Which of the following cities does not belong in the list: London, Paris, Toronto, Berlin, Sao Paolo, Chicago, Melbourne or Groningen? Did you choose Groningen? INCORRECT! Actually, they all belong in that list, because these are the cities the David Bowie exhibition will be visiting.
From 11 December, the Groninger Museum will be open an hour later every day. The reason: David Bowie. The first major international exhibit on Bowie featuring over 300 objects from the David Bowie Archives will be on display at the museum until 13 March 2016. The exhibition is very large. An entire two floors will be filled with Bowie objects such as handwritten lyrics, outfits and images from concerts.
You might expect such a large exhibit at a museum in the western part of the country. But only the Groninger Museum was offered the exhibit in 2013, and they couldn’t help but say ‘yes’ with a big smile. ‘Of course, it has to suit the museum, and that is the case with us,’ explains Willemien Bouwers, press officer for the Groninger Museum. ‘There are many similarities because it is such a diverse exhibit. Music, fashion and photography are the focus.’
TIMESLOTS AND HEADSETS
Still, the exhibit is new territory for the museum in several ways: ‘It's unlike anything that's been here before,’ says Bouwers. In addition to the exhibit being incredibly multimedia-oriented (there is a room where all kinds of images from different concerts are projected), the museum will be working with timeslots for the first time.
As a visitor, you will buy a ticket for a specific day and time. These timeslots are necessary because visitors must wear a headset to truly experience DAVID BOWIE is. There are 450 of these available, which enables the crowds to be well distributed.
BLOCKBUSTER BOWIE
In 2014, the Groninger Museum's visitor numbers went down sharply compared to the previous year, but this exhibition will really draw a crowd. Bouwers agrees: ‘David Bowie is definitely a blockbuster. It’s attracting a lot of attention. I get emails from all over the world from people coming to this.’
In any case, ticket sales are already going very well. The specially organised Bowie Late Nights have already sold out. On these nights, a special guest will stop by with a particular theme: ‘The Bowie nights are a little more exclusive. It will really be a fun night. There will be speakers such as Hans Ubbink, Ad Visser and Leo Blokhuis.’ But the regular tickets are also popular. Over 11,000 of these have already been sold.
UNEXPECTED GUESTS?
The rest of the city of Groningen has also got a case of Bowie fever. The Groninger Forum has a whole film programme about Bowie, the Noord Nederlands Orkest has a Bowie night presented by Eric Corton and even Vera has a special Bowie programme.
Of course, the question of whether Bowie himself is coming to the opening had to be asked as well, but alas, Bouwers tells us that he will not be attending. However, it wouldn't be the first time unexpected guests have shown up at an opening. In a similar vein, Naomi Campbell unexpectedly appeared at the opening of French designer Azzedine Alaia's exhibit at the museum in 2011.
Bouwers is not revealing anything else about it. She just says, ‘In any case, the opening will be very festive with various performances. Everything will be in the theme of Bowie.’
Text: Patriecia Kolthof
Image: Cover Aladdin Sane (1973) - Q&A Images