Van Gogh Alive

The world's most acclaimed and visited multi-sensory COVID-aware experience celebrating one of the most feted artists of all time The Royal Hall of Industries, adjacent to the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park from 18 September 2020 for a strictly limited season.

Emma Triggs, founder and CEO of the M Agency and Promoter of Van Gogh Alive at MLive, together with creator Bruce Peterson, owner and founder of Grande Exhibitions, are proud to bring Van Gogh Alive to Australia to premiere in Sydney as one of the first purpose-built COVID-aware arts and entertainment initiatives. Van Gogh Alive is the large-scale, multi-sensory experience that has inspired over 6 million people across 50 cities around the world including Rome, Milan, Berlin, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Moscow and many more. The digital spectacular opens on Friday 18 September 2020 for a strictly limited COVID-aware season at The Royal Hall of Industries. The Royal Hall of Industries is registered as a COVID-safe venue.

This is no ordinary art exhibition. Van Gogh's works have been exhibited and admired for over a century – but never like this. Van Gogh Alive gives visitors the unique opportunity to immerse themselves into Van Gogh's artistry and truly venture into his world. From start to finish, visitors are surrounded by a vibrant symphony of light, colour, sound and fragrance that has been called an 'unforgettable' multi-sensory experience. Van Gogh's masterpieces come to life, giving visitors the sensation of walking right into his paintings, a feeling that is simultaneously enchanting, entertaining and educational. Adults and children delight in the super-scale show, viewing artworks from new angles and discovering unique perspectives. Visitors also have the chance to examine Van Gogh's sources of inspiration via photographs and video displayed alongside his works.

"Van Gogh Alive presents Van Gogh and his work in an entirely different, contemporary light. It is one of the most immersive and sharable experiences I've ever seen. The fact that it is absolutely no-touch makes it ideal in today's COVID-aware climate," says Emma Triggs. "We hope everyone enjoys this amazing multi-sensory exhibition. It's a great opportunity to experience art in a completely new way and to reconnect with creative culture in a safe space."

The brainchild of Melbourne-based Bruce Peterson, Van Gogh Alive uses Grande Exhibitions' state-of-the-art SENSORY4™ system that combines multi-channel motion graphics beamed through up to 40 high-definition projectors with cinema-quality surround sound. Set to an evocative classical score, a thrilling display of over 3,000 enormous crystalclear images is beamed across walls, columns and floors. At such a scale, the vibrant brushstrokes and vivid details of Van Gogh's work are truly breathtaking.

"We are proud that Grande Exhibitions really has redefined the way art and culture is enjoyed by enormous numbers of people around the world," says Peterson. "I am absolutely thrilled, especially in these crazy surreal times, to finally be able to showcase our artistry and technical talents in our home country as part of such a successful global tour".

The blockbuster experience is one of the first large-scale arts events to open with COVIDaware considerations that exceed government public health guidelines. Controlled visitor capacities (that allow for more than the recommended four-square metres per person) and managed visitor flow mean visitors can easily respect social-distancing advice. The exhibition also meets the highest hygiene standards with no touch points, hand sanitisers, masks and daily deep cleaning.

Importantly for Sydneysiders, Van Gogh Alive brings the much-loved Royal Hall of Industries back into cultural life. The 1913 building is aesthetically and spatially ideal for presenting the digital journey into the life and work of the post-Impressionist fin-de-siecle artist Van Gogh.