I'm a masters student of Art History at the University of Auckland. Living in New Zealand is great, but historic art rarely comes to our shores (The last Impressionist exhibition came here in 2009 for three months, and only in Wellington).
Many people (including myself) can't afford to travel around the world seeing amazing artwork, and the only current alternative is to look at works online or in books, which is hardly an engaging experience.
My ultimate goal is to create an entire museum of replica paintings, so that people can get to experience in person famous works. The replicas don't replace seeing originals, but are meant as an intermediary step between seeing an image online and the real thing.
This November, I'm re-creating the first ever Impressionist exhibition from 1874, using hand-painted replicas that are painted by Kiwis and overseas artists. The original paintings have never been re-exhibited together in over 140 years, so this is an exciting chance to see something unique.
To help raise funds for the exhibition, I'm crowdfunding by using PledgeMe. Even if you can't see the exhibition in Auckland, by sharing the campaign (and donating, if you can) you can be part of a world first, and help bring people an experience unseen in over a century.
You can check us out via the campaign link or by visiting www.replicatinggenius.com
More info: bit.ly