- Published:
- Thursday 2 November 2017
The sun may have set on the record-breaking Van Gogh and the Seasons exhibition but its impact is still being felt, with new data revealing the exhibition generated almost $56 million for the Victorian economy.
Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley today announced the huge economic impact the world premiere exhibition had on Victoria, demonstrating once again the significant benefits creativity brings to the state.
The exhibition was part of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series and attracted 462,262 visitors across its 76 day season, making it the most popular ticketed exhibition in the gallery’s history.
An impressive 103,342 of these visitors were from interstate, and 17,456 visitors were from overseas.
The evaluation also revealed 9.4 per cent of all attendees – 40,000 people – came to Melbourne specifically to see the exhibition, while 5,000 international and interstate visitors extended their stay to see Van Gogh’s works.
Economic impact evaluations calculate the accommodation, travel, hospitality and retail expenditure of exhibition visitors.
Overall the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series has now generated more than $495 million for the state since it was established in 2004.
This year, in addition to Van Gogh and the Seasons at the NGV, the series brought the Australian exclusive Wallace & Gromit and Friends: The Magic of Aardman exhibition to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The exhibition was recently extended at ACMI and will run until 29 January 2018.
The NGV has already announced its 2018 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, Masterworks from MoMA, which will open on 9 June 2018.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley
“Van Gogh and the Seasons was a true blockbuster. It strengthened our reputation as the creative state and showed that investing in creativity and cultural events is an investment in Victoria’s future.”
“The NGV is a tourism magnet – it’s Australia’s most popular gallery, one of the top twenty most visited in the world and a place to see the best art and design all year round.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren
“Van Gogh and the Seasons was the fastest selling exhibition ever presented at the NGV – proving yet again the power of the arts in attracting visitors to our state and boosting our economy.”