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Marvel proves record breaking success for GOMA

Premier and Minister for the Arts Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Gallery of Modern Art’s (GOMA) largest ever exhibition of costumes, props and art from the Marvel Cinematic Universe had broken all previous QAGOMA attendance records for a ticketed exhibition.

“QAGOMA celebrated a record-breaking annual attendance in 2016-17 with 1.73 million visitors, including almost half from interstate and overseas, and now the Marvel exhibition at GOMA has exceeded all expectations,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe attracted a staggering 269,000 plus visitors to GOMA from 27 May to 3 September 2017.

“This attendance surpasses all previous QAGOMA ticketed blockbusters, such as Andy Warhol, Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future and Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling back to Earth,” Ms Palaszczuk said.  

“Exclusive to GOMA and the first Marvel-related exhibition to be staged in Australia, Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe was a must-see for local, national and international visitors to Queensland.

“Curated by QAGOMA from the extensive archive of Marvel Studios as well as private and public collections, the exhibition was an outstanding addition to our state’s world-class events calendar which draws thousands of visitors a year to Queensland, and helps grow our tourism industry and deliver jobs.

“Over the course of the past ten years GOMA has firmly established its reputation for both excellence and daring, and opened up a new world of international visual arts experiences to Queenslanders, while attracting millions of visitors from across Australia and overseas.

“It is no coincidence that QAGOMA achieved its record visitation figures in the same financial year as my Government reinstated funding of up to $10.8 million over four years for blockbusters and major exhibitions for the Gallery.

QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe had occupied the entire ground floor of GOMA with more than 500 objects including original costumes and comic books, props and spectacular set pieces, concept and keyframe art and clips from the Marvel Universe films.

“We are thrilled so many visitors engaged with the rich fictional world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as conveyed through three thematic sections, wildly popular interactives and a retrospective of Marvel films screened in the Australian Cinémathèque at GOMA.

“During the exhibition more than 6,200 Marvel catalogues were purchased, with a limited edition box set of the book (100 units) that included a signed art print, quickly selling out,” Mr Saines said.

Visitors also enjoyed the Up Late series presented every Friday evening from 28 July to 1 September.

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe was organised by QAGOMA in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment.

The Queensland Government was proud to support the exhibition through Tourism and Events Queensland and Arts Queensland. The Gallery acknowledges the support of UNIQLO – Principal Partner and exclusive sponsor of Up Late during Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe.