Arts Incite - Ballarat Arts Alive

Arts Incite - Ballarat Arts Alive

by Merle Hathaway

Season 1

Michelle Thomas - Animalia Wildlife Shelter; People's Playhouse; Kids 4 Kids & more.

Michelle Thomas wears many hats in the arts, and is a leading expert in caring for wildlife, largely through Animalia Wildlife Shelter. In a fairly late night chat, I discovered she also was an enthusiastic founding member, director, set designer, costume-maker etc of People's Playhouse Inc which incorporates Kids 4 Kids. This is a community-based theatre company for people aged from 6 years upward. They produce 2 performances a year, and these are often premier performances. She was in Buninyong to teach 'Respond to Wildlife Disaster' with a focus on care of koalas after disasters such as fires and other traumas. She's a trainer and assessor for wildlife and a dog groomer and trainer. She has written books on care of sea birds, and manuals for the care of possums, Sugar Gliders etc. I discovered she also had a tiny companion - a "pinky wallaby" - which had to come along for the ride as he had to be fed every 3 hours. A word of warning - towards the end of the interview there's some disturbing information about the culling of koalas.

Moreno Giovannoni - writer of The Immigrants & The Fireflies of Autumn

Moreno Giovannoni's beautiful and much-celebrated books deal with the experiences of being an immigrant; an outsider. His books are influenced by stories from his life, including his family's inability to settle comfortably in either the small village of their birth - San Ginese in Tuscany, or their new country, Australia. But in this conversation he also reveals much of his creative writing processes, as someone who has come late to the art of writing. His first book, The Fireflies of Autumn was followed a year later by The Immigrants, 2025. The first was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award and for Readings Prize, while the most recent one is The Age Book of the Year, and NSW Premier's Prize for Fiction. It's been short-listed for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, and the Prime Minister's Prize. It's also long listed for the Voss Prize, selected by University Heads of Literature. Moreno visited Ballarat during the Bonegilla: the migrants journey a multi-media performance by Simon Reich.

Andrew Chapman exhibition & Philip Quirk at The Green Bus exhibition.

The Green Bus: Andrew Chapman's 55-year photographic journey through the streets of Melbourne. This delightful exhibition at CIty Gallery, Melbourne Town Hall features 55 photographs of Melbourne, from 1971 to today. They tell the social history and community life in Melbourne's city streets and public places through the constant & discerning eye of photographer / curator Andrew Chapman, The exhibition runs 3 September 2026 - 19 February 2027. There are free guided tours and a wonderful small, free catalogue. It's a beautifully designed exhibition too - the work of Stephen Banham. The City Gallery entrance is in Swanston Street, through the Customer Service area. It's a small gem well worth a trip to Melbourne for its always interesting exhibitions. Andrew Chapman and Philip Quirk, are both alumni of Prahran College photography department - a key, creative training ground in the 1970s & 80s, for many of Australia's significant photographer / artists. Phil & Andrew were interviewed 4 September 2026. As it was unplanned, and in the exhibition space, the sound varies and an interview with the City Gallery Registrar had to be omitted due to too much background sound. I hope to do further interviews later this year. Interview & production: Merle Hathaway

Lorena Carrington - Illustrator & writer

Lorena Carrington talks about her work as an illustrator and writer, mainly in the genre of fantasy and fairytales for children, young adults and adults. Based in regional Victoria, she now has 16 books for which she's designed, often using collaged photographic images. Her most recent book is "A Puzzling Pursuit", which combines a murder mystery with puzzles, taking us on a journey to all sorts of sites across Australia. In Ballarat, you can find her books at the Lydiard Street Collins Bookstore, and her website contains teachers notes, and intriguing glimpse into her latest puzzle book, and links to purchase. Facebook Instagram Interviewed 5 September 2026 by Merle Hathaway Production: Merle Hathaway

Amanda Western - linocut and immersive, multi-arts installation artist

Amanda Western has quickly risen to prominence in the arts. Here she talks about her growing interest in immersive installations, after an initial focus on linocuts. Her work reflects her deep interest in the environment and history. She collaborated with Deborah Parkinson in the current collaborative Infuse Art Prize at Ross Creek Art Gallery until 30 August. Now she is working towards a complex project, Red Bricks, at the East Loddon Woolshed, Serpentine. It's part of the 2026 Loddon Valley Arts Trail. Here's links to Red Brinks and to book a seat on the bus leaving Ballarat at 9am, Sunday 4 October.Tickets to Red Bricks: https://events.humanitix.com/red-bricks-what-the-woolshed-remembers Tickets to bus tour (includes Red Bricks entry): https://events.humanitix.com/red-bricks-ballarat-day-tour Links here to her website, Facebook, and Instagram. Interview & production:: Merle Hathaway 25 August 2026

Julie Burleigh & Pegs Marlow - Infuse Art Prize collaboration

Ceramicists Julie Burleigh and Pegs Marlow talk about collaborating for the Ross Creek Gallery's Infuse Art Prize. Although they've known each other for years, this is the first time they've worked together to create one artwork. The result is a delightful miniature of the Ross Creek Art Gallery with an exhibition being installed. (You can get an idea of the size of the work by the photo of Julie peering through one of the windows.) More images are here. The Infuse Art Prize and Peter Pilven Ceramic Award is on at Ross Creek Gallery until 30 August 2026. Interviewed by Merle Hathaway 7 August 2026 Production by Merle Hathaway

Infuse Art Prize, Seona Murnane & Marg Jeffery

The Infuse Art Prize is showing at Ross Creek Gallery until 30 August 2026. This is an annual prize for collaborations between artists. Thirty finalists were selected by a panel, with Dr Deanne Gilson judging the $3,000 Infuse Art Prize, and the $1,000 Peter Pilven Collaborative Ceramics Award. Merle Hathaway talks here to Seona Murnane and Marg Jeffery about their charcoal, pastel & graphite on wood panels. See their work here on Facebook. Winner of the Infuse Art Prize: Pauline Doren, Nick Doran-Adams & Ross Adams. Winner of the Peter Pilven Prize: Camille Ducret & Jerome Moreau Interviewed by Merle Hathaway Produced by Alan Mallows and Merle Hathaway

Beth Lamont, General Manager of Ballarat Performing Arts Centre

Beth Lamont is the General Manager of BPAC. This is an adventurous project to purchase four buildings from the former Neil Street Uniting Church in Soldiers Hill, Ballarat. The two halls and church offer a variety of performance, rehearsal and meeting spaces for arts groups. Already many groups are based there and their performance programme is lively and varied. Facebook Website Interviewed by Merle Hathaway 30 July 2026 Production by Alan Mallows

Sylvia Hollis artist and teacher

Sylvia Hollis modestly says she "just makes art". As with so many artists, she draws and makes exquisite small sculptures of nudes. She also organises life drawing classes at Sebastopol Community Centre and teaches art for correctional services. Regular life drawing and modelling informs an art practice that focuses on the nude figure, psychologically enhanced to deter objectification. See her works in progress and drawings on Facebook and Instagram. Interview by Merle Hathaway 29 July 2026 Production by Alan Mallows

Julia Howe, artist

Julia Howe is a young artist whose work is currently showing at Ballarat Art Space. “Chronic” is an exhibition exploring chronic pain using a variety of media - photography, painting, sculpture and animation screen work. This year she graduated from PSC (Photography Studies College) and also works as a graphic designer Interviewer: Merle Hathaway Production: Alan Mallows

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