Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is an art exhibit like no other I’ve ever seen.

My sister first heard about the experience and encouraged us to go. We purchased tickets for the event several months in advance. As our date grew nearer and nearer, I began to see photos on social media. This exhibit looked amazing!

With the help of GPS, we found the exhibit in northeast Washington, DC. It had been set up in a former strip mall and it was obvious by the size of the building that the exhibit was a large one! (If you aren’t in DC or nearby, don’t worry; this exhibit is in a dozen other US cities and several cities worldwide, too.)

We entered the lobby and were welcomed by a sea of sunflowers! After checking in, we made our way into the exhibit.

The Van Gogh Experience

The first thing to greet us was a giant vase of flowers. We immediately realized this exhibit would not be like any other we’d ever seen. The flowers in the vase melted away, revealing a new arrangement every few seconds.

Nearby was a bust of Van Gogh that also changed right before our eyes. His face peeled away over and over, each time revealing a new one.

This effect was achieved by projection mapping, a technique that is widely used in theme parks. While we were familiar with it, we’d never seen it used in this way. It was used throughout the experience on 3D structures (like the vase and bust of Van Gogh) as well as on gallery walls.

The projections are so clear that you can see individual brush strokes on these “paintings.” I’d love to see this exhibit be the first in a series of artist-focused experiences. I would visit any gallery that was completely projection-mapped if it meant being able to see unique works of art up close without traveling thousands of miles!

We learned about Vincent Van Gogh through short video clips throughout the exhibit and traditional informational blurbs. A replica of Van Gogh’s home, as interpreted through his artwork, was part of the experience.

You could go inside his room and take photos, sitting on the chair or bed if you chose.

The Main Hall

The main part of this Van Gogh exhibit (the immersive experience) was located in a large, main hall. In this room, every corner was covered in projection-mapped artwork that moved and shifted as music and narration played. Observers could find a place to rest on benches, lounge chairs, bean bags, or the floor. We tried a few to experience different perspectives.

These photos are of the walls, undulating and changing as the story of Vincent Van Gogh’s life unfolded. It was beautiful and also terribly sad.

These ships moved across the water, stars emerged from the sky, and flowers blossomed before our eyes. It was mesmerizing.

The running time for this portion of the experience is about 15 minutes. It is on an infinite loop and you can stay as long as you like. We watched it twice.

I have a bit of difficulty with flashing lights and quick changes from dark to light. The website FAQ specify that no strobe lights are used and this is correct, but I still had a bit of an issue. One part of this presentation featured a heartbeat-like sound, went from dark to light very quickly several times. I closed my eyes to avoid a migraine, but would have appreciated it if this had been noted. I would have been better prepared.

The Gallery

As we exited the main room, we found a gallery of artwork created by visitors. Some were freehand and others were coloring sheets. All were lovely!

If you put your artwork under a special light and pressed a button, it would be copied and displayed on the digital gallery wall. We did so and felt like stars!

We chose to take our artwork home, but you can also leave it in the gallery for others to enjoy.

Selfies

We exited the exhibit through a gallery of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portraits (lovingly called “selfies” on the map). It was a highlight of the exhibit!

Optional Virtual Reality

For an additional $5, a Van Gogh virtual reality experience is available as you exit. We chose to participate and quickly took our seats and put on our headsets!

We were told to expect to see 10 key works of art in the virtual world, but I only made it through the first few. The VR headset was heavy and I was struggling due to the aforementioned bright lights, so I chose to bow out at that point. Everyone else finished the VR experience and adored it!

Plan Your Visit

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
524 Rhode Island Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002
website