For the Culture Vulture

CULTURE Attractions of Australia will provide a single point of contact for travellers, trade partners and media to access premium, behind-the-scenes cultural experiences in iconic locations. 

As a collective, its strength lies in the diversity and iconic nature of the sites and collections represented, as well as the direct connection they hold with the people and cultures of #Australia. 

The founding members of Cultural Attractions of Australia are Adelaide Oval, Arts Centre Melbourne, Australian War Memorial, WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle Prison, Melbourne Cricket Ground, MONA, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Opera Australia, Parliament House, Port Arthur Historic Site, Qantas Founders Museum Longreach, Sovereign Hill and Sydney Opera House. 

Each of these institutions has developed one or more rare, premium experiences, ensuring unrivalled access and attention for their guests who can expect the unexpected.  

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The Louvre crowned as France’s top tourist spot

THE world’s largest art museum the Louvre hosted a record breaking 10.2 million visitors in 2018, up from 25% the previous year, with the Eiffel Tower coming in second place.

The historic museum is home to many renowned pieces such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Théodore Géricault's 19th century masterpiece the Raft of the Medusa, not forgetting many antiquities and sculptures.

Frances’ tourism industry took a sharp decline after terrorist attacks claimed 230 lives between 2015 and 2016, but figures have recently increased, with #Paris once again becoming a European hotspot for tourists.

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Discover Art in Public Places

MIAMI Beach holds a reputation for being a world class art destination. 

In 2019, travelers will come across new art installations as they explore Miami Beach by renowned artists such as, Ellen Harvey, Joseph Kosuth, and Sarah Morris. 

Scattered throughout the city, visitors can embark on an artistic scavenger hunt, all situated around #Miami Beach's 7 miles of pristine beaches.

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Illuminating The Palm Beaches

THE Palm Beaches is a collection of 39 cities and towns stretching from Boca Raton to Jupiter and Tequesta, with 47 miles of pristine Atlantic Ocean beaches and sophisticated art and culture. The destination has more than 200 cultural organizations that produce 42,000 events, exhibitions and performances annually.

This holiday season, travelers looking to ditch the cold for a sunny, culture-filled getaway are headed to Florida's Cultural Capital to experience an incredible selection of cultural programming for all ages and interests. A sampling of holiday happenings in the Palm Beaches includes:

Handel's Messiah – The Benjamin School (Palm Beach Gardens)
On Friday, December 14, celebrate the holidays with Masterworks Chorus of The Palm Beaches' presentation of G.F. Handel's Messiah. Tickets are $25/person; $10/students.

Garden of Lights – Mounts Botanical Garden (West Palm Beach)
Through Sunday, December 30, visitors of Mounts Botanical Garden can gaze in awe as thousands of lights illuminate garden areas, with live dance performances and musical presentations will be held on select nights. The garden is open daily from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and tickets are available online or at the gate.

Photos with Santa – Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society (West Palm Beach)
Jolly old Saint Nick takes time out of his busy schedule to spend quality time with visitors at the zoo through Saturday, December 22.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical – Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (West Palm Beach)  The 'Most Famous Reindeer of All' comes to life on Sunday, December 23 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Families can enjoy all of their favorite characters as the beloved classic soars onto the stage for two performances on Sunday. Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online and at the venue.

A Very Jewish Concert on Christmas Day – Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Community Center (Boca Raton) Led by Aaron Kula and featuring the sounds of Klezmer, Yiddish, Israeli and Chassidic music from Second Avenue and beyond, the renowned Klezmer Company Orchestra will perform on Tuesday, December 25 at 3 p.m.


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The Somerset Poppies

AT the Bishop's Palace in Wells an installation has literally popped up on the Croquet lawn. Featuring over 8000 poppies made by children at schools in and around Wells, Somerset. Each poppy will represent a serviceman from Somerset, or who served in a Somerset regiment, who lost his life in World War One.

Poppies can be pre-ordered for £5 at www.somersetpoppies.co.uk. All proceeds will be donated to the Wells branch of the Royal British Legion, and SSAFA, the armed forces charity.

The exhibition (11th - 25th November) is free to view.




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Picture Credit: Angela Suter

Sao Paulo Art Biennial: A reason to explore

THE 33rd Sao Paulo’s Art Biennial opened its doors to the public on September 7 and will remain open until December 9th, 2018. It’s the second largest biennial in the world, just behind the inspirational Venetian Biennial, bringing over 500 thousand viewers per edition.

The Biennial alone would be enough reason to jump on a plane, but for art lovers, the country is an adventure to be explored. Curated by Gabriel Perez-Barreiro, Spanish director, chief-curator and Art History Master, the 33th Biennial was built on the idea of privileging the individual experience of the spectator on the appreciation of art, where the artist is not only exhibiting its work but also curating it, hoping to bring a bigger and better communication between viewer and artist.

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Hula some time away at New York Botanical Gardens

HAWAIIAN summer at the New York Botanical Garden, while Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) brings more than 15 paintings back to #NewYork City for the first time since they were exhibited in 1940. 

This landmark exhibition that runs through October 28, 2018 and also offers up a summer-long feast of Hawaiian flora, culture, music and food, along with a rich menu of programming, hula and films. For visitors to New York City, it’s an immersive counterpoint to a day of urban sightseeing, a tropical escape just 20 minutes from the bustle of midtown.

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Unleash your creativity

ONE of the best ways people can portray their art is through the lens of a camera. While many of the younger generations take up their mobile phones and take selfies or landscape photos that are severely filtered before posting them on social media, this is a far cry from the experience of an actual photographer.   Creative Escapes offers a unique and one of a kind #holiday experience that combines the relaxation of a luxury vacation with a #photography training program.

These amazing photography holidays have earned a lot of praise from different publications such as The Guardian who named this as one of the "Top Ten Photography Holidays", "Six Best Hands on Holidays" as said by the Independent on Sunday, as well as being called the "Best Photo Breaks" by The Sunday Telegraph.

Holiday destinations range from the secluded deserts of the Sahara to the mountains of California. There is a destination that is perfect for everyone’s ideal holiday and picturesque destination. As the Wall Street Journal once said: "There tailor-made trips give visitors an insider’s perspective of the countries they are touring with local experts guiding them."

While the local tour guides know all the best spots for shopping, dining, and drinking the expert photography tutors know the best places for the most gorgeous and jaw-dropping photographs in the area. The small groups of eight people can learn the best techniques from their tutors who all have different, but equally amazing experience in the field of photography.

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Lighting up the night

WILD and exotic times ahead, when the lights go on at two of Vivid Sydney’s favourite precincts, Taronga Zoo and The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Taronga Zoo will shine a bold and bright spotlight on conservation and endangered wildlife with a family-friendly, spectacular display of giant animal light sculptures. As the Zoo’s permanent residents retire for the evening, Lights for the Wild will introduce visitors to fierce and friendly creatures, and take them on a colourful journey through fragile habitats — from the ocean, to the jungle and the Australian bush.

www.vividsydney.com

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Blooming marvellous

SINCE 1953, Canada’s most colourful festival celebrates the tulip, Ottawa’s official flower and an international symbol friendship and peace, through art and culture. Paying tribute to veterans, and the WWII liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops, our millions of tulips set the stage for a celebration of authentic art, cultural, historic, culinary and family tulip experiences at various official venues. 

Uniquely Canadian and One of the largest events of its kind in the world the festival takes place May 11-21 with attractions throughout the city at Lansdowne Park, Dow’s Lake, Garden Promenade and the Byward Market. Bloomex will be providing tulips and other flowers for events leading up to and during the festival. As an added value, Bloomex will be adding a free festival pass to every Ottawa Capital Region order from May 1-20.

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Drawn to Italy

CALLED a “pastel-hued perfection” by Lonely Planet, Cinque Terre is comprised of five cliff-side villages along the Italian Riviera whose colorful beauty draws thousands of visitors every year. It is also one of the inspirations for Art Walk Italy, a unique, seven-night walking vacation offered by ‘The Blue Walk’, a vacation specialist with tours in France, Italy and Greece.

The Blue Walk offers small-group walking vacations in unique and undiscovered regions of France, Italy, Greece, and England. Its clients enjoy leisurely strolls along the beautiful coastlines, village squares and open spaces of Europe while staying at luxury four or five-star boutique hotels and resorts. Each tour includes daily one hour to half-day walks in some of the world’s most serene surroundings. The Blue Walk also offers themed vacations with well-known, talented and creative teachers.

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Smurfed in Belgium

SMURFS in the sky... On 24 March, Brussels Airlines will present its fifth iconic aircraft in the colours of Belgium and the #Smurfs our little blue friends will feature on the fuselage of a Brussels Airlines Airbus A320. 

SMURFS in the city!  . . . On 17 May, a Smurf fresco will be unveiled near the Central Station.

www.smurfexperience.com

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Only in LA . . .

THE Museum of Selfies (Glendale) – Open for a limited time in Los Angeles, The Museum of Selfies is an interactive museum that explores the history and cultural phenomenon of the selfie - an image of oneself taken by oneself - with historical roots dating back 40,000 years to the first depiction of human art. 

From cavemen drawings to a "Narcissist" installation to a vertigo-inducing rooftop selfie illusion, the museum touches on a variety of points in human history that examines the intention of the selfie and what it means to the artist and its viewers. The interactive exhibit will allow visitors to create art of their own through the lens of history, art, and immersive vignettes. 

The exhibition will be open for a limited run from April 1 – May 31, 2018. 

www.themuseumofselfies.com

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Contrasts of classic and contemporary

FEW historic houses can offer wonderful vistas, ancient woodlands, peaceful sounds of wildlife and at the same time be a vibrant centre for contemporary art.  A paradise of art and nature, Brantwood in the #LakeDistrict has all the above and more.

Each year the former home of one the great visionaries of the 19th Century, John Ruskin, hosts artists and craftmakers who develop special exhibitions and new displays inspired by the very spirit of Brantwood.

The first of 2018 is Fair and Foul, Jill Rock’s interactive exhibition of 'vegetative grotesques' which takes its name from Ruskin's book Fiction Fair and Foul.

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Follow in the steps of the masters

WALKING vacation specialist “The Blue Walk” has announced the dates for a variety of #Art Walks in #France and #Italy that have proven to be a hit with solo travelers. 

Tailored to all skills levels, the tours are led by popular artist-teachers. They provide the perfect opportunity for budding novices and experienced artists to “follow in the steps of the masters” in some of Europe’s most picturesque cities and coastal towns. Tours are limited to small groups to allow for maximum one-on-one opportunities between students and art instructors.

Available tours include Art Walk Italy that incorporates watercolor and sketching lessons with artist Leslie Fehling, September 22 – 29; Watercolor Sketching in Paris with artist Laure Ferlita, October 7 – 13; and Chalk Painting in Florence, Italy with Tracy Lee Stum and Sharyn Chan, October 15 – 21.

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From China to Chicago

MIRRORING China’s Past: Emperors And Their Bronzes runs February 25 to May 13 at the Art Institute of Chicago, and will be the first project devoted to an in-depth study of the tradition of collecting ancient bronzes in China. The focus of this exhibition is not only how such works were unearthed in their original context, but also the different ways in which they were collected, classified and conceptualized throughout Chinese history. 

The exhibition features over 160 exquisite objects of diverse forms and materials, including a number of highlights from the Art Institute of Chicago’s strong holdings; the majority are loans from the Palace Museum, Beijing, the Shanghai Museum and important museums and private collections in the United States.

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Shining a light on Uluru

ARTIST Bruce Munro’s immersive installation, Field of Light Uluru has been extended for a further period and will now remain in place until 31 December 2020. The award-winning exhibition, located at #AyersRock Resort in the spiritual heart of #Australia, opened on 1 April 2016 to critical acclaim, and has since exceeded all expectations proving to be a stand-out drawcard to the destination.

The exhibition, aptly named Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku or ‘looking at lots of beautiful lights’ in local Pitjantjatjara, is Munro’s largest work to date, with more than 50,000 slender stems crowned with radiant frosted-glass spheres over an area the size of nine football fields. It is also the artist’s first work to be illuminated entirely through solar power. The spheres, connected via illuminated optical fibre, bloom as darkness falls. Pathways draw viewers into the artwork, which comes to life under a sky brilliant with stars.

The award-winning exhibition has received extensive media attention during its two seasons, significantly featuring in 2017’s Qantas Safety Video with over 90 million views worldwide.

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Picture Credit: Pintrest

Hong Kong Arts Month

HONG KONG'S flourishing arts scene comes alive in March and adds a unique edge to the shimmering city with an inspirational spectrum of events. From opera to ballet or art installations to seminars, there’s something to suit all tastes March 1-31.

Art Basel is an international art fair with three shows staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach, Florida; and Hong Kong. Each show is organised into sectors which showcase contemporary artworks by established and newly emerging artists. The 2018 edition will feature 248 premier galleries from 32 countries and territories. Underlining Art Basel’s commitment to the region, half of the participating galleries once again have exhibition spaces in Asia and Asia-Pacific. The show provides an in-depth overview of the region’s diversity through both historical material and cutting-edge works by established and emerging artists. March 29-31

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Art in the Arab world

LOUVRE Abu Dhabi opened its doors to the public on 11 November 2017. It is the first museum of its kind in the Arab world: a universal museum that focuses on shared human stories across civilisations and cultures.

Located in #AbuDhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pritzker Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel has designed a museum city (Arab medina) under a vast silvery dome. Visitors can walk through the promenades overlooking the sea beneath the museum’s 180-metre dome, comprised of almost 8,000 unique metal stars set in a complex geometric pattern. When sunlight filters through, it creates a moving ‘rain of light’ beneath the dome, reminiscent of the overlapping palm trees in the UAE’s oases.

On display will be the museum’s important collection of artworks, artefacts and loans from France’s top museums. These span the entirety of human existence: from prehistorical objects to commissioned contemporary artworks, highlighting universal themes and ideas and marking a departure from traditional museography that often separates according to origin. In addition to the galleries, the museum will include exhibitions, a Children’s Museum, a restaurant, a boutique and a café.

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Picture Credit: pintrest.fr

Visit Zagreb for a brush with culture

ZAGREB is just an easy, two hour flight from London Heathrow with #Croatia Airlines and British Airways, from London Gatwick with Monarch and also from Manchester with Monarch with a flight time of just 30 minutes more. A wide range of accommodation in the capital from funky hostels, city apartments through to five star hotels.

Street Art - This is quite remarkable and brings present day street art to a new level. Also known as MUU, everyone is talking about this. Street Art was based on an idea by a group of famous Croatian artists to revitalise various parts of Zagreb. The ZagrebBeThere app is a free iOS and Android app which takes you to Zagreb’s coolest spots and helps you to discover the fabulous street art.

Museum of Broken Relationships - An art installation which is now world famous. It exhibits mementos of relationships which have gone wrong (not just between lovers) and is housed in an 18th Century Palace in the Upper Town.

Croatian Museum of Naive Art - Also in the Upper Town, there was an amazing collection of totally self-taught artists and sculptors, many of which were simple country folk. Without any training, this movement developed between 1930-1970’s with most of the artists from the Zagreb and surrounding area, with Hlebine having an important role in this genre. www.hmnu.hr/en

Mestrovic Atelier - The art scene of the capital cannot be considered without mention of Ivan Mestrovic, Croatia’s most famous sculptor and architect. Across Croatia, even in the smallest places, there is usually a Mestrovic creation somewhere. He lived from 1883-1962 and worked with Rodin. More than 300 sculptures and other artwork are on display in his former residence in the Upper Town and dating from 17th century. www.mestrovic.hr/muzeji/atelijer-mestrovic/atelijer-mestrovic.html

Art Pavilion - Not to be missed, a beautiful yellow art deco building at the southern end of Zrinjevac Park. This was never intended as a permanent structure (it was intended as temporary exhibit in Budapest in 1896) and was rebuilt in original stone in Zagreb. The Pavilion houses a wide range of exhibitions – featuring works of both local and international world class artists. www.umjetnicki-paviljon.hr/en

Moderna Gallery - Home to a national collection of 19th and 20th century art including “Tactile Gallery MG”, the first multi-sensory gallery in this part of Europe for visually impaired people. www.moderna-galerija.hr

Lauba House for People & Art - This contemporary art gallery opened in 2011 with a permanent collection that rotates every month. Located in an old Zagreb textile mill, it features new artists from Croatia and abroad. www.lauba.hr/en

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