Thousands of Vincent van Gogh's works are being projected on to shipping containers, stacked three-high on Wellington's waterfront, using state of the art technology.
The Digital Nights Wellington – Van Gogh Alive exhibition starts tomorrow in a temporary outdoor gallery in Odlins Plaza.
From sunset the 45-minute experience is designed to create the sensation of walking right into the Dutch master's paintings.
The exhibition is set to an evocative music score under the city's night sky.
WellingtonNZ has secured the New Zealand rights to the exhibition, which has thrilled audiences at indoor venues across the northern hemisphere.
Events and Experiences general manager Warrick Dent said he expected the display would attract tens of thousands of visitors keen to see the works in a completely new and modern way.
"It is a truly unique event experience which is sure to enthral adults and children irrespective of their respective knowledge of Van Gogh's work," he said.
The exhibition is designed to function in Covid-19 alert levels 1 and 2.
When tickets first went on sale up to 300 people were expected to go through in each session, but numbers are now capped at 100.
Dent said they have had to refund some tickets but resales have bounced back quickly.
Based on current numbers, about 35 per cent of visitors are expected to be out-of-towners.
"We're talking millions of dollars into the Wellington economy," Dent said.
"The other side of that is actually getting Wellingtonians back into town and spending again too. People are working from home, if we can get people back into the CBD those CBD businesses will benefit."
The artwork is created through 21 projectors shining images on to 52 containers.
About 70 people have been involved in the production, including front-of-house staff.
One of them, Elliott Harris, said it's created jobs for people in the arts sector who were out of work due to Covid-19.
"We've had a range of different people - chippies, riggers, lighting people, AV techs, sound techs, some of the front-of-house staff are arts actors."
Harris described the exhibition as grand.
"I haven't worked on a projection event of this scale and obviously being outdoors adds quite a lot of additional challenges, but also it will add quite a nice framework when it gets nice and dark and on a clear night it'll be a beautiful thing."
The show will go on in all weather conditions apart from when wind speeds reach 100km/h.
The containers have been modified to house the projectors.
They have then been sealed and made watertight to protect the equipment from the elements.
Wellington mayor Andy Foster said the show was the perfect way to launch the city's major events calendar after the disruption caused by Covid-19.
"It will help fill our hotels and boost spending in both the retail and hospitality sectors.
"But it's not just for out-of-towners. I'm sure Wellingtonians will take the opportunity to be amazed and entertained in a unique way by the giant digital works of one of the world's most famous and influential artists."
The show runs from this Friday, August 28, until October 26.
• Digital Nights – Van Gogh Alive is created and produced by Grande Exhibitions
• It uses state-of-the-art SENSORY4™ immersive gallery which allows for the projection of enormous crystal-clear images
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