The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest regional art gallery in Australia. It was established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by a company of interested citizens led by James Oddie. It initially rented out the first floor of the Ballarat Academy of Music; the current building on Lydiard Street North opened in 1890. The gallery was privately owned until financial insecurity led to the building and collection being handed over to the Ballarat City Council in 1977. In 2008, the gallery adopted its current name and became a free-entry venue. Louise Tegart is the gallery's current director.
The Art Gallery of Ballarat is a tourist attraction for Ballarat. Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, its two-storey building is one of the city's most historically significant. The collection is composed of over 11,200 works from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Daily: 10 am - 5 pm
Admission is free, but admission prices may apply to special exhibitions.
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Gallery_of_Ballarat
Official website http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au
Archibald Prize http://archibaldballarat.com.au/
Phone +61 3 5320 5858
Address 40 Lydiard Street North Ballarat VIC 3350
Coordinates -37°33'37.626" N 143°51'30.252" E