Rise of the must-see exhibition

Australia has been pretty comfortable with the blockbuster exhibition since the 1970s, but a new book unpacks what such exhibitions mean to the sustainability of art museums today.
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Trading on big name imports, blockbusters are still popular with Australians; promotional image, Alexander Calder: Radical Inventor, NGV International Melbourne from 5 April 2019 – 4 August 2019; supplied

Blockbusters are big business for Australia’s galleries and museums; they have been since the 1970s and continue to drive visitor numbers today. But the smorgasbord of blockbusters on offer has changed dramatically over past decades, not to mention their spillover into a regional footprint and the rise of home exports.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina