01 Dec 2016
- Karena Noble will be attending IMM NY - please contact directly for an appointment time
Internationally acclaimed artist Bruce Munro's immersive installation, Field of Light Uluru, is a sell-out global phenomenon, demanding the extension of the exhibition to a second season, and will now continue to delight guests until 31 March 2018. The award-winning exhibition, at Ayers Rock Resort in the spiritual heart of Australia, opened to critical acclaim in April and has exceeded all expectations, proving to be a stand-out drawcard to the destination.
“Since opening almost 100,000 guests have been deeply moved by the Field of Light, it's hard not to be. I am delighted to announce the extension as an extraordinary opportunity for guests to enjoy not only the spiritual nature of the destination, but experience it in a unique and mesmerising way,” said Voyages Executive General Manager Sales, Marketing and Distribution, Ray Stone.
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 four 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.
“For anyone fortunate enough to have walked amongst those 50,000 magical illuminated stems, Field of Light undoubtedly qualifies as one of the most amazing exhibitions in Australia today. It's proven to be a real drawcard for domestic and international visitors, and with the extensive and deserved global exposure it's received this year, I have little doubt that a second season will be hugely successful,” said Tourism Australia's CEO John O'Sullivan.
“Field of Light was one idea that landed in my sketchbook and kept on nagging at me to be done,” said Munro. “I saw in my mind a landscape of illuminated stems that, like dormant seeds in a dry desert, quietly wait until darkness falls, under a blazing blanket of southern stars, to bloom with gentle rhythms of light,” said artist Bruce Munro.
“I am greatly moved and humbled by the enormous response to the artwork. It's obvious the combination of the exhibition and a canvas as visceral as this – flourishing from red dirt and tufts of spinifex, in the shadows of nature's biggest shape-shifter, Uluru, is immensely powerful to people,” said Bruce.
To celebrate the announcement of a second season, Voyages has released stunning Virtual Reality and 360 footage of the Field of Light, where people all over the world can be transported to the spiritual heart of Australia and into the Field of Light, all from the comfort of their own environment.
Official airline partner, the Qantas Group, transported the stems, weighing in total approximately 15 tonnes, more than 19,000 kilometers (11,800 miles) over 32 international and domestic flights to Australia, the farthest a piece of Munro's artwork has travelled to an exhibition.
Executive Manager Qantas Freight and Qantas Catering Group, Alison Webster said Qantas has a long history of supporting the Arts and is proud to be part of this project. “We are thrilled, as Australia's national carrier, to be involved in this unique project which quite literally shines a spotlight on one of the most breathtaking and special places in the world, Uluru,” she said.
Guests can enjoy the field in a number of ways – a Field of Light Pass includes transfers, a Star Pass includes transfers as well as sparkling wine and canapes, and for those wanting a special evening under the stars there is A Night at Field of Light dining experience that includes transfers and guests can also arrive via helicopter or camel for an additional charge. Pre-booking Field of Light experiences before arrival is strongly recommended.
ENDS
SITE LINK & SOCIAL HANDLES
www.ayersrockresort.com.au/fieldoflight
@ExploreUluru | #ExploreUluru
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Karena Noble, Director of PR
Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia
0418 912 162
IMAGES
www.dropbox.com/sh/nojtuj4fbmq0fid/AAC1MG_sm3UUGTLlPQv-AFDAa?dl=0
Contact merryn.andrews@voyages.com.au
ABOUT BRUCE MUNRO
Bruce Munro is noted for his immersive site-specific installations that employ light to evoke emotional response. Born in London in 1959, he completed a B.A. in Fine Arts at Bristol in 1982. Shortly thereafter he moved to Sydney where he took up employment in design and lighting, inspired by Australia's natural light and landscape. Returning to England in 1992, he settled in Wiltshire, where he and his wife Serena raised four children. His work has been shown at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild Collection, Buckinghamshire, and the Guggenheim Museum, New York. It is held in museum collections internationally including the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. www.brucemunro.co.uk
ABOUT QANTAS FREIGHT
Qantas Freight Enterprises is the international and domestic air freight division of the Qantas Group and employs 1400 staff across the globe. Qantas Freight markets the freight capacity on Qantas and Jetstar passenger aircraft as well as operating a fleet of thirteen dedicated freighters to supplement capacity on key domestic and international routes.
This network, combined with the strength of the Emirates partnership and interline agreements, gives Qantas Freight significant network reach to more than 500 international and 80 domestic destinations. As well as being Australia's leading cargo carrier, Qantas Freight is also Australia's leading airfreight cargo terminal operator.
Qantas Freight's network of 86 cargo terminals provides ground handling to the Qantas Group and 29 third party airlines.
ABOUT AYERS ROCK RESORT AND VOYAGES INDIGENOUS TOURISM AUSTRALIA
Ayers Rock Resort provides a variety of accommodation from the premium Sails in the Desert hotel, Award-winning Desert Gardens Hotel, Emu Walk Apartments, the authentic Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge and Ayers Rock Campground. Ayers Rock Resort is managed by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia.
Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) and manages tourism and resorts on its behalf. Voyages offers unique experiences and cultural immersion in spectacular locations around Australia including Ayers Rock Resort in the Northern Territory, Home Valley Station in The Kimberley in Western Australia and the Mossman Gorge Centre, in Tropical North Queensland. Voyages works collaboratively with local communities, respecting and supporting the local Indigenous cultures and offering employment and training opportunities to the local and broader Australian and Torres-Strait Islander Indigenous communities.
For the last two consecutive years Voyages Ayers Rock Resort has been awarded the Australian Tourism Award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism and currently has 37% Indigenous employment.
Profits from all business activities are re-invested in the Indigenous and resort experiences and through the various training and development programs in place around Australia.
