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An interactive exhibition exploring the life and works of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has opened as the headline feature of the 2023 Sydney Festival.
The exhibition, held inside the Barangaroo Cutaway, is the largest-scale event ever to feature at the annual summer arts festival and is expected to draw thousands of visitors to the city.
Arts Minister Ben Franklin said he was thrilled to open an exhibition that would pump $3 million into the state economy.
"I've just had the opportunity to go through it and I have never seen anything like it," he said on Wednesday.
"The holograms, the technology, the creative spaces, the 'immersive-ness', and particularly the virtual reality."
As one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo has made a lasting impact on popular culture and visual design.
Throughout the exhibition, Kahlo's distinct motifs are used to tell the story of her life, including a tragic accident at the age of 18 that left her permanently disabled and informed her experience as an artist.
It features nine "transformational spaces" as well as 360-degree projections to transport attendees inside the defining moments of the revered painter's life and career.
Sydney Festival artistic director Olivia Ansell said one of the great benefits of the festival was being able to utilise public space like the Cutaway to make art accessible to everyone.
"The tagline of the festival is there's no place else like Sydney to experience an exhilarating summer of art," she said.
Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon will be open to visitors daily until March 7.
Alternatively, Kahlo fans can experience her artworks in person at Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, an exhibition to be held at the Art Gallery of South Australia from June 24 until September 17.
The Sydney festival, which opens on Thursday, will feature 748 performances across 54 venues, including an award-winning opera, dance performances and a surreal theatrical work by auteur James Thierree.
The festival runs until January 29.
