Has anyone been to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit? Is it worth it? How much were ticket prices?
It’s coming to my area, but the dates and prices are TBA. You can sign up on their website to receive updates
I turned down the chance to go because I wasn’t sure I’d love it or the people who would have gone with me. The pics I saw were pretty visually intense and like saturated on all walls/floor/ceiling and I was worried I’d feel wonky like when I go to 3D things like Imax.
BUT my daughter and her BF went to it last week - she told me that I made a good decision not to go. She said it was fine, the tickets were given to them as a gift. But as someone in their early 30’s who does appreciate art, they thought “meh”.
I thought I wanted to go until I started reading up on it. Apparently there are something like four different Van Gogh touring “companies,” and some of them are better than others. When I read up on the one coming to San Diego, I changed my mind.
My favorite cultural Van Gogh reference is the Doctor Who episode, Vincent and the Doctor. It always makes the list of Doctor Who top episodes. Very touching - and artistic.
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One of my favorite places in the whole world is the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, hands down! DH and I bought tickets to the Fever Van Gogh exhibit last spring and as the date got closer, I read some reviews. Apparently, we bought tickets for the “wrong” one, there were 2 in Boston simultaneously so you can understand my confusion. We decided the day before to skip it. The location was “top secret” and it turned out to be inconvenient (no public transportation or parking). I wish I had gotten tickets for the “right” one because that one sounded better.
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We saw the Beyond Van Gogh exhibition in Detroit last summer. H & I really enjoyed it … but we really like art, so it was up our alley. We had heard that Immersive Van Gogh is better, but it was twice the price. We aren’t sorry about our choice.
The one we skipped was the Immersive one and the reviews talk about disembodied floating heads. I wish I had tickets to the one you saw!
There is yet another, called Immersive Van Gogh. It’s hard to keep them all straight! The one you described doesn’t sound very appealing.
@Marilyn Four!? That’s amazing how there are so many, and they sort of came out of nowhere. I’ve heard some are better than others. My SIL went to the “Beyond Van Gogh” one and she said it was very interesting, but not worth the $40 ticket price, plus $10 to park at the venue…
What’s weird is that they all have such similar titles and they all seem to promise a very similar experience. I guess one company started doing it, and other people decided to copy it? I did read that the show Emily in Paris kind of helped fuel the phenomenon because there is a Van Gogh experience in the show
I saw the Immersive Van Gogh in SF. I’ll note that I’m not super art savvy. We were very impressed and loved it. Ended up sitting thru it twice. There is just so much to see. Exhibit reminded me of just how many great pieces he had done…and it’s just really tip of the iceberg. I was just fascinated how tech could make his works move, come alive. We were allowed to take pics/videos as long as no flash…but the videos didn’t do justice to what I saw in person. I only had one slight knock on the show…for a brief two minutes, the music was quite loud, but then reverted to tolerable levels. I’d go again…
We had tickets to Van Gogh Immersive but it got postponed from December to next March so we got a refund and went to Van Gogh Alive. It was perfectly pleasant and we all agreed that it probably wasn’t helpful to ask, “Why in the world did that experience cost that much money?” As I say, it was a pleasant experience and was part of a lovely day.
My mistake, there are five Van Gogh exhibits touring the country:
Here’s a comparison guide from earlier this year:
An immersive Monet exhibit might be harder to resist - or I’ll just wait until we can get back to the Art Institute in Chicago.
I went to Immersive Van Gogh. I had bought the tickets last winter and the show was just in Nov. My daughter really wanted to go. It was okay but there were some weird mirrors in the seating area that we didn’t appreciate. It was also in an old hotel that now used as student housing for the downtown colleges.
I liked the display about his life that you walk through as you exit. Wished that would have been on the way in.
After we went, I learned we could have changed the tickets to a more convenient time (my daughter had to take off work and drive down). I also got an offer for 1/2 price tickets on Travelzoo after we went. I also got an offer for a Kahlo exhibit coming in February (same laser light show format) but I don’t think we’ll be going again.
Daughter was very disappointed that they didn’t sell tshirts. Woman said we are too small an exhibit and the store couldn’t stock that much (all the sizes). There was a lot of other stuff to buy, but very expensive (umbrellas, tote bags, purses, hats, etc).
The Immersive Van Gogh light show came to Denver. Base on feedback and $70 ticket price, we decided to skip it. Then friends offered up some of their $50 tickets, and we went with them … someday we’ll all travel internationally together, and we figured this year it’s as close to that as we can get. We did have a good time.
We entered part way through the continuous loop (about 20 minutes) and sat on the floor. At the restart, we navigated to benches which was better. At end of that we decided to leave, though you can stay as long as you like.
In our venue, there were two rectangular rooms (showing same thing). You can watch a short wall, which we did in first part. Not as expansive as the long walls, but in a way easier to take it all in.
$50+ to sit on the floor and watch projected images on four walls of an old warehouse for ~30 minutes.
It was a waste of time and money for me. The marketing images of walking through narrow hallways “immersed” in images was certainly misleading.
I went to the very original Van Gogh immersive. It all started in caves in Provence, France. Huge cave walls and very interesting. Then it traveled to a big warehouse in Paris and that was always packed. Now it’s everywhere
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You actually can stay as long as you want. I think there actually are enough benches for all… we just were not smart enough to notice the 2nd room in the beginning.
We have tix for the end of the month for Imagine Van Gogh. As far as I can tell it is the original of the group. No idea if this means it’s any good. We shall see. The tix weren’t that expensive so no harm no foul if it isn’t great. We’ll enjoy a nice day in Boston.
FIVE?! Wow, this is quite an operation (as my stepfather would say).
It sounds like a neat event, but it does seem a bit expensive for what it is.
@Colorado_mom how long would be good to stay? It does sound interesting, but I do wonder if we’d get tired of it after a while…
My son and his girlfriend went to the one in NYC and enjoyed it.
We stayed for the end of the first loop (about 20 minutes) and then for one entire loop (about 45 minutes). The we too found the second room, and stayed there about 4 minutes, and then to the gift shop, and the exit took about 20 minutes.
I would recommend it for people who could get $20 tickets (on TravelZoo) but even $40 was a lot. I know some of the tickets were $60+ for cushions, a poster, priority entry, etc. and those were not worth it at all. $20-30? Yes. Okay with $40 not more.