Bowie exhibit draws near 200K in Melbourne

The “game changer” David Bowie Is winter blockbuster exhibition at Melbourne’s Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) drew a total of 199,636 patrons – 87,000 of them from interstate and abroad.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren, who revealed the figures, added, “This is more proof that we’re the major events capital of Australia. Events like David Bowie Is are bringing visitors from all over the world to Victoria.

“We’re working hard to grow our calendar of events and strengthen our visitor economy, because we know it means jobs for Victorians and a more prosperous state.”

The Bowie exhibition ran from July 16 to November 1. It ranks the fourth highest attended at ACMI. Its biggest was the 700-item Tim Burton exhibition which drew 275,770 between June 24 to October 10 2010.

Curated by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum its 300 items included 50 stage costumes and stage set designs. Some from his private collection included handwritten lyrics, album artwork, rare film and photographs.

David Bowie Is brought a new audience to ACMI, with a wide demographic helped by free entry for kids under 12. ACMI Director Katrina Sedgwick revealed, “It’s been a game-changer for us due to the rich public program we built around the exhibition, including the enormously successful Friday late nights.”

ACMI set up a Bowie channel with blogs on his influence on Australian music and peers and fans talking about his work as a musician, fashion icon, painter and actor. A pixel was made up from hundreds of Instagram photos. There were Bowie inspired late night performances and DJ sets, curator talks and education visits. ACMI introduced an audio-visual guide played songs from different aspects of his career, and timed tickets and capacity in a session to avoid over-crowding.

The exhibition was part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series. Since 2004 it has drawn a total 4.3 million. Of these, about 340,000 travelled from interstate or abroad, delivering an economic boost to Victoria of more than $318 million.

Minister Eren added, “Australians and people from abroad enjoy cultural events and love seeing them in Victoria – the figures prove it. Our calendar of events is a key reason why Victoria’s visitor economy is worth nearly $22 billion annually, and the Andrews Labor Government is working harder to make it even stronger.”

Already this year, Victoria has secured the Melbourne Ring Cycle, Cyndi Lauper’s Broadway blockbuster Kinky Boots and the latest in the Bendigo International Collections, Marilyn Monroe. The State Government’s 2015/16 budget allocated an additional $80 million to secure more of major events through its Visit Victoria program to sell the state outside.