The World of Wearable Art (WOW) is a museum devoted to wearable art and classic cars located in Nelson, New Zealand, opened in October 2001. It is a tourist attraction.[1] The building is on 95 Quarantine Road and the museum is open every day of the year except Christmas Day.
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The WOW Gallery shows the attending garments of the World of Wearable Art Awards Show, a two-hour performance spectacle held annually in Wellington during September. It started in Nelson in 1987 and is a popular show, attracting 20,000 guests a night in 2004 and with NZ$85,000 in prize money[2]. Due to its popularity, since 2005 the show has taken place in Wellington - and continued to grow, attracting 33,000 people in 2007 (also broadcast on television in the United States, Canada, and France)[3].
The location of the Museum acknowledges the birthplace of the show.
The Classic Car Gallery displays an extensive collection of classic and rare cars. Most of the cars on display are from the museum's collection, although to support feature exhibitions cars may be on loan from other well known collections throughout New Zealand. There is a full-time team of mechanics on site who work on the collection and also restore classic cars. Filming and photography is only permitted in the classic car gallery.
The painting gallery, also called Reflections Gallery, shows works of art made by domestic artists. The exhibits periodically change.