The incredibly moving and popular THE LUME exhibit returns to the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields on March 3, 2024, this time featuring the works of surrealist artist Salvador Dali.

Dalí Alive

THE LUME Indianapolis featuring Dalí Alive immerses visitors into nearly 30,000 square feet of the fascinating and mysterious world of Dalí in a one-of-a-kind, multisensory experience. Like the first two iterations of THE LUME Indianapolis at Newfields, this edition will feature nearly 120 floor-to-ceiling projectors, remaining the largest continuous exhibition in Newfields’ 140-year history. The exhibition includes important works of art from the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s permanent collection, including four original artworks by Dalí. Dalí Alive is an immersive, multisensory experience co-created and produced by Grande Experiences, Australia and The Dalí Museum, St Petersburg, Florida.

Salvador Dalí, Spanish Surrealist

Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was a Spanish Surrealist painter, writer, sculptor, filmmaker, designer and showman known for his wild, larger-than-life dreamscapes filled with bizarre items such as melting clocks, stretched figures and fascinating dreamlike creatures. Dalí was born in Catalonia, Spain and received his education in fine arts in Madrid. Much of Dalí’s artwork and legacy was influenced by Impressionist and Renaissance masters that came before him. By the late 1920s, he was moving closer to Surrealism and joined a Surrealist group in 1929. Some of Dalí’s most famous artworks include The Persistence of Memory (1931) and Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937).

What to Expect at Dalí Alive

THE LUME Indianapolis featuring Dalí Alive will redefine how audiences connect with art and culture, engaging and inspiring guests to explore the life, art and triumphant accomplishments of Salvador Dalí. Visitors will engage with Dalí’s larger-than-life personality, his progressive ideas and highly imaginative and surrealist art on a huge scale. People will lose themselves in Dalí’s world of twisted landscapes, melting clocks and fascinating creatures before taking a deep dive into his psyche.

Dalí Alive explores how the artist continually reinvented himself – his place, his person, his family and his very human transience – to overcome obstacles. His personal and artistic moments of reinvention are shared through touchpoints of his life, highlighting Dalí’s early, formative years in Spain, his introduction to Surrealist circles, his influential time in America and the enduring cultural impact still recognized globally today.

In the final gallery, four of the five original Dalí watercolor paintings, created for the set of the 1961-1962 production of the opera The Spanish Lady and the Roman Cavalier, will be displayed for the first time in 45 years. The location of the fifth watercolor remains unknown and was never acquired by the IMA. These watercolors belonged to the opera’s producer Lorenzo Alvary and his wife Hallie. About a decade after the opera closed, the couple chose Hallie’s home state of Indiana as the destination for four of the watercolors, donating the works to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in the mid ‘70s.

Exhibition & Ticket Information

THE LUME Indianapolis will be open to the public in the IMA Galleries from March 3, 2024, through the rest of the year. Beyond the visual, a choreographed soundtrack, fragrance, uniquely curated food and drinks, innovative interpretations and retail items all add to this 360-degree experience. Let your imagination run wild in the renewed activity space titled Let’s Get Surreal. Explore engaging activities such as photobooths and artificial intelligence transforming written word into a two-dimensional masterpiece.

Additionally, the new café concept, El Mercado Surreal, will boast a selection of Spanish-inspired small bites by Newfields’ culinary team. You’ll be able to daydream while you sip Spanish brews and refreshing cocktails.

Tickets

• Member Adults: $24
• Member Youth (ages 6-17): $17
• Public Adults: $29
• Public Youth (ages 6-17): $21
• Children ages 5 and under are free

Visit discovernewfields.org for more info and to purchase tickets.