By Luke Voogt
A Geelong exhibition attracting almost one GHMBA Stadium worth of visitors so far has received a promotional push from Channel 7 weatherwoman Jane Bunn.
The meteorologist interviewed local born-and-bred street artist Tyrone ‘Rone’ Wright, whose exhibition has attracted more than 31,000 visitors since February 27, according to Geelong Gallery.
“You could see she was really interested in it – she had a lot more questions off air,” Rone told the Independent shortly after.
“The opportunity came up and of course I’m very happy to promote the exhibition. I’m pretty good at talking about myself.”
Rone hoped the interview, part of Visit Victoria’s new partnership with the TV network, would boost weekday visits before his Geelong Gallery exhibition closes on May 16.
“If it gets a few more people down to Geelong, that’s fantastic,” he said.
“The weekends are already insane so I’m trying to encourage people to come during the week if they can.”
Geelong Gallery will open until 10pm for the last two nights of the exhibition, deputy director Penny Whitehead said.
“The last couple of weekends have been at capacity and I expect the coming ones will fill,” she said.
According a 1900-person Geelong Gallery survey, more than half of visitors came from outside Geelong and the Surf Coast, including 41 per cent from Melbourne.
Of those, 18 per cent stayed overnight while 77 per cent said Rone’s exhibition was their primary reason for visiting.
The gallery estimates the exhibition will generate a total of $4.5 million for the local economy.
“It’s clearly driving significant tourism traffic to Geelong,” Ms Whitehead said.
Details: geelonggallery.org.au
