Sydney’s cultural scene has never been more diverse. As it turns out, it’s never been more important either. The runaway success of The Australian Museum’s Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition is proof that the city’s appetite for the arts is growing.
Following successful runs in Houston, San Francisco and Paris, we became the fourth city in the world to host this monumental exhibition, which has now become one of the most successful in the state’s history. Considering the Australian Museum was founded in 1827, that’s an impressive turn for the arts.
The exhibition rests on 3,300 years of history, tracing the sands of the Sahara Desert with an epic collection illustrating the life and accomplishments of Ramses II. Cutting-edge technology is used throughout the exhibition, offering a multi-sensory experience painstakingly detailing the life and times of Ramses the Great, who ruled Egypt for 67 years. 182 priceless artefacts, including the sarcophagus of Ramses II, sit alongside animal mummified remains, magnificent jewellery, royal masks and ornate golden treasures.
Ramses was even featured on the cover of a previous edition of Sydney Travel Guide‘s print edition.
A report prepared by Inform Economics indicates that the blockbuster exhibition attracted more than 508,000 visitors during its run between November 2023 and May 2024. This contributed more than $57 million to the NSW economy, with every $1 invested in the exhibition returning more than $11 for the state. That’s a benefit-cost ratio of 11.2.
‘We are very connected to our surrounding community, particular small business, so it makes me proud that the success of the Australian Museum also supports the success of our local cafes, hotels and restaurants, as well as the wider tourism industry…,” said Ms Kim McKay AO, Australian Museum Director and CEO.
“It is reward to see how culture can contribute to the economic and community health of our city.”
Mining the states, it’s not hard to see why this is considered such a big win for both the Australian Museum and Sydney in general. Over 500,000 visitors came through to see the Ramses exhibition. 60,000 of those were interstate visitors while 10,000 came from overseas.
Australian Museum is gearing up to announce their next big exhibition in the coming weeks, but in the meantime take stock of some of the other great art and history exhibitions running in Sydney right now, such as an immersive commission by Angelica Mesiti and the fantastic Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau, both at The Art Gallery of NSW.
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