Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience Comes to Tulsa

Edited to add: Beyond Van Gogh ended up closing early, on Dec. 17. It will no longer run through Feb. 1.

Joss and I had the pleasure of previewing Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience this morning. And to pre-empt any confusion: Yes, there are currently two immersive Van Gogh experiences in Tulsa. TulsaKids Editor Betty Casey wrote about the one near 51st and Harvard back in October. This one, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, is booking tickets through January 2024. The one Joss and I visited is Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience. It is located in the OKPOP Museum building, which I was excited to see!

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is now open and booking tickets through Feb. 1, 2024. It looks like basic tickets are about $40 for adults and $26 for ages 5-15. However, if you are a family of at least 4, you can purchase a Family 4-Pack for $29.99 per ticket. Other discounts available.

Touring Beyond Van Gogh

Education Room

Sadly, we did not get to see much of the OKPOP Museum, as there are large, floor-to-ceiling curtains creating corridors to walk through on your way to the experience. And I’m not sure there’s much to see anyway. The experience itself is on the second floor.

First, you walk through a room of colorful, lit panels giving insight into Van Gogh’s life and philosophy. Much of this information comes from his extensive correspondence with his brother and art dealer Theo. Joss wasn’t incredibly interested in reading all the text. However, if you want to gain a greater appreciation for who Van Gogh is through this exhibition, I’d definitely recommend reading everything. It talked about why he painted so many self-portraits, how he ended up becoming a painter, etc.

I particularly enjoyed the quotes where Van Gogh is thinking about his legacy and identity. He has no idea that people will be viewing his work for centuries. I guess his work started gaining momentum towards the end of his life, but not till the very end. One fascinating thing I learned was from curator Fanny Curtat. Van Gogh’s relationship with his brother was a central part of his life. But his brother passed away shortly after Vincent did. Apparently Theo’s wife, to whom he hadn’t been married long, took it upon herself to translate their correspondence and handle the details of Van Gogh’s work and legacy. So it is largely thanks to her that his legacy has endured in the way it has.

Immersive Projection Room

The projection room follows the education room. There are several benches to sit on. The full projection cycles through about every half hour. This painting is the one we saw upon entering, and was painted after the birth of Van Gogh’s nephew.

It is certainly a very meditative space, although Joss did enjoy spinning around on the open floors as well. The moving images are accompanied by a calming soundtrack, as well as quotes by Van Gogh.

I liked seeing all his self-portraits together. Curator Curtat mentioned that Van Gogh did most of his painting in about a decade of life, from the time he was 27 to age 37. So his self-portraits were painted during this time frame. She pointed out that he looks much older than age 37 in some of them. And that he painted the portrait where his ear is bandaged for his brother, as a way to let him know he was healing and continuing to paint.

Gift Shop

Before you exit the building, you’ll pass the gift shop. Down here, you’ll also find a VR room, which wasn’t set up while we were touring. (To Joss’s dismay.) But there was a variety of merchandise, from prints to shirts to Van Gogh plushies, etc.

Finally, here is the official press release:

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience Opens at the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture for a Limited Time on November 18

Tickets are on sale at beyondvangogh.com.

Imagine being completely immersed in more than 300 of the greatest works of post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh. Now imagine experiencing all of this art transformed from its two-dimensional limitations into a three-dimensional experience that exhilarates every sense and brings to life one of the most influential artists the world has known. It’s all part of Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, produced by Paquin Entertainment Group, which has sold over 5 million tickets globally making it one of the most popular current traveling exhibitions. This beautiful and cinematic sensory extravaganza will open in Tulsa at the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture on November 18, 2023.

While journeying through Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, guests are transported through history learning Van Gogh’s background while witnessing hundreds of iconic masterpieces, including instantly recognizable classics “The Starry Night,” “Sunflowers,” and “Café Terrace at Night” as well as many revealing self-portraits. Prices start at $33.99 for adults and $19.99 for children (ages 5-15), plus ticketing fees. Tickets, which will sell out quickly, will be on-sale to the general public beginning Friday, June 30 at www.vangoghtulsa.com. Buy early and save 20% – Early Bird pricing is available through July 5th.

“This distinctive and unique multimedia artistic adventure is deeply resonating with audiences. Encompassing a refreshing new twist unlike art lovers have seen before, Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience gives a new appreciation of this tortured artist’s stunning work. Unsurprisingly millions of people all over the world credit Van Gogh with enhancing their relationship with art. Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will only strengthen that connection,” says Justin Paquin, producer, Paquin Entertainment Group.

Freed from their frames, Van Gogh’s spectacular paintings appear on projection-swathed walls inviting guests to fully immerse themselves into the incredible detail of his work. Vincent’s own dreams, thoughts, and words are set to a symphonic score while guests are enveloped in his ever- shifting, swirling, and colorful flowers, cafes, and stunning landscapes, creating an unmatched narrative experience.