Van Gogh Alive Comes to Life at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City
Starlight and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will partner to bring the world’s most visited multisensory experience celebrating the world’s most famous artist, Van Gogh Alive, beginning in October
Kansas City, MO, May 27, 2021 – Starlight Theatre and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art are excited to announce Van Gogh Alive is coming to Kansas City. For a limited time only – October 23, 2021, through December 31, 2021 – patrons will have the unique opportunity to experience Van Gogh’s artistry and truly venture into his world. Tickets will go on sale at kcstarlight.com Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 10 a.m.
Created by Grande Experiences, Van Gogh Alive is a large-scale, immersive multi-sensory arts and entertainment experience that has inspired over 8 million people across 70 cities around the world. For Van Gogh Alive, Starlight will transform its stage house into the world of the revered 19th century painter. Patrons will wander through the exhibit in Starlight’s 12,000 square foot and climate controlled space.
“We’re excited to utilize our space in such a unique way and look forward to our partnership with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to offer such an experience to the Kansas City community,” said Rich Baker, CEO & President of Starlight.
Visitors will sense the feeling of Van Gogh’s paintings that are simultaneously enchanting, entertaining and educational. Interactive art stations will be available where visitors can also create their own art with the help of expert video tutorials. Additionally, participants can create their own souvenirs within a life-sized walk-in representation of Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles” painting and the iconic “Sunflower selfie room” – a 360° mirrored room complete with hundreds of sunflowers that has delighted Instagram feeds the world over. Here they can create their own masterpiece and share their images using #VanGoghAliveKC.
“The Nelson-Atkins is delighted to team up with Starlight to bring this vibrant and visual journey to Kansas City,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of The Nelson-Atkins. “What a dazzling way to broaden the arts in our community.”
Van Gogh Alive runs October 23, 2021, through December 31, 2021, at Starlight Theatre. The experience will be open Tuesday through Sunday – check kcstarlight.com for hours of operation. Final entry is one hour before the experience closes. Tickets start at $45 and go on sale Tuesday, June 1 at 10 a.m. Starlight is the only official ticketing provider of Van Gogh Alive and tickets may only be purchased online at kcstarlight.com or by calling the Starlight Box Office at 816-363-7827.
COVID PROTOCOLS
Starlight Theatre continues to implement health and safety procedures in accordance with city and state COVID-19 re-opening guidelines and recommendations from the CDC to help protect visitors, volunteers and staff.
About Starlight
Opened as a theatre in 1950 and a nonprofit organization in 1951, Starlight is the largest and oldest performing arts institution in Kansas City and provides inspiring, one-of-a-kind experiences to its patrons. Starlight presents and produces Broadway musicals and concerts in addition to offering extensive community engagement programming, including classes, scholarships and Starlight’s Blue Star Awards, one of the largest high school musical theatre award programs in the nation.
Located on 16 acres in Swope Park, Starlight’s historic, city-owned venue is the second-largest outdoor producing theatre in the country and includes rehearsal halls, a museum, club area for dining, concessions, gardens, fountains and a 10-story, climate-controlled stage. For more information, visit kcstarlight.com.
About The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums, and is home to several original Van Gogh paintings, which visitors are invited to see after their experience at Starlight Theatre. The museum, which strives to be the place where the power of art engages the spirit of community, opens its doors free of charge to people of all backgrounds. The museum is an institution that both challenges and comforts, that both inspires and soothes, and it is a destination for inspiration, reflection and connecting with others.
The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access to its renowned collection of more than 42,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and Native American and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the museum is a key educational resource for the region. In 2017, the Nelson-Atkins celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Bloch Building, a critically acclaimed addition to the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.
About Grande Experiences
Grande Experiences, the creator and producer of Van Gogh Alive, is a world leader in the creation, design, production, promotion and installation of large-scale exhibitions and immersive experiences with broad cultural appeal along with engaging, entertaining and educational content. From concept to completion, Grande Experiences creates visually and technically stunning masterpieces and presents them around the world. Its experiences have been displayed 200+ times in over 150+ cities, in 32 languages, across six continents enthralling audiences of over 18.5 million people. Grande Experiences is based in Melbourne, Australia with satellite offices in the UK, Italy and the USA. Grande Experiences also owns and operates Museo Leonardo da Vinci, a prestigious permanent museum in central Rome, Italy and plans to open several permanent immersive galleries in the USA, Europe and Australia in 2021.
Van Gogh Alive and Grande’s other multi-sensory experiences are presented through the organization’s SENSORY4™ system that combines multi-channel motion graphics beamed through up to 40 high-definition projectors with cinema-quality surround sound.
WHAT IS SENSORY4™?
Developed by Grande Experiences, SENSORY4™ is a unique system that combines multi-channel motion graphics, cinema quality surround sound and up to forty high-definition projectors to provide one of the most exciting multi-screen environments in the world. The resulting experience is dynamic, informative and visually spectacular. Incredibly detailed images flow through the mass of projectors and merge with digital surround sound to saturate the space in a breathtaking immersive
display.
For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:
Kathleen Leighton, Manager, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
kleighton@nelson-atkins.org
816.751.1321
Toni Talley, Starlight
toni.talley@kcstarlight.com
816.997.113