In notably non-lockdown-related news, an opening date has just been revealed for The Lume – a permanent, multi-sensory digital art gallery for Melbourne.

On September 1, the anticipated gallery will take up permanent residence at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. And, from this week, tickets are on sale for its inaugural exhibition, which will centre around the works of Vincent van Gogh. (A smaller version of the show hit Sydney last year.)

Instead of showing original masterpieces, state-of-the-art projectors will be used to beam artworks across the 3000-square-metre space – from floor to ceiling. Visitors can walk among them as dramatic soundtracks play and aromas are piped into the gallery, which will be a soaring four stories tall.

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Expect to see more than 3000 reimagined paintings, sketches, letters, photos and floral works. Be enveloped by van Gogh’s iconic Starry Night, step into a mirrored infinity room filled with hundreds of sunflowers and experience a life-size recreation of the artist’s Bedroom in Arles. There’ll also be an on-site eatery, Terrace Cafe 1888, inspired by French cafe culture and with a nod to Van Gogh’s Dutch heritage.

Behind the new gallery is Melbourne-based company Grande Experiences, which operates the permanent Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome. Its many travelling exhibitions celebrate the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh and the French impressionists.

The Lume opens at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 1. Pre-sale tickets are on sale today; general-release tickets go on sale at 12pm on Thursday June 3. Prices start from $39 for adults and it’s free for children under four.

thelume.com/melbourne