Update – December 2022
We are such big fans of the multi-media Van Gogh exhibitions that have been touring the country that we’ve visited it multiple times. I visited the Lume Van Gogh in Melbourne and Braeden recently went to see the Van Gogh exhibition which is revisiting Sydney with some enhancements. I thought I should update this review accordingly. The reimagined Van Gogh Alive in Sydney is now located in the Grand Pavilion with all new immersive spaces.
The sunflower room and the Starry Night room are lovely additions to the Van Gogh experience.
Braeden visited the recent Van Gogh Alive with his support worker who reported that the layout of the cafe and gift shop are different to my blog below but all still accessible.
The review below should be referred to as a guide only as it is a different venue at the Entertainment Quarter but it’s still wonderful and accessible by all reports.
Original review
Last week the kids and I headed to the Van Gogh Alive exhibition at the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park. We were wowed by this multi-media explosion of colour, art and music. It was BJ’s second visit and we’re thrilled to see the exhibition being hosted in such an accessible Sydney venue.
VAN GOGH ALIVE – ACCESSIBLE SYDNEY
Van Gogh Alive is art reimagined. In my opinion, this multi-media exhibition makes art more accessible to those who may not traditionally go to see an art exhibition at the art gallery. This was evident by the age range of visitors on the day we attended. I loved seeing grandparents sitting with young children on the floor and babies crawling across the moving images. It was interesting to see just how engaged they all were. The kids were so well behaved, seemingly mesmerised by being immersed in the ever-changing images.
Van Gogh Alive is a timed, 45 minute digital event set to classical music. Visitors can move freely around the space or take in the seven meter high images from one position. Limited seating is provided in a couple of places within the space.
Visitors are taken on a visual journey through Van Gogh’s life and work which combine his art and diary entries with a musical score which echoes the emotions and experiences that underlie Van Gogh’s work through the many phases of his artistic life.
The irony of Van Gogh lamenting the lack of painting sales was not lost on me as I looked around the hall filled with people of all ages admiring his works.
BJ wasn’t so keen on hanging around while I read the various signs on the artworks so I didn’t linger in the first room. We spent the majority of our visit in the immersive multi-media portion. BJ definitely approves of the new way of presenting art to the world. I guess, like with everything, we need to find various ways of giving people an appreciation of the arts and while traditional methods don’t appeal to BJ, this modern approach does.
I was thoroughly enchanted with Van Gogh Alive and could have easily sat through it more than once. BJ is usually on-the-go and a little on the vocal side but he too was totally engaged and sat still for once. It was a pleasure to watch both the immersive art exhibition and BJ enjoying it.
FACILITIES VAN GOGH ALIVE
The Royal Hall of Industries is located in the Entertainment Quarter precinct at Moore Park which offers good accessibility throughout. Within the Hall of Industries visitors can see the exhibition, grab a snack from the cafe and pick up a souvenir from the pop-up gift shop.
Covid safety is well maintained throughout with reminders for distancing while queuing and appropriately distanced cafe seating. Staff were vigilantly cleaning the minute anyone got up from the tables which is so good to see.
A unisex stand-alone accessible bathroom is located to the side of the cafe.
I’m not sure what Van Gogh would think of his artwork being used to decorate everyday household items like masks, coffee mugs and magnets but I always like a reminder of a day, particularly one I enjoyed as much as this one. So, now I have a Van Gogh magnet on my fridge.
We parked in the street using BJ’s accessible parking permit which gave us free parking. There was plenty of parking but I didn’t see any specific accessible parking. A multi-level parking station (fee to park) is nearby with lots of accessible parking bays.
VAN GOGH ALIVE TIPS
The Australian Companion Card is accepted and needs to be booked through Ticketek.
Tickets are cheaper Monday-Thursday. I was advised a small number of tickets are available for sale at the ticket booth each day. Braeden and his support worker rocked up to the booth and had no problem getting tickets at the door. Only credit card is accepted.
A staff member mentioned to us that the 9am session is the quietest with as few as 10 people on occasion.
Make your way past the first room when you enter and head towards the back. People tend to stop when they first walk in and there’s more space at the back to distance.
Given the multi-media presentation takes visitors on a journey through Van Gogh’s life and works, I recommend waiting to watch the multi-media presentation from the start, rather than entering part way through.
You can read all about the exhibition on the Van Gogh Alive website.
Braeden has now seen this three times and thoroughly enjoyed the latest presentation as much as the last.
Looks great! Have”nt seen that here yet.
In Amsterdam there is a special museum devoted to van Gogh, it is modern and is supposed to be very accessible.
It also is very busy, there are very long lines to get in normaly, a lot of Japanese people visit this museum.
Not at the moment of course, it just opend up after lockdown and you need a reservation to get in.
Hope this display will come to Europe when things get back to normal!
Carine
It has travelled all around the world, hopefully it will make its way to you.