When the National Gallery of Australia announced Masterpieces from Paris as its Summer Blockbuster, everyone in Canberra and Australia got quite excited. At Threesides, we sharpened our pencils, got our best marketing ideas off the top shelf and bunkered down for a large campaign with a product we knew wouldn’t be hard to sell. That said, budgets and time are always limited and marketing such a mega exhibition such as Masterpieces from Paris at the NGA takes a lot of work to get the likes of QANTAS, the ACT government, Accor and the hundreds of local and national tourism industry partners working together to get the best result for the NGA and Canberra.
Public Relations has been a big aspect of the campaign and through our travel industry contacts, we managed to secure a story with Channel Nine’s Getaway travel show. The crew and Dermott Brereton travelled down to Canberra last Jan and the show aired Feb 18. See below for a quick summary of the piece and we’ll be sure and post the full video story once it gets online.
Here’s the story below…and keep an eye out for a piece on the Snowy Mountains as the crew kept travelling down the highway to stay with our friends at Alpine Habitats on the same trip.
Masters from Paris in Canberra – Getaway
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/fsaustraliaact/1014081/masters-from-paris-in-canberra
There’s a cultured side to Getaway‘s former footballer Dermott Brereton. He joined the throngs at the National Gallery of Australia to see the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition, and loved it.
Never before has the priceless collection of post-impressionist works left the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and it’s proved to be such a hit in Australia, the gallery has extended opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays. They’ve even opened a champagne sculpture bar in the garden.
Short of taking the long and expensive journey to Paris, we are fortunate enough to enjoy the 114 French post-impressionist masterpieces in our own backyard.
The works of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Monet, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard and Bonnard are all represented there. Some of the works are most familiar, and others will be a delightful discovery.
If you fancy, there are guided audio tours giving information about each work. If you think it may all be a little boring for children, they haven’t been forgotten; there’s a great family activity room where children can test their creativity and work on following in the footsteps of the greats.
While you’re in Canberra, it’s a good idea to check out the recently opened National Portrait Gallery right next door. It has an impressive collection of more than 400 portraits of prominent Australians, important in their field and immortalised on canvas.
Location
The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Cost
The artworks will be on display until April 5, 2010. Entry is $25 for adults and $6 for children up to 16 years of age. Family tickets are $55 for two adults and two children. The masterpieces are on show between 10am and 5pm from Sunday to Thursday and 10am to 7pm on Friday and Saturday.Bookings can be made online at www.nga.gov.au or www.ticketek.com.au.
Entry to the National Portrait Gallery is free of charge. It’s open between 10am and 5pm every day. There are talks each Wednesday between 12.45 and 1.30pm and Portraits on Sunday host artists, curators and historians talking between 2 and 3pm.
Virgin Blue has flights to Canberra. One way fares from:
Sydney $79
Melbourne $89
Brisbane $119
Adelaide $129
Hobart $169
Darwin and Perth $229
There are limited seats which may not be available at peak times or on all flights. Fares quoted are one-way booked on the Internet. An extra $15 will be charged for phone bookings. A credit card surcharge of an additional $2 per person per one-way flight is applicable. Fares are correct at February 18, 2010, and are subject to change.
Prices correct at February 18, 2010.
For further information
Virgin Blue
Ph: 136 789
www.virginblue.com.au
Masterpieces from Paris
National Gallery of Australia
Parkes Place
Parkes 2600
Ph: (02) 6240 6411
www.nga.gov.au/exhibition/masterpiecesfromparis
National Portrait Gallery
King Edward Terrace
Parkes 2600
Ph: (02) 6102 7080
Fax: (02) 6102 7001
www.portrait.gov.au
Canberra and Region Visitors Centre 330 Northbourne Avenue
Dickson 2602
Ph: 1300 554 114
www.visitcanberra.com.au