Calling all art snobs, history nerds, and music lovers: clear your calendars — Friday Nights at NGV is here, and it’s exactly what you ordered.
Perfectly coinciding with Melbourne’s beautifully warm spring evenings is the National Gallery of Victoria’s latest after-dark event, and it’s creating quite the buzz. Returning for 2015 and running over six Fridays from the 2nd of October to the 6th of November, Friday Nights at NGV combines some of Melbourne’s best art, music, and dining for an unforgettable evening where the gallery truly comes alive.
The event allows guests an exclusive after-hours peak at the NGV’s latest exhibition, Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The Legacy of Catherine the Great, a series of artworks and historical artefacts paying homage to the former Russian Empress. The exhibition spans across several rooms, showcasing the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez and Van Dyck, as well as displaying enchanting artefacts from the Empresses divine collection.
But of course, that’s not all.
Over in the Great Hall, guests can grab a bite from the NGV’s Friday Nights menu, or a drink or two (or several) from the bar. If it’s a meal you’re after, the NGV’s popular restaurant Persimmon offers special deals for ticket-holders. A guest DJ will keep the tunes spinning while you dine, before making way for the night’s headlining act— for which you can expect a sweet array of pop, jazz, folk and indie rock beats. It’s the NGV like you’ve never seen it before.
Having checked it out last week for its opening night, I can tell you it makes for fab night out. If you’re looking to make the most of your night (and why wouldn’t you?) I’d recommend getting in early to check out the exhibition, while allowing yourself enough time to grab a table (they disappear fast) and some nibbles in the Great Hall before kicking back to enjoy the headlining act.
Aside from the captivating Hermitage collection, the music and the food, the whole evening had an unmistakably exciting vibe about it, a buzz in the atmosphere that convinced me that even the gallery loves a party on a Friday night.
– Anoosha
Anoosha is a blogger, writer, and obsessive tea-drinker.
Friday Nights at the NGV run 2 October to 6 November 2016. Purchase tickets now.
The venue is accessible.
