I heard about Van Gogh Alive UK a few weeks ago and I knew I wanted to go to Birmingham to see the exhibition, but with everything that has been happening at the moment, I successfully talked myself out of going at least twice (I have got to stop doing this). However, I had a change of heart last week and I finally plucked up the courage to get tickets and find a hotel that was close enough to the city centre, and it’s a good thing I did. For those of you who don’t live in the U.K, we will be entering a second lockdown on Thursday, which will last until December 2nd (or maybe even later, who knows at this rate?!).
If you follow the Travel Tales series on the blog, you will know how much I love art. I’ve managed to find a museum or gallery in every city I’ve travelled to in the past few years. Last March, I went to Amsterdam for the second time. I travelled alone and loved every minute of the trip. My first visit back in 2017 was short, sweet and very nightlife-focused, so this time around I was looking forward to learning about Amsterdam’s rich history and culture.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous Dutch artists in the world. During his short and illustrious career, he created 2,100 artworks. The first time I came across his work was when I was studying Art for my GCSE’s. I leaned more towards PopArt (and still do) but I did appreciate the beauty in Van Gogh’s paintings. In typical last minute fashion, I decided to go to the Van Gogh Museum a day before I was due to leave Amsterdam. I was lucky to be able to get a ticket. Anyway, it was totally worth it, and I talk about my visit to the museum in the Amsterdam edition of Travel Tales, so do give the post a read if you haven’t already!
Van Gogh Alive UK has been hailed as ‘the most visited sensory experience in the world’ and it can be enjoyed by both adults and children alike.
The experience itself has been around for some time (it has been presented in 50 countries to date), but it came to Birmingham fairly recently. I’m not sure when, but once I found out about it, I knew I had to find the time to go.
The Van Gogh Alive UK Exhibition is based at the Birmingham Hippodrome, which isn’t too far from the city centre. I stayed at the lovely AC Marriott Hotel and it was about a ten minute walk. Something to be aware of if you plan to visit Birmingham in the near future is that the city is in Tier 2, so my mask never left my face in public (as it shouldn’t anyway) and everyone should be adhering to social distancing.
When I arrived at Birmingham Hippodrome, I was greeted by staff and advised to enter the Interpretative Area first. What you can expect to see in this area are images of Van Gogh’s most iconic paintings along with a brief description which focuses on the inspiration behind some of them. Starry Night, Wheat Field With Canvas and Vincent’s Chair with his Pipe are some of the ones that made the cut in this thrilling display. Overall, I really enjoyed being able to re-familiarise myself with Van Gogh’s works. You’ll find that you’ll be done in this area pretty quickly. I liked that I didn’t have to squint in order to find out more about each one like you do in the museums. My only critique would have been for the paintings to have been displayed in a larger area or perhaps spread out a bit better across the room. I was concerned about the lack of social distancing, so I recommend just being a little more aware. It is crazy how many people haven’t grasped the severity of this pandemic.
The Sensory Gallery is what this exhibition is all about. Van Gogh’s paintings (from 1880 to 1890) are displayed on multiple screens in the room. The show in the gallery lasts for around 40 minutes. Depending on when you arrive, you may not see everything from start to finish. It is ok to walk in during the middle or even close to the end. You’ll just need to remember which painting you saw first and when you see it again, that’s when you’ll know you’ve seen everything in its entirety. This is what the majority of visitors did, including myself.
Overall, the experience was absolutely amazing. From the attention to detail to the accompanying quotes and even the classical music: it was all very moving. It’s impossible to not feel a connection to each painting shown. What I believe sets the experience apart from the rest is the focus on Van Gogh himself. It’s clear to see how dedicated he was to his craft. A lot of artists (even in this present day) create because they feel they have to. They aren’t led by inspiration. Van Gogh was. No two paintings are the same.
As tempting as it is to document the whole experience on your phone or camera, I do recommend taking a few moments to be present. Once I had taken enough photos, I sat on the floor and completely immersed myself in the experience. At the front of the room, a few paintings are also shown on a screen on the floor, which is very cool. A lot of Van Gogh’s paintings told a story, so you may find yourself wondering what it would have been like to live in a completely different era. Another personal highlight was the vibrancy of it all. If you don’t like colour, then this experience is not for you. Van Gogh wasn’t afraid to embrace colour in his work. Every painting was absolutely beautiful, but one of the florals caught my eye. If you go to the exhibition and you happen to see it, look at it closely. The attention to detail will blow your mind. The use of paint to mimic petals was simply genius.
The quotes are also pretty memorable. You’ll get a glimpse into Van Gogh’s thoughts, feelings and state of mind when he created many of his timeless masterpieces.
When your time in the gallery comes to an end, you also have the opportunity to walk into a life-sized representation of Van Gogh’s Bedroom. This is one of the artist’s most famous pieces of work. It does look pretty amazing whether you admire it from afar or get a snap of yourself in the life-sized room. Do note that social distancing guidelines are implemented in this area.
There’s also a Sunflower Room which is definitely worth seeing if you have the time. Yellow is very mood lifting, so you’ll instantly be reminded of the (very few) long summer days we had in 2020. The room is bold, bright and beautiful. If you love and appreciate art as much as I do, then I would definitely recommend going to Van Gogh Alive Birmingham.
It is unfortunate that the exhibition will close for four weeks. There’s a lot of talk about the second lockdown being extended after December 2nd. If you do decide to go to the exhibition after lockdown, I would advise you to socially distance as much as possible because when I was in Birmingham, there were so many people who weren’t wearing masks. Don’t put your health and safety on the line, especially when you are travelling.
Thanks for reading! I hope you have enjoyed this post! What’s your favourite painting? Have you been to any museums or exhibitions lately? Let me know in the comments. I love to hear from you all xo
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