Ron Mueck breaks another record in Christchurch
Ron Mueck breaks another record in Christchurch
Yesterday Ron Mueck
became the most popular paid-entry exhibition to be held in
Christchurch since a public art gallery was first
established in the city in the 1930s.
By 5pm yesterday (Tuesday 28 December), a
record 72, 716 visitors had seen the exhibition, which
opened at the Gallery on 2 October. Previously, the
Gallery’s most popular paid-entry exhibition ever was the
Buried Army of Qin Shihuang, which showed at the
former Robert McDougall Gallery in 1986 and attracted 71,
345 visitors.
In
November, Ron Mueck surpassed Cecil Beaton:
Portraits, previously the most popular exhibition since
the Gallery moved to its current location. It attracted
29,063 visitors.
The
Gallery is the sole New Zealand venue for the National
Gallery of Victoria touring exhibition and features 13
uncannily life-like sculptures. Visitors have only until 23
January to see the exhibition.
Gallery director Jenny Harper says it is
wonderful that the exhibition has struck a chord with so
many visitors, many of whom have never visited the Gallery
before.
“We were
thrilled when visitor numbers surpassed all previous
exhibitions since the Gallery moved to its current location
and it’s even more exciting now to exceed the most popular
paid-entry at our predecessor Gallery, Robert McDougall. The
comments in our visitors’ book are testament to the
reactions many people have had to the exhibition. Comments
such as ‘Most moving experience ever’ ‘…brought
tears to my eyes’ and ‘Gave me goose bumps –
phenomenal’ show just how strongly people have reacted to
it.”
Ms Harper says
visitors have only one month left to see this extraordinary
exhibition and the Christmas holiday break is the perfect
time to do this. “We’d love people to bring their
friends and family to visit the exhibition. It offers a
surprisingly reflective experience during the often busy end
of year.”
To date,
63% of visitors to Ron Mueck have been from
Christchurch or Canterbury , 21% have been from other parts
of New Zealand while 16% are international visitors.
Tickets cost $15 for
adults, $7 for children and $40 for a family (two adults and
up to three children). For groups of 10 or more, tickets are
$12 per person. They are available from eventfinder.co.nz,
the Gallery and i-Site information centre in Cathedral
Square .
Ron Mueck
will be at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu until
23 January 2011.