World famous art exhibition set to open in Bristol
The Van Gogh Experience has attracted 5 million visitors globally since 2018
An art exhibition, named one of the world's best immersive experiences, opens in Bristol this weekend (Saturday 9 April).
The Van Gogh Experience has been touring the world since 2018 and has so far had more than 5 million visitors.
It has visited New York, Berlin, Beijing and Naples among other places and was named 2021's best immersive experience by USA Today.
Tomorrow it will open at Propworld on Feeder Road; an event space near Bristol Temple Meads which was once a torpedo testing factory for the Ministry of Defence.
Unlike a classical art exhibition it features 15,000 square feet of projected screens which bring Van Gogh's art to life, a full surround sound system and virtual reality technology which takes you on a trip through the artist's home and talks you through some of his most famous paintings.
After a walk through of his work, which is truly immersive, visitors then have the chance to do some painting of their own and potentially have them projected on the walls.
Hamza El Azhar is a co-founder of Exhibition Hub which created the exhibition.
He says he hopes it attracts a new audience to art.
"We started the first immersive Van Gogh (Experience) in Naples in 2018," he told us.
"We wanted to have the art accessible to the general public because some people don't go to the museum because they think it's too snobby.
"This is the way of having all different (members of the) public, from all different audiences, to experience art in another way."
He tells us the feedback from visitors around the world so far has been "amazing" and they are very excited to bring it to Bristol.
"It's amazing to be here in Bristol because we know all about Banksy, that he's based here, and it's another kind of art.
"It was important for us to be here in Bristol."
It took the team behind the exhibition eight weeks to build it, with the finishing touches still being applied while we were given a sneak preview on Friday (8 April).
Entrance does come at a cost.
Tickets start at £21.90 for adults and £14.00 for children, while the VR experience is an extra £5.00.
To put that into context, entrance to the Louvre in Paris costs €15.00/£13.00 for adults, while the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam would set you back €19.00/£16.00 if you're an adult and is free for under 18s.
If you want to buy tickets for the Van Gogh Experience, you can do so here.