Tired of bad news, pandemic stats, climate change, and other sad and bad things? Man, do we have THE place for you. Surround yourself with things that radiate happiness, like giant cookies, confetti, rubber ducks, and even positive sounds. Welcome to Happy Place.
The joyful pop-up exhibition lies within the level 1 precinct at Crown Melbourne this summer. If you can’t find it, look for the section that has a queue of gloomy faces at the entry, and a frenzy of laughing, beaming faces at the exit.
Happy Place all began in Los Angeles in 2007. Since its opening, Happy Place has had sold-out residencies throughout the USA and Canada. It then made its way across the world to Sydney in March 2020, where it was postponed until July (thanks covid), and to Auckland in April-May 2021, before coming to Melbourne in December.
Founder and event producer Jared Paul explained he wants to ”live and raise (his) children in a world surrounded by what makes us happy.” Paul is credited with organizing touring productions such as ‘Dancing with the Stars: Live!’, ‘America’s Got Talent: Live!’ and ‘Glee: Live!’. He conceptualized and created a space solely dedicated to making people smile. Well, that and the opportunity to create the perfect photo. Perhaps the latter has pulled in the biggest of crowds.
I’m sure by now, whether you’re 12 or 72 years old, you’re aware of the significance of Instagram in today’s society. There’s nothing quite like the perfect picture opportunity to send crowds of Millennials and Gen Zers through the doors, and there’s no interactive exhibition quite as picturesque as this. Happy Place encourages all levels of photography from your basic selfie to your professionally set up camera. And if your Instagram’s looking a little sad after lockdown, it’s a lot cheaper than booking a holiday to a deserted island.
If you look up Happy Place on Instagram and search through its tagged posts, you will see how many incredible photos have come off the vivid exhibit.
So what can you expect to see inside?
You can expect to see some very playful installations and ‘multi-sensory immersive rooms’ filled with bold colours. Featured rooms in the exhibition include:
- An ‘upside down’ bedroom, where all the furniture is stuck to the ceiling.
- A giant choc chip cookie (sadly not edible). A room filled with gumball machines.
- An entirely yellow room with walls completely covered in rubber ducks and a bathtub full of yellow ball-pit balls.
- A room, full of flowers (not real, safe for fellow hay fever victims).
- A confetti room, that continuously has confetti circulating through it, and much more fun, photo opportunities along the way!
If you feel a bit joy-deprived after the plethora of lockdowns here in Melbourne, you’re not alone. There are only so many funny animal compilations you can watch before you feel like you’ve seen every cat fail ever.
Sometimes, it’s good to take a break from all of your responsibilities and just dedicate a day to making yourself smile. If you get a chance, why not head over to the one-of-a-kind exhibition dedicated to the sole purpose of giving those cheek muscles a big workout. The Happy Place exhibition is open every day until the 30th of January, tickets are $30 per head and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.
