Long live the King

LADIES and gentlemen, Elvis will soon enter the building after the Bendigo Art Gallery announced its next major exhibition will comprise three hundred artifacts from the King of Rock and Roll’s life.

Curated by the gallery and drawn from Presley’s personal collection held at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, the event will be exclusive to the Gallery and open on 19 March next year.

“Elvis was a creative trail blazer whose inventive sense of fashion and personal style was as audacious as his music,” said gallery director Jessica Bridgfoot.

“Elvis remains one of the most influential and iconic figures of the 20th century, whose profound legacy endures widely in art, design and in pop culture.

“We are very excited.”

Titled Elvis: Direct from Graceland, the exhibition includes pieces from many periods of Presley’s life, and Ms Bridgfoot described it as, “The largest and most comprehensive collection of objects to travel from Graceland to Australia.”

Currently set to go on show are items like Elvis’ red convertible 1960 MG from Blue Hawaii and his 1976 Bicentennial custom Harley Davidson.

From his stage career and Vegas period there’ll be jumpsuits and costumes as well as his gold glasses, while personal items like his wedding tux and Priscilla’s wedding dress and even the lamp from beside his bed will show the man behind the performer.

“For the past 12 months the wonderful people at Elvis Presley Enterprises Graceland have granted Bendigo Art Gallery unprecedented access to the Graceland archives,” Ms Bridgfoot said.

“The exhibition will explore Elvis’ stella career, his larger-than-life persona, lesser-known aspects of his early years, and, given our interest… in fashion and design, his radical sense of style.

“Several items in the exhibition have never left the gates of Graceland before.”

The announcement of Elvis: Direct from Graceland comes after several other major exhibitions at the Bendigo Art Gallery including Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary that ran until June this year and Brett Whiteley: Drawing is Everything, which is in its last days.

Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements said Elvis: Direct from Graceland was one of several key attractions set for the state nest year.

“We’re thrilled to be supporting this Australian-exclusive exhibition which joins a long list of blockbuster major events scheduled for Victoria in 2022,” he said.

With financial backing for the for the exhibition coming in part from the State Government’s Major Events Fund, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula described the event as a “major coup”.

“Landing this exhibition is a major coup for Bendigo and Victoria and thousands of Elvis fans will be marking the dates in their diaries right now,” he said.

“Whether people come for the jumpsuits, the Harley or just to celebrate one of the great figures in recent history, the benefit will extend to cafes, restaurants and hotels across the region.”