Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is currently on exhibition at the Aberdeen Pavilion in Lansdowne Park.
Organized by Ottawa Bluesfest, the exhibit held its soft opening on July 22 and opened to the public on July 23. Lasting about an hour, guests can expect to be taken on an intimate journey through over 300 pieces of Van Gogh’s artwork, all accompanied by a musical soundtrack.
Marie-Helene He, a guest at the exhibit’s soft opening, said she was humbled and soothed by the swirl of colours and music.
“It’s beautiful. It’s very immersive and soothing. The ripple effect [animated into the paintings] is exquisite. It’s very humbling when you walk in, and then as it goes along, you become one with it and the art itself,” she said.
He was not the only guest who was taken aback by the beauty of the exhibit. Maarten Ten Wolde, a Dutch diplomat also present at the soft opening, said he was impressed with the immersive format.
“I think it’s wonderful that the work of Van Gogh comes to life,” Ten Wolde said. “You get the feeling that you’re in the paintings. It’s a new way of showing his work without losing the intensity and beauty of it.”
The immersive format of the exhibit also sparked conversations about accessibility. Jaap Jan Speelman, deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was in attendance at the soft opening and said he believes Beyond Van Gogh is a wonderful way of making modern art accessible to everyone, especially younger generations.
“When I was a kid and my grandfather took me [to the art museum], it was not so easy to have me like the Van Gogh paintings,” Speelman said. “I think that it’s very important to make modern art accessible to the younger generation and this exhibition has really nailed it.”
Beyond Van Gogh was created at Normal Studio in Montreal by creative director, Mathieu St-Arnaud, and his team. In an email to the Charlatan, St-Arnaud shared his thoughts on the exhibit’s soft opening and how it felt to see their creation come to life in Ottawa.
“When speaking with guests after their experience, many expressed a feeling of calm and serenity,” St-Arnaud wrote. “It’s an amazing feeling when you sense that you achieved a goal that you have set for a creation.”
For St-Arnaud, the exhibit’s opening in Ottawa was also an emotional experience.
“Seeing what it meant for everyone brought tears to my eyes! It has not been easy in the last 16 months, but the opening in Ottawa was a very strong and bright light at the end of the tunnel,” he wrote.
Mark Monahan, the executive and artistic director of Bluesfest, said the team has been thrilled by the exhibit’s positive reception.
“We are extremely happy with the response from the public so far and look forward to welcoming upwards of 100,000 attendees to the exhibit over the next seven weeks,” he wrote in an email to the Charlatan.
Ottawa’s mayor, Jim Watson, attended the soft opening and expressed a similar sense of enthusiasm about the exhibit’s arrival in Ottawa.
“It’s spectacular. Something I’ve never experienced before in my life. It’s great to have it in Ottawa. People are going to come away very impressed, and they are going to learn a lot more about Van Gogh than they did before,” Watson said.
Watson said he hoped the exhibit would have a positive effect on the local economy, helping out industries such as the service industry that were hit hard by COVID-19. Folks from Ottawa and the surrounding area will have the opportunity to visit the exhibit and then dine out alongside it, according to Watson.
Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is currently on display at the Aberdeen Pavilion until Sept. 16. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, timed ticket sales, enhanced cleaning procedures and mask wearing regulations are in place. To learn more about the exhibit and purchase tickets, go to vangoghottawa.com.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
