Overview

The United Nations Education, Science and Cultural organisation (UNESCO) was set up to promote cooperation among cities across the world, helping to foster relationships and trade at a cultural level with mutual benefits via ongoing connections. Since its establishment as a specialist agency of the United Nations in 1945, over 300 cities have been recognised across 90 countries.

Victoria now has four cities within the UNESCO framework - Bendigo (Creative city and region of gastronomy), Geelong (Creative city of design), Ballarat (Creative city of crafts and folklore) and Melbourne (Creative city of literature). No other region can claim as many prominent cultural cities within such a close area.

Origins

The Creative City project is a core United Nations Educational, Scientific and Organisational (UNESCO) initiative designed to promote cooperation among cities which have recognized culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development.
The list of cities given recognition via this project can be found here.

Ballarat City of Crafts and Folk Art

Ballarat is a city of diverse peoples on traditional land. Our city is a location made up of diverse creative skills with a chequered and layered history. This special heritage has left us with a complex web of crafts that have been used to tell the tale of an indigenous nation, a goldrush city and today a city of varied groups of migrants gathered, travelling through, or embedded over the last 200 years.

Today craft is more than just heritage – with contemporary artisans producing works which are steeped in tradition but also push the boundaries of design.

Traditional skills

Heritage trades and crafts are celebrated in Ballarat. With gorgeous facades lining the city streets, and a network of original miner’s and soldier’s cottages spanning out from the centre, there’s always a need for a specialist tradesperson to help keep this heritage city looking at its best. Ballarat is the perfect home for those practising traditional skills or seeking to learn the secrets of the craft.

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