Civic Hall Site

We had a Get Together at the Civic Hall Site this past Saturday - enjoying a gorgeous sunny afternoon on the grass and the much-anticipated opening of the foyer!

The event commenced with Uncle Bryon Powell's moving Welcome to Country, followed by an official opening of the Community Design Process by Mayor Cr John Philips. An inclusive activity of all those gathered that celebrated the meaning of 'place' was led by Here Studio director and Ballarat resident, Ammon Beyerle and the winner of the keys to the hall, 7-year-old Leela Sweet, re-opened the Civic Hall doors for the first time in over a decade.

Following official proceedings, hundreds gathered in the studio foyer to view the inside of the Hall and to view displays of past ideas, comments, designs and proposals about the Civic Hall Site. Outside, the sun had come out and our fantastic line-up of local musicians began to perform.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Saturday's event!

The decision to start a Participatory Community Design Process for the Civic Hall Site was made in August 2014 by the Ballarat City Council. To celebrate this exciting project for Ballarat and its local community, the Process will officially kick off at the Open Door Studio in the foyer of the Civic Hall from Saturday 25 October 2014. To mark this exciting occasion, we will be hosting a community event from 11am - 2pm at the Civic Hall Site. Let’s get together!

Click here to read what the Courier had to say about the anticipated event:

"Design studio to welcome public input into Civic Hall's future", The Courier 23 October 2014

Ballarat Council has begun cleaning and preparing the Civic Hall foyer before welcoming the community in to plan the future of the building and surrounding site.

CEO Anthony Schinck was onsite to check on progress ahead of the first community event planned for late October.

“We’re looking forward to inviting all residents to once again make use of this community asset. This time to design its future,” said Anthony Schinck.