OPERATORS of an innovative touring exhibition have decided to keep York as its home until the end of the year, extending its run which was due to finish at the end of August.

The Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience display in York St Mary’s will continue to welcome visitors until the end of this year.

The attraction, which uses sound and light to animate and display over 200 of Van Gogh’s famous works in a Zen-like setting within the nave of York St Mary’s, originally opened for a six month run in July 2019, but thanks to its popularity, will continue to welcome visitors throughout this year.

General manager, Evie Blackstock, said: “We have been absolutely overwhelmed with the support from both local people and visitors to York since we opened three years ago as the UK premiere of this experience, and are delighted that we’re going to remain part of York’s incredibly tourism offer throughout 2022.

“We’ve had quite a number of visitors visiting us several times – it is like they come in to recharge their cultural and emotional batteries, and we’ve had a couple of changes – including upgrading our virtual reality systems and extending the gift shop – during our stay to cater for the numbers of people through the door each day.”

York Press:

Visitors to the experience relax in deckchairs for a 35 minute 'son-et-lumière' presentation in which many of Van Gogh’s most famous works are animated and projected onto the four walls and floor of the historic nave of the former St Mary’s Church in Castlegate, accompanied by an emotive soundtrack and interspersed commentary from Van Gogh.

His life story is told through his artworks, from his peaceful time in the French countryside, to the mental turmoil that brought his life to an end way too early.

Projections of his floral artworks onto a huge vase follows, whilst those who engage in mindful colouring can have their interpretations of his works projected onto the wall in a virtual gallery.  A small exhibition precedes the optional virtual reality experience, which features an 11 minute tour of the French village of Arles, which provided inspiration for many of Van Gogh’s later works – stopping off in locations familiar from his paintings.

Since opening in York, the exhibition has been displayed across the UK and the globe, with displays in Leicester, London, Bristol and New York to name a few, but York remains the longest-running venue.

York Press:

The Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience exhibition is located next door to JORVIK Viking Centre. Tickets cost £13 for adults, £11 for concessions and £9 for children, with an additional charge of £3 per person for the optional Virtual Reality experience.

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