Beyond Van Gogh launches in Liverpool

An immersive attraction which plunges its visitors into the colourful world of Vincent Van Gogh has opened in Liverpool.

The waterfront Exhibition Centre Liverpool is hosting the UK premiere of Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience which has been seen by more than five million people in North and South America.

It embraces hundreds of artworks created by the Dutch painter over the course of his short life, from globally famous paintings like the Sunflowers, Irises, The Starry Night, the Potato Eaters, Café Terrace at Night and Almond Blossoms to landscapes, portraits and self-portraits which he created over his career.

Images surround visitors on all sides, accompanied by an evocative soundtrack, while the experience also puts Van Gogh’s work in context of his wider life.

Along with timed entry tickets and VIP experience options, there is also a chance to take part in Saturday morning yoga sessions within the attraction.

Beyond Van Gogh is produced by Annerin Productions and Paquin Entertainment Group.

Speaking at a special launch party at the venue last night, Annerin Productions’ head of UK business development Anna Parry said Liverpool was the fastest-selling venue anywhere in the world to date, with more than 30,000 advance tickets booked.

The show will go on to open in Glasgow and Birmingham later this summer.

A gallery of images from Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience at Exhibition Centre Liverpool.

Vincent van Gogh was born to a Protestant minister and his wife in Zundert, in the Netherlands, in 1853 and started his career as an art dealer, working in London and Paris

He also worked as a schoolteacher in Ramsgate and London, a bookseller, and a lay preacher in a Belgian mining community, before in 1880 his younger brother Theo suggested he concentrate on art.

Van Gogh quickly became prolific, creating more than 2,000 artworks over the course of a single decade including 860 paintings – among them landscapes, still lives, portraits and self-portraits. Many of them were painted in the final two years of his life, when he lived in Provence.

But dogged by mental health problems, in 1889 he cut off his left ear, and the following year – aged 37 - he took his own life.

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is at Exhibition Centre Liverpool until July 24. More details and tickets HERE