QUEENSLAND.- Arts Minister Rod Welford has welcomed the 100,000th visitor to the Picasso & his collection exhibition, less than two months after it opened at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).

Mr Welford said that since opening on 9 June, more than 2200 people had visited the exhibition daily.

“Picasso & his collection is an overwhelming success and a winner for cultural tourism, having drawn visitors from across Queensland, as well as from interstate and internationally,” Mr Welford said.

“Exclusive to Brisbane, and a first outside Europe, the exhibition of Picasso’s personal collection has further cemented Queensland’s reputation as a premier cultural and tourism destination.

“The figures reflect the huge amount of curiosity in this show which has pulled people into other exhibitions at GoMA as well as the Queensland Art Gallery.

“More than 160,000 people have visited GoMA since Picasso & his collection opened, and there has been a flow-on to the Queensland Art Gallery, with 95,000 people visiting the free Sidney Nolan: A New Retrospective exhibition.”

Mr Welford said it was pleasing to see the strong numbers of school students and young people visiting Picasso & his collection.

“More than 3960 students have seen the exhibition with another 10,925 students booked to visit before it closes,” he said.

“The Up Late program of music and guest speakers is a popular way for audiences to experience the exhibition, with over 5000 visitors so far.

“I urge all Queenslanders get along to GoMA and enjoy this wonderful exhibition before it closes on 14 September.”

Curated by Anne Baldassari, Director of the musée national Picasso in Paris, Picasso & his collection, includes more than 100 key works from Picasso’s extraordinary personal art collection plus more than 80 works by Picasso himself.

Works by Matisse, Renoir, Cézanne and Miro feature in the exhibition as well as Oceanic and African works including a mask from the Torres Strait which was acquired by Picasso in Paris in 1920.