She’s all frocked up… but will Ballarat dance?
Will this town accept her invitation?
The Civic Hall is the People’s Palace
She seeks our full PARTICIPATION

After years of dormant neglect, the Ballarat Civic Hall is now renovated and reopened. The celebrations are well deserved, and honour those who worked hard to actualise each phase. Some were able to celebrate, and some were not. This building has been at the centre of a protracted and politically awkward debate between local government and the community for decades.

In 2019 artist Linda Franklin and filmmaker Erin McCuskey collaborated to re-vision this story about place and identity, set in a provincial town in country Australia. This short film invokes the Spirit of the Civic Hall, a Baby Boomer remembering her past, and re-scripting her future.