Newcastle is set to host Australia's first regional edition of a globally renowned experience to celebrate one of history's most famous artists.
The city will host Van Gogh Alive - the world's most visited multi-sensory experience - this spring as part of City of Newcastle's New Annual festival. It will be presented in a specially designed 2,300-square-metre gallery known as The Grand Pavilion set up at Foreshore Park.
The display features more than 3,000 high-definition images of the Dutch painter's work, projected at a scale for visitors to experience the paintings like never before.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said securing the event was a huge coup for Newcastle. Having seen Van Gogh Alive herself, she was very excited to bring it to the city.
"It's very famous art [which] people know and are aware of in a different way," Cr Nelmes said. "When you see that come to life on a really large format, it's overwhelming and quite interesting to see."
Local artist James Drinkwater was equally thrilled. He said he wouldn't have expected Newcastle to attract this event five or 10 years ago, and it showed how far the city had come culturally. Mr Drinkwater also drew parallels between Newcastle and the Post-Impressionist artist.
"Van Gogh was such an underdog in his life, and this city has been through the 80s and 90s a total underdog too," he said.
"[Newcastle] is coming of age and growing up. There's beautiful bars everywhere. I drive home every day from the studio and there are changes almost daily, it's just magnificent to see. So having this event come to Newcastle, to me is not just a great attraction, but also a marker of the times and how we're coming of age."
Van Gogh Alive is created and produced by Grande Experiences, whose owner Bruce Peterson said it was an "unforgettable cultural experience for all the family".
"After mesmerising a global audience of over 8.5 million people and selling-out cities all over the world, including Rome, London and Beijing, we're incredibly excited that Van Gogh Alive now comes to Newcastle," he said.
City Business Improvement Association chairperson Kendall Brooks said often Newcastle was overlooked for these sorts of events and believed it would attract people from other parts of NSW. "It's such a big thing to have people from greater regional areas experience this," she said.
Mr Drinkwater also believed a household name like Van Gogh would ignite interest from more than just die-hard art lovers.
"Van Gogh is such a big brand," he said. "His name is so major that it'll bring a lot of people out. There's this taboo that art is highbrow and hard to decipher and interpret, but it's as simple as cooking. I want to demystify any kind of elitism about art, that it's only for a certain few. It's absolutely for everybody.
"So to bring someone like Vincent that everyone can know or identify with... it will engage a lot of other people that may not have come out if it was something slightly more obscure."
In turn, the event is expected to provide a boost for the wider community and fill a hole left by the two-year closure of the Newcastle Art Gallery for redevelopment.
"The versatility of Foreshore Park ensures we're able to attract major events such as this unique immersive experience in Newcastle, which will attract an influx of visitors to our city at a time when the local tourism industry needs it most," Cr Nelmes said.
Ms Brooks said she expected restaurants, accommodation providers and retailers to all benefit.
"I think it will be a big boost," she said. "There's confidence back in the market [after COVID]. People are heading out more, things are starting to change."
Van Gogh Alive will run September 21 to October 23.
