ELVIS is officially in the building as Bendigo Art Gallery opens its Australian-exclusive exhibition which showcases the life of the King of Rock and Roll.
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The Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition will open to sold-out crowds this weekend with the official launch being held on Saturday night.
It features artefacts, keepsakes and mementos from every part of Elvis life and is the biggest exhibition the Bendigo Art Gallery has ever done.
This week, Priscilla Presley toured the exhibition and was left teary-eyed at some of the displays.
"First of all, I love it here. It is so quaint and unusual, this is a town that I am in love with," she said. "Bringing artifacts here from Graceland to Australia - this is my sixth time here - I have had the best time.
"To share them with all of you really touches me because at one time he thought he would be forgotten.
"Elvis never thought he would be remembered. That really stuck with me. Now to be able to share him with people all over the world (is wonderful).
"When I walked around yesterday, I got a little teary-eyed because this is everything (he had) to be able to share, be able to be remembered. It's a dream come true to be a part of that (and) wonderful to come over here and share him with all of you."
"A little bit of everything in every room I can remember and it brings back memories. I am still touched by it."
Ms Presley helped turn Graceland from the family home it was to the museum and legacy it is today.
She said it wasn't easy but was determined to see it succeed despite being pressured to sell the property after Elvis died.
"We had had meetings and meetings. The big issue was 'what are we going to do with Graceland?" she said. "It was going back and forth - sell it, sell it, sell it - one of the attorneys finally said 'Priscilla, we're going to have to sell it.'
"(Those) was fighting words to me. It was 'we will never sell Graceland'. My purpose was to raise money to save Graceland."
Since Graceland opened as a tourist attraction it has had 23 million visitors.
It was our world, behind those gates. It was our private world. It was a sacred place for him, where he could have fun.
- Priscilla Presley on Graceland
"I never ever thought it would be this successful. I did not," Ms Presley said.
"All I was doing was making sure it wasn't sold and (that I was) carrying on the plans that Elvis had as far as not selling it and to pay the bills.
"It was our world, behind those gates. It was our private world. It was a sacred place for him, where he could have fun, ride his horses, hang out with the guys. It was very, very private and it is all great memories."
Graceland's vice-president of archives and exhibitions Angie Marchese helped Bendigo Art Gallery director Jess Bridgfoot and her team bring the exhibition to Bendigo.
"Jess from the art gallery reached out about the possibility of bringing an Elvis exhibit here and I was like 'that sounds fascinating' because Elvis is huge in Australia," she said. "We already knew he had a huge fan base here, and we've been wanting to bring Elvis to Australia.
"It was just (about) trying to find the right partner. I did some research into the other exhibits (the Bendigo Art Gallery) have done and they're first-class all the way. The partnerships seemed right."
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Ms Marchese said seeing fans flock to the gallery tomorrow was the moment they had been anticipating.
"I know that we're going to have lots of fans here tomorrow that are just going to be excited to be here," she said. "Everyone's excited that Elvis is in town.
"I'm hoping that they all walk away with a better insight into who Elvis was - not only as an entertainer, but also as a person."
Among the highlights in the exhibition are Elvis and Priscilla's wedding outfits, a number of his iconic jumpsuits and even Elvis' wallet and house keys to Graceland.
"Elvis and Priscilla's wedding attire, we've never let that travel anywhere outside Graceland," Ms Marchese said.
"With my job, I'm lucky enough to be able to pick some of my favorite items that speak to me and one of those is Elvis' wallet. That seems just so simple, but it's so personal and everyone can kind of connect to it.
"The keys to Graceland. I mean, I just try to imagine what it felt like for Elvis to be able to come from Tupelo one day, hoping to buy his parents a house, and then to be able to buy this estate and be handed these keys to the castle. The keys are so simple again, but it just, they represent so much."
Ms Marchese said she was excited to see how Bendigo had embraced Elvis.
"I think now's the right time because even, you know, post-COVID people are wanting to get out and explore," she said. "And what a great way to explore Bendigo and Victoria, coming to see Elvis.
The response that we're having, particularly to, you know, the jumpsuits and some of those more iconic pieces to seeing the delight in people's eyes is pretty rewarding.
- Bendigo Art Gallery director Jess Bridgfoot
"All the storefronts have Elvis. I mean, he's everywhere, literally everywhere. And it's so amazing how he's been embraced by the city. I hope that Elvis is able to contribute to tourism this autumn."
Ms Bridgfoot said as well as being the biggest exhibition in the gallery's history, it was also one of the most complex.
"I would say (it is the most complex) because there's the amount of objects and also the diversity of objects that are in the exhibition," she said. "It was quite complex to get here via sea and air - throwing customs in the mix when you've got like beaver-skin hats and horse-riding boots with dirt on them.
"It's the most elaborate design and build that we've ever undertaken as well but we felt that if you're going to do it for any show, it's Elvis.
"Elvis was a show, you know. He was such an incredible performer and he was so ostentatious and sort of flamboyant that we felt that the exhibition and the tone of it had to match that so it's amazing."
Ms Bridgfoot said initial reactions had been positive, led by Ms Presley on her private tour.
"The response that we're having, particularly to, you know, the jumpsuits and some of those more iconic pieces to seeing the delight in people's eyes is pretty rewarding," she said.
"It was really special (to take) Priscilla on a private tour of the exhibition. She really spent a lot of time because we realised that she while she does appear at Graceland for events and special occasions, she doesn't often get the chance to look through the museums and look at the exhibits.
"So there were certain things that she noticed in the exhibition that she gave and never seen, or, you know, were seeing again for the first time in a long time."
Ms Bridgfoot said the exhibition explored both the flamboyant performance persona of Elvis and his more private, humble lifestyle.
"It's interesting sort of exploring that dichotomy in the exhibition because he so very carefully kind of crafted his image and you see the evolution of his image and his style as you journey through the exhibition, starting in Memphis or Tupelo and ending in Vegas," she said.
Ms Bridgfoot is expecting crowd numbers to match the effort the gallery curators and crew have put in for the exhibition.
"The opening weekend sold out. As soon as we announced (the exhibition) there was this huge surge in ticket sales. More than we've ever had for any exhibition," she said. "As soon as we announced Priscilla was coming over then we had a second surge in ticket sales as well.
"We're not releasing the numbers until the end of the exhibition (but) hopefully it will be glorious. We know it's going to be big. I just hope Bendigo people come and see the exhibition too because it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Elvis: Direct from Graceland is on at the Bendigo Art Gallery from March 19 to July 17. Visit www.bendigoregion.com.au for tickets.
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