If you’re looking for a beautiful experience to go on with friends, family, significant others, or by yourself, the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Chicago is the perfect place for you. This beautiful museum opened February 11th, 2021 and has been a sensation since. It is located at the LightHouse ArtSpace, a popular venue used for many art exhibits. It was supposed to be a limited engagement, but has been extended indefinitely due to popular demand. When you think of paintings, you may think of stationary, non-moving art that is hung on walls, but this experience is far from that. The art is brought to life with movement, animation, and music which makes the trip very worthwhile.

I had the opportunity to visit last weekend, and it was an amazing experience. Upon arrival, you are met with the desk you show your tickets at, and after walking up a flight of stairs, there is the amazing gift shop and cafe. After going up another set of stairs, there you are at the entrance to the art show. Right when you walk through the curtain, your eyes are met with mesmerizing art on all walls, ceiling and floors, immersing you into a whole new world. The room is a large, open area, with mirrors and couches located all throughout the room as well. There are several tinier break-out rooms in the museum, all in unison of the same art presentation. Every person in the room seemed to be in awe of the beautiful visuals in front of them, and there were smiles all around.

The whole presentation lasts about half an hour, and after it ends it loops over again. Music is played that matches the art, and it makes the experience just that much more beautiful. My friends, family, and I probably watched the presentation around four times. There is also a balcony you can get to from an elevator or the stairwell where you can see all of the rooms from an overhead view. I wasn’t able to get up there because it was rented out for a party, but I have heard great things about it.

This exhibit was so interesting to me particularly because I’m very interested in the arts and music, so if you share these interests I believe you will have an amazing time. I feel that this exhibit is incomparable to the experience you get at a normal museum. The paintings are shown on the walls with the whole process from start to finish. Seeing the paintings come to life and move corresponding to the different mood the art sets is a wonderful thing to see. The more calm, floral paintings move slowly and calmly, while the more chaotic and abstract paintings move faster and with more energy. The constant changing and moving art on every wall surrounding you makes you feel like you’ve entered a different world. This was one of the most relaxing and beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.

After we saw the presentation enough times to recognize what painting was coming next, we took a visit to the gift shop which was full of amazing items as well. The gifts included cups, bags, clothes, posters, jewelry, keychains, books, and about anything else you can imagine. I purchased two posters, a sunflower drawstring bag, and my friends and I got matching lanyards. The prices are not too bad, my total came to about $25, and it was worth every penny.

I went with a group of friends, my girlfriend, and my two parents and all together we took thousands of pictures. Even with all of that, no picture is enough to capture how the experience looks and feels in person. I recommend you go with the loved ones in your life, whoever that be, because it makes the experience that much more enjoyable.