You Get The Picture - Sydney's On An Art Streak

Make sure it's straight: Installers use a laser-guided levelling system as they hang Thomas Moran's Grand Canyon Of The Colorado River in the Art Gallery of NSW. Photo: Steven Siewert

 

The summer battle of the blockbuster art exhibitions is upon us, with the Art Gallery of NSW, backed by the cultural might of the USA, firing the opening salvo with America: Painting a Nation, opening on Thursday.

Down by the water, the Museum of Contemporary Art is steadying itself to withstand Pollock, Whistler and Rothko, reinforced by a company of esteemed unknowns.

It is also preparing to return fire the following week with Yoko Ono's War is Over! If You Want It - a title which implies an immediate ceasefire, but belongs to the first major survey in Australia by one of America's most enigmatic artists.

Both exhibitions are backed by the NSW government, something of a double agent in the field, through the involvement of its tourism and major events arm Destination NSW. It has bankrolled both exhibitions to the tune of, well it's commercial-in-confidence, of course.

However Macquarie Street is less concerned with fanning rivalry between the state's two major galleries and is instead hoping its double-pronged attack of Sydney-only exhibitions will help attract visitors from both within NSW and outside its borders.

''Since the Sydney International Art Series began in 2010, more than $80 million in new money has been generated for the state and attracted over one million attendees,'' said George Souris, Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts. ''About 100,000 interstate and overseas visitors have come specifically to Sydney to see the exhibitions.''

Latest Destination NSW figures reveal the state received almost 9.5 million international and domestic ''cultural and heritage'' visitors last year - up 10.7 per cent on the previous year.
''Sydney is very lucky to have both these transformative shows this summer,'' AGNSW director Michael Brand said.

''We are delighted that visitors to Sydney can see two major exhibitions,'' MCA director Liz Ann Macgregor said.

Or, as Ono, who will visit Sydney for her exhibition and whose artworks include military helmets filled with jigsaw puzzle pieces, puts it: ''Think peace, act peace, spread peace, Sydney. I love you.'' -

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus