The Lume’s Indigenous leap in colourful change of pace

Peterson says Connection is “really special” and took two years to create with the artwork set to a score by First Nations musicians including Yothu Yindi, Baker Boy and Archie Roach.

“It is so colourful and vibrant, it is great storytelling and movement,” he says. “What is really unique is it is the first time all these artists have come together and agreed to be part of something.”

The experience was co-curated by the National Museum of Australia and will utilise The Lume’s 143 high-definition projectors to display artworks across 3000 square metres of gallery space at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre at South Wharf.

“We think it is an incredibly important experience in Australia for all Australians, particularly for this moment in time,” Peterson says. “It is something all Australians can be proud of and to focus on our art and culture, which is really first-class and stands alongside the Vincent van Goghs and Claude Monets. It is very emotional and I think people will be overwhelmed when they come inside and see this is ours.”

The global popularity of immersive experiences has been driven by the confluence of several trends, with social media stoking an appetite for visitors to photograph and film themselves in visually spectacular settings, the continued development of digital video and projection technology and the availability of large empty pieces of real estate to house the experiences after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such is their ubiquity that New York Magazine describes immersive experiences as having reached a saturation point “in high art, tourist schlock and the blurry regions in between.”

It’s a lucrative blurry region and while Peterson won’t reveal how much Grande Experiences makes from its exhibitions, ticket prices are steep, starting at $44 each for The Lume Melbourne.

That’s $44 more than the free entry at NGV Australia, which has a real Emily Kame Kngwarreye on its walls.

“It’s very different to the traditional art gallery museum experience,” Peterson says. “We think it is doing a great job in enhancing the arts cultural appeal for those who are inexperienced in that area or who are very new to it.”

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Peterson says there is a role for both traditional art galleries and immersive experiences like The Lume.

“Nothing replaces the original, don’t get me wrong,” he says. “We are finding more connoisseurs of art are really getting the approach that we take.

“We redefine the way art is experienced by large numbers of people. It encourages them into art and culture which in turn leads more visitors to the NGV and the like.”

Kate Constantine, a featured Gadigal artist of the Eora Nation, says the immersive experience is a perfect way for First Nations art to be displayed.

“The technology Connection uses breaks down a lot of barriers to entry,” says Constantine.

“A lot of people like Aboriginal art because it is colourful or pretty, but a lot of people are quite challenged by Aboriginal art too, by not knowing or understanding how to interpret it or not feeling like they have permission to be involved. Connection is just so inclusive”.

Monet & Friends Alive finishes on June 4 and Connection opens on June 23 at The Lume Melbourne, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Wharf.

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