Van Gogh's Bedrooms: The power of an immersive idea

Van Gogh's Bedrooms: The power of an immersive idea

The Art Institute of Chicago wanted to publicise its Van Gogh exhibition and broaden the audience for art, particularly by getting more Chicago locals to visit the museum. A strategy was built on the insight that art was an immersive experience, not a series of objects to view. Digital and outdoor positioned the show as a keyhole into the artist’s world, with activity culminating in a recreation of Van Gogh’s painted bedroom that could be booked via Airbnb. The exhibition generated the museum’s best attendance figures in 15 years, $1.6M of long-term revenue from new memberships, and local museum visitors outnumbered tourists for the first time in 10 years.