Experience Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience York

The O'Hallorans

We’re made up of Lyndsey, John and Erin, who all love a new adventure. We try to get away as much as possible, especially during school holidays and variety is a must for us. That means staying anywhere from a luxury hotel to a hostel and it’s not often we go to the same place twice.

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If you’re looking for something different to do while visiting York, take a look at Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience York, held in York St. Mary’s church.

Address

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience can be found at St. Mary’s Church, which is a short walk away from the Coppergate centre and shopping area.

St Mary’s Abbey,
Castlegate,
York
YO1 9RN

Ticket prices

Ticket Type	Price
Full Price	£15.00
Concession – Concessions tickets are for disabled customers, age 60 or over and students.	£12.00
Child 3+ – Child tickets are for children aged 4-17.	£9.00
Under 3	£0.00
Family Ticket – Price per ticket for 2 adults + 2 children	£10.50
Groups – Group bookings are for 6 people and over.	£8.00
Carer – To get your carer ticket, first book your concession/other tickets online and then please email uk@exhibitionhub.com to reserve your carer ticket.	£0.00
School group – If you would like to book a school group or large group booking please use the contact form at the top of the website – https://www.vangoghexpo.co.uk/groups-and-schools-2-2/	£6.00
York Pass – Email york@exhibitionhub.com to reserve your space. You can book a space between 10am – 4pm. Please include the date, time and number of people that would like to visit. You will need to bring along your York Pass on the day of your visit.	£0.00

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Inside the church

The first part of the experience takes part inside the church, where Van Gogh style deckchairs are laid out, as well as benches. Digital projections are shown around the church, showing Van Gogh’s work like never before. This virtual gallery moves around, and changes, meaning you get to see artwork you might know in a whole new way. The cutting-edge technology used means the images move around 360 degrees so no matter where you sit, you get a good view. The venue is fantastic and as part of the audience, it was interesting to see how the works of Vincent Van Gogh were brought to life.

Learn more about the artist

In the second part of the experience you get to see the Van Gogh exhibition and collection of his paintings. There’s quite a bit of information about his life, his works and what has gone on to sell privately over time. It was interesting to see just how much some people and places have paid for his work.

Here, you can also take inspiration from Van Gogh and make a feature of your own. There are pages where you can draw your own picture or make changes to some of Van Gogh’s. Erin really enjoyed this area and spent quite a bit of time drawing while John and I were looking around. She got to use her imagination and come up with some of her own pictures, while copying some iconic pieces of art. Once the pictures are done, you can add them to a virtual art exhibit which comes up on the wall. This way of making digital art is a great thing for children to experience.

Erin drawing at the Van Gogh Immersive experience in York

Is it suitable for children?

This is a bit of a tricky one as I want to say both yes and no. While there is nothing that is unsuitable for children, I think their enjoyment will depend on age, and how much they like art. Children may well get bored easily in the first area of the experience.

How long should you spend at Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience York?

The first part of the experience lasts for 35 minutes. However, you’re welcome to stay in this area for as long as you like and there’s no real time limit if you want to watch it again.

The second part of the experience is free-flowing. You, or your children, might want to spend some time in the drawing area but after that, expect to take another 15-20 minutes to look at the displays.

There is a small gift shop at the end, where you can buy souvenirs.

Overall thoughts

While John and I really enjoyed the experience, Erin was bored for most of it. She lasted 10 minutes while sat in the church before getting fidgety and wanting to move on. However, once we finished this part and she got to do some colouring and drawing, she was happy. It’s nice that there is something for children as I didn’t really expect there to be.

My one criticism is the price. For the 3 of us, tickets would have cost £39 but we used a York Pass where tickets were included. I don’t think it’s worth paying the full price, unless you are super into art and Van Gough.