Wonder walls
An exhibition dedicated to Vincent van Gogh has lifted the spirits of visitors to a York church and reminded us of the power of art. Lucy Oates reports. Pictures by Bruce Rollinson.
Atouring exhibition about the life and work of the famous Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh has proved a big hit in York. Having arrived in the city in July 2019, fresh from a successful tour of Europe, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience was originally supposed to stay in York for only six months. However, 18 months, 65,000 visitors and two national lockdowns later, a decision was made to further extend its stay at York St Mary’s, a medieval church turned contemporary art exhibition space in Coppergate in the city centre. It has also been credited with lifting the spirits of those who have seen it during what has, undoubtedly, been a difficult year for many people.
The exhibition is the work of Mario Iacampo, the Belgian creative director and founder of Exhibition Hub, a curator, producer and distributor of large exhibitions globally. The company is also responsible for The Art of the Brick, which was the first major contemporary art exhibition to solely use Lego and received rave reviews when it visited
Manchester as part of a global tour attended by more than four million people.
Mario said: “It has been a wonderful experience, in spite of the confinement, with a very appreciative audience.”
He also revealed that the exhibition team hoped, all things being well, to be bringing a new art attraction to York this year, adding: “We look forward to continuing into 2021, not only with
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, but also with Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience.” So watch this space.
The Van Gogh experience attracted more than 15,000 visitors between the first and second national lockdowns alone, despite the fact that its capacity had to be reduced to accommodate social distancing guidance.
Exhibition manager Evie Blackstock believes that one of the reasons it has proved such a hit with visitors is that it gave them a welcome taste of the “holiday vibe” that most of us missed out on last year as a result of the travel restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19. This explanation seems entirely plausible given that visitors could immerse themselves in fields of golden sunflowers; twinkling, starry night skies; and other famous scenes from Van