The new Monet & Friends experience immerses guests in the sights, sounds, scents and tastes of a revolutionary time in modern art.
Following the success of its immersive Vincent van Gogh digital art exhibition, THE LUME Melbourne at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has unveiled its next artist experience – Monet & Friends.
Featuring more than 800 individual art works, including Monet’s Water Lilies and Degas’ Ballerinas, the exhibition takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey through the world of French Impressionism, from the heart of Bohemian Pari through to the gardens and farms of countryside France.
The works of Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, Manet and more will feature across four-storey-high canvasses at THE LUME Melbourne’s 3,000 square metre permanent gallery and be beamed out of 150 projectors to create a feature that took 50,000 man-hours to curate.
“The immersive experience on offer at THE LUME Melbourne is far more accessible than a traditional gallery exhibition,” Grande Experiences and THE LUME Melbourne chief executive officer Bruce Peterson said.
“You will be able to walk around and even play in the colours of the French Impressionists as they are projected around the gallery. This tactile, shareable experience opens art to a wider audience and challenges the way we look at this important cultural movement.”
The new experience will ignite all five senses, with a brand-new menu at THE LUME Melbourne’s aptly named Café de Flore, influenced by the French cuisine of the time. A signature scent has also been created, which is designed to complement the artist’s celebration of the outdoors and there is also a thoughtfully curated soundtrack to accompany the experience.
“We are hoping that exhibitions like Monet & Friends might be some visitor’s first interaction with art but we are not designing these experiences to replace traditional art galleries. We hope that they inform and excite visitors and inspire them to seek out original art work as well.”
