballarat International Foto Biennale exhibition: Thành Phẩm by Lê Nguyên Phương (VNM/AUS)
Ballarat Libraries is proud to be a host venue for Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2025.
Held as part of Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2025, this exhibition contextualises Vietnamese artist Lê Nguyên Phương’s attempt to offer a counter-archive to the hegemonic western perspective of the American War in Southeast Asia. Drawing from photographs made with his family and queer community in Vietnam and Cambodia, Lê re-examines the emotional impact of the war and its aftermath on his loved ones, and the secrets buried within. This exhibition is part of Lê’s multi‐venue solo exhibition which spans Ballarat Library and First Site Gallery, RMIT University.
Lê Nguyên Phương (or Phuong Nguyen Le in Western naming convention) (b. 2002, Ha Noi) is a photographer and PhD candidate at RMIT University. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include: Museum of Australian Photography & Photo Sydney (AU), Jakarta International Photography Festival (IDN), and Photo Elysée (CH).
This exhibition is showing from 23 August—19 October 2025 at Ballarat Library.
Melbourne Rare Book Week Exhibition: Jacques Labillardiѐre’s Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
A grant from the Public Record Office Victoria funded the conservation of this rare and valuable work from Ballarat Libraries’ Rare Book Collection. Jacques Labillardiѐre’s Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen (1804–1806), in two volumes, was donated to the Ballarat Free Library in the early 1860s.
This illustrated botanical work, the most detailed record of Australian flora of its day, is a rare item to be in the possession of a public library. View the restored volumes in this exhibition, glimpse inside its pages, and learn about the conservation process that has made their exhibit possible.
A Melbourne Rare Book Week event.
Pet Pride at Ballarat Library
Showing at Ballarat Library from Sunday 1 June to Monday 30 June, 2025.
Ballarat Community Health and the City of Ballarat proudly present Pet Pride 2025—a heartwarming and inclusive exhibition that celebrates Pride in all its forms! This unique event honours diversity and inclusion while joyfully showcasing the special bond between pets and their people.
We also pay tribute to Stella, our beloved 2024 Pet Pride winner. Stella truly embodied the spirit of “you can do anything if you put your mind to it.” A trailblazer for LGBTQIA+ rights (and treats!), she championed love, kindness, and compassion with every wag of her tail. Stella passed away in February 2025, after 16.5 incredible years of life and love, but her legacy lives on as a proud pioneer of Pet Pride.