The National Gallery of Victoria was founded in 1861 and is the oldest and most visited public art gallery in Australia.
From intimate dinners to large-scale themed functions and incredible wedding receptions, NGV offers unique venue spaces for a variety of functions. NGV’s ever-changing program of major exhibitions, available for private viewings, is an ideal way to leverage your corporate entertainment and create memorable event experiences.
The contemporary yet elegant spaces include the iconic Great Hall, featuring Leonard French’s famed stained glass ceiling, and the tranquil Garden Restaurant, which overlooks the Grollo Equiset Garden. Regardless of the chosen space, you can be assured that the AV department has you covered.
This year, the AV department has implemented several upgrades from Show Technology, with a focus on leased asset replacement and rejuvenation strategies.
“The equipment was not purchased for one particular project, rather for the ongoing operational requirements,” elaborated John Byrne, AV Event Coordinator for the NGV. “Having said that, some of the gear has gone into individual projects, details of which are under embargo until the end of the year, so I won’t be able to bring you up to speed on them. In a general sense, I can say that the Show Technology products are used daily, particularly in our Great Hall.”
On average, the NGV hosts 500 events a year, in addition to exhibitions. The events can range from a small presentation night to a 500-person gala event. It’s a well-oiled machine, and the recent products facilitate the delivery of those events.
Prolights LED EclProfile CT+ IP and EclFresnel CT+ M IP were chosen for their solid reputation, and John points out that, from a functionality standpoint, they have many of the same features as some of the more expensive brands on the market.
“I have a pretty good relationship with Keith Bradshaw from Show Technology, so I was able to get a sample and demo of the models,” explained John. “They seemed to tick all those boxes that we needed, and I like the product. They are high-quality and versatile. I should also mention that the products are IP-rated, and our environment can be incredibly dusty. Therefore, the fact that they’re IP-rated was a significant deciding factor.”
John was impressed by the out-of-the-box functionality of the Prolights fixtures and the sound level of back-end support. He cites a firmware issue, which he resolved by reaching out to Prolights, receiving a reply within a couple of hours, and subsequently receiving a new firmware update within twelve hours.
Some of the EclProfile CT+ are performing set functions, such as lighting the tapestries in the Great Hall. At the same time, EclFresnel CT+ helps create a variety of stage configurations within the Great Hall.
The NGV runs an online learn education program and hence has a small studio lit with Prolights EclPanel TWC fixtures. John describes the EclPanels as a fantastic and handy fixture, as they are not only used on shoots for content creation but also for photography and significant events. He is particularly impressed by their punch and simplicity of use.
As they already owned and were very happy with the Martin ERA 600 Performance LED moving head profiles, the decision was made to increase the number, ensuring the look and compatibility stayed the same. Favoured for their brightness, compact size and sharp 6,500K image projection, the ERA600 offers near limitless design and usage potential.
The NGV further invested in Martin equipment by adding MAC Aura PXL wash lights with multi-lens and Aura backlight technology. Bigger and brighter than the MAC Aura, the PXL features significantly higher intensity and a tighter beam, as well as a smaller face and a less busy lens look, compared to the MAC Quantum Wash. According to John, they are great fixtures.
“The lease was up on our MAC Quantum Washes and, although we would have been happy to keep them, it made sense to upgrade to the MAC Aura PXL,” said John. “They are certainly a worthy substitute, and occasionally, we get to use the pixel function; however, it’s a bit of a churn and burn operation as the infrastructure does not stay in place. The gear rolls out for each event, so there is limited time for pixel mapping. The compact size and low weight are convenient.”
The NGV also boasts an MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size console running in Mode 3.
“It’s great, it’s got more functionality, it’s a different way of doing things, and ShowTech provided some excellent support with training for the guys, which is valuable,” John commented. “I like the layout and some of the changes to the terminology. I think it’s a little bit more straightforward for new operators. I sent a couple of guys with minimal experience on lighting consoles for training, and they came back feeling a lot more confident.”
John notes that the NGV has an excellent relationship with Show Technology, and he knows he can call them at any time.
“They always answer the phone,” he added. “Never had any issues with them. It’s always been terrific. They’re always trying to get me to review something new or attend an event, which I appreciate as well.”
