After an extremely successful run at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), the David Bowie is... exhibition is touring art and design venues around the globe. Its next stop is the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Including more than 300 objects from Bowie’s personal archive, including original stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, album covers and photos, the exhibition celebrates Bowie’s incredible 50-year career.As at the V&A (which curated the original exhibition), audio Sennheiser is working with the venue to ensure provide an ‘immersive sound experience’ for visitors. Sennheiser’s guidePort audio guide system and an elaborate 3D sound installation will again be an integral part of the exhibition.

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate a living artist whose radical artfulness of identity has had an enormous influence on art, design and contemporary culture,’ says Matthew Teitelbaum, AGO Director/CEO. ‘We are thrilled to have the assistance of Sennheiser in creating a truly immersive experience, allowing our visitors to delve into the provocative genius and vision of David Bowie.’

Among the audio features, two 3D surround simulations emulate the sound of a live concert: ‘I swear I don’t know how they do it,’ says Bowie producer, Tony Visconti. ‘This is magic to me. Things were coming from over my head, down by my feet, over my right shoulder, over my left shoulder, in front of me, to the sides of me.’

In addition to the 3D installations, Sennheiser has equipped the AGO with an audio guide system to provide visitors with soundtracks, music and video sound throughout the tour. The system automatically plays the required audio when the visitor approaches an exhibit, providing as individual tour in whatever order and at any pace.

Sennheiser guidePort expert Robert Généreux is on site to install and configure the system at the AGO.

‘The exceptional David Bowie is exhibition recreates the unique “universe” of music, fashion and art that this extraordinary performer created,’ says Sennheiser Group CEO, Daniel Sennheiser. ‘It has rightly been an unparalleled success in London, and I’m delighted that the Art Gallery of Ontario is now bringing this exhibition to North America. With its innovative architecture, the AGO is a perfect venue for ‘David Bowie is...’, where everybody can relive or discover their own experience.’

During its five-month run in London, the David Bowie is... multimedia exhibition broke all V&A records: the museum sold more than 67,000 tickets prior to the opening, more than three times the advance sales of any other exhibition at the museum before. In total, more than 300,000 people visited the show.

After its run in Toronto, the exhibition will move on to the Museum of Image and Sound in Sao Paulo (28 January to 21 April 2014), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (September 2014 to January 2015), the Philharmonie de Paris/Cité de la Musique in Paris (2 March to 31 May 2015) and the Groninger Museum in The Netherlands (15 December 2015 to 15 March 2016).

Equipment: Art Gallery of Ontario tour:

Equipment: 3D simulation:

See also:
David Bowie is... at the V&A
Mastering Bowie’s The Last Day album

More: www.sennheiser.com