Bendigo’s much-loved Chinese Lion Dancers will kick off a day of celebrations this Saturday 15th March, when the new expansion of Bendigo Art Gallery is opened to the public.
The dancers’ colourful (and noisy) blessing to the new wing will be the first in a day-long program of activities designed to celebrate this major new milestone in Bendigo Art Gallery’s long and rich history.
The new $8.5 wing, funded by the City of Greater Bendigo, the Victorian Government and the Bendigo Art Gallery Foundation and designed by architects Fender Katsalidis, offers twice the exhibition space, which means greater flexibility and scope for the Gallery and more opportunities to display the Gallery’s growing collection.
The launch – a day-long program of free events for all ages, is the first opportunity for the public to view the new extension, as well as recent acquisitions from the collection.
The program includes curator talks, guided tours, drawing workshops and a range of hands-on creative activities for kids. Highlights include the return of Bendigo Art Gallery’s much loved Arty Possum, and there will also be live music performed in various locations throughout the Gallery and in the Gallery Café from 1pm until late.
The international exhibition Genius & Ambition: the Royal Academy of Arts, London 1768 – 1918 will also be open throughout the day and into the night. The exhibition brings more than 100 works from the London’s revered Academy of Arts, featuring works by Turner, Gainsborough, Constable, Sarget, Reynolds, Waterhouse and many more.
For more information, visit: www.bendigoartgallery.com.au for details.
Image: courtesy of City of Greater Bendigo