The Bendigo Art Gallery is an example of how taking risks, being bold and striving to reach greater heights can reap benefits.

In recent years, we have seen the gallery grow from a collection of local and national works to become a centre celebrated across the globe for attracting popular international works and exhibitions.

It is without doubt, the envy of many galleries across Australia.

We have seen this time and again with outstanding exhibitions such as Grace Kelly: Style Icon, the White Wedding Dress and The Golden Age of Couture.

Each exhibition has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to the gallery, and to our city.

Art, while subjective, has the ability to lure many from far and wide when of high standard. 

Consider the attraction of Brim in recent weeks. The town is barely a dot on the map of Victoria, a small town in the Wimmera with a population of about 100.

But Brisbane artist Guido van Helten turned the hamlet into an overnight tourist destination when he turned a group of disused silos into a stunning work of art.

What stood as iconic structures on the dry, Australian landscape became an artistic sensation shared widely throughout the world.

An artist, and a community, took a risk. It paid dividends. 

Forever Marilyn, the eight-metre tall statue now standing in Rosalind Park, has the potential to give Bendigo the same exposure.

Already, we have seen many sharing images and stopping to take photos of a stunning scene seen in few cities.

This statue, the incredible work of Seward Johnson, has never before traveled outside the US. This is a coup for our city and recognition of the success of the Bendigo Art Gallery. 

There will be some who question the value of bringing Marilyn to our city, and fear vandalism will be an issue that costs more than the we should afford the effort.

But we cannot let fear stop us reaching for greater heights.

Nor can we forget the value Forever Marilyn, and the value the Marilyn Monroe exhibition will bring to our city. 

Value is not always measured in dollars.

Nicole Ferrie, editor