PRESS RELEASE - Van Gogh Experience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 10, 2021
Contact: socialmedia@upperdarby.org

Upper Darby’s Tower Theater Reopens With Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

UPPER DARBY, PA: Mayor Barbarann Keffer welcomes Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience to the iconic Tower Theater in Upper Darby. This is the first event to be held at the legendary live performance venue since early 2020. 

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is a 360-degree digital art exhibit that explores the life and works of the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. This highly anticipated exhibit is scheduled to be on display and open to the public from August 26 through February 2022 at the Tower Theater. Tickets can be purchased online at www.vangoghexpo.com. 

“We are thrilled to welcome the internationally renowned virtual Van Gogh exhibit to 69th Street in Upper Darby,” Mayor Keffer said. "The exhibition has received rave reviews in cities around the globe. We could not be happier to add Upper Darby and the world famous Tower Theater to that list. Live Nation continues to be an incredible partner, helping to bring arts, culture, and vitality to our downtown business district, and we can't thank them enough for landing this major event for our town and our region. Together with Live Nation and the newly formed Friends of the Tower Theater District non-profit, I want to invite and encourage everyone who comes to enjoy the exhibit and to shop, dine, and explore all that Upper Darby has to offer.”

Staged inside the Tower’s historic space, which has hosted thousands of live concerts and events, this experience will provide visitors with a unique look into the life of Van Gogh, providing a new understanding of the post-impressionist creator. The one-of-a-kind event is made possible by Exhibition Hub, an international entertainment producer, and Fever, a leading entertainment discovery platform. 

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will offer a COVID-safe digital experience for art enthusiasts of all ages. All visitors will be required to wear face masks at all times and must adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. Hand sanitizer stations will be available to visitors on-site. The location of the event allows for a minimum of six feet between visitors and high ceilings for increased ventilation. 

Using innovative 4k resolution technology provided by Barco, the global leader in visual display technology, visitors will step into a virtual experience featuring more than 400 of Van Gogh’s iconic sketches, drawings, and paintings dramatically displayed four-stories-high on over 30,000-square-feet of projection surface. The unique experience is made possible by state-of-the-art video mapping technology, coupled with projections on the floor to create the impression for the audience of being enveloped in the art. 

The exhibition also includes an optional one-of-a-kind virtual reality (VR) experience in a separate gallery. This multi-sensory experience guides the viewer through a 10-minute journey on “A Day in the Life of the Artist in Arles,” that provides insight into the inspiration behind some of Van Gogh’s most beloved works, including Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles, Starry Night, and Wheatfield with Crows. Limited VIP tickets that include the VR experience also are available via the website. 

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience had its debut in Naples, Italy in 2017. Since then, the exhibition has had highly successful runs in over a dozen cities throughout Europe and Asia, including London, Brussels, Berlin, Beijing, Tel Aviv. It has also run in New York City, Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C. This experience will be opening in more cities throughout the United States through 2021 and beyond. 

Upper Darby is Pennsylvania’s sixth-largest municipality, and Mayor Barbarann Keffer is committed to creating new opportunities for its more than 87,000 residents. Elected in 2019, Mayor Keffer has focused her efforts on reform, revitalization, and reinvestment into Upper Darby.  

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