FOR VAN GOGH

The projectors may have been turned off for the third national lockdown, but the team behind the popular York attraction have promised that the lights will stay on a little longer – visitors will now have until 6 June 2021 to immerse themselves in over 200 of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings.

At the moment, the attraction is looking to reopen as soon as restrictions lift, with the safety measures in place – including increased cleaning, social distancing and hand sanitisation stations throughout the building – in line with Visit England’s We’re Good To Go safety benchmark, though these will be reviewed and updated if any government guidance changes.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience opened for the first time in the UK in July 2019 in York St Mary’s, a former church turned arts centre in the Coppergate Centre, next to JORVIK Viking Centre.  Visitors enjoy a 35 minute show, projected onto the pillared walls and floor of the building’s nave, featuring over 200 of Van Gogh’s most famous works, animated and set to music.  From swaying wheat fields to falling cherry petals, a gallery of portraits and still life paintings and even a remarkable rain storm, visitors are immersed in the artworks, reflecting different periods in Van Gogh’s life.

Visitors’ own artistic skills are challenged in a ‘mindfulness’ colouring area, where colouring sheets featuring outlines of famous artworks are provided, and completed pictures are projected onto the wall in a digital gallery.  An optional 11 minute virtual reality experience completes the visit – taking visitors on a tour of Arles, the village where Van Gogh spent much of his later life, and which inspired a host of his artworks, including the stunning Starry Night on the Rhone.

Opening times from February are likely to be 10am to 4pm (last admissions), with extended opening hours during the school holidays.

Tickets can be prebooked at vangoghexpo.co.uk/york