"I don't know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream." - Van Gogh
Hi there, wholesome reader!
Today, let's go back in time and allow me to reminisce one of my most memorable trips. The year was 2019. I just graduated from university and it was the first time I flew out of Cebu without any "adult" with me, although I was already considered an adult myself.
Early October 2019, my sister messaged me if I could leave work sometime in November and told me about Van Gogh Alive in Manila. As a huge art enthusiast, I knew instantly that I can't miss the opportunity.
Without any second thoughts, I told my sister that I could and definitely would go with her. We also invited my close friend, Janie, to go with us. She said yes with excitement and told us that she's bringing her sister with her. The four of us flew to Manila and called ourselves the "Van Gogh-ers". It's witty, right? 😅
Our main agendum for the trip was the art exhibit but aside from that, we also went to other places to make use of the opportunity that we were already there. We went to some of the famous spots in Manila, even went to our dream school - the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus), which I will talk about in a separate post soon. Stay tuned!
Back to the main topic, let's talk about Van Gogh and his celebrated art pieces.
Who was Van Gogh?
Vincent Willem van Gogh, or famous by the name "Van Gogh", was a Dutch painter who was remembered as an important but tragic artist. He was believed to have shot himself and died two days later. His works were only celebrated after his death and became the most famous and considered to be one of the most influential artists in Western art history. As people say: you can only appreciate its worth once it's gone.
His art style was mainly characterized by dramatic brushstrokes painted in vivid and bright colors, as if depicting movement in most of his works. My favorite paintings of Van Gogh include The Starry Night, Irises, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, Starry Night Over the Rhone, and Almond Blossom. I also liked his self-portrait painting, the one where he wears a grey hat.
There is a museum in Amsterdam that is dedicated to the works of Van Gogh and it is named after him – the Van Gogh Museum. It holds the largest number of paintings and collection of drawings made by Van Gogh! I hope someday I'd have the opportunity to visit this museum.
Aside from its large collection of Van Gogh's artworks, the museum also "manages an official Meet Vincent Van Gogh Experience, described as a travelling 3D immersive exhibition using technology and computer audio-visual techniques to cover the story of Van Gogh's life through images of his works." Source
Fortunately, the same experience was brought to Manila and that is what this post is all about. It was a one-of-a-kind art exhibit experience; it's as if we were inside the real Van Gogh Museum!
Van Gogh Alive in Manila
The tickets at that time ran out fast even before the exhibit opened! Luckily, all four of us were able to secure for ourselves. The exhibit was held at Bonifacio High Street at the Bonifacio Global City in Makati or also known as BGC.
We intended to arrive at the venue minutes before our time slot, so that we could be first in line. By the way, we chose the 12:30PM slot. We had lunch somewhere around the area and then went straight to BGC right after.
Upon entering, a gallery of Van Gogh’s paintings welcomed the guests and a few sayings from the artist. There is another entrance for the whole immersive exhibition.
There were big screens that show the artist’s famous pieces and there was a narration of his life. At first, everyone settled down and sat on the wooden blocks available, while others (including us) sat on the floor as there were no available seats anymore.
The whole narration along with the visuals was played on repeat. So, after the first one during our time slot, people started to stand and take pictures against the screen. We saw it as something that was visually pleasing too, so we posed in front of the screens while our favorite art pieces were being flashed.
The results were actually cool. I took a lot of photos where people’s silhouettes, including our own, were captured on the big screens and it’s as if we instantly became part of the art. Here are some photos I took.
One of the highlights from the whole experience was a real life imitation of Van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles. Without second thoughts, I took the opportunity to take a photo and pose as if I was really in the artist’s bedroom.
Overall, the experience was wholesome as it was our first time visiting an immersive exhibition. There were a lot of people along with us, so it took some effort to focus on the artworks and the excerpts from Van Gogh’s existence. Nonetheless, if you just work hard enough, you'll be able to feel all the emotions and feelings that the artist wished to convey to its audience.
Thank you so much for reading my post for today. I hope you have a great weekend ahead!
I'll take delight in writing for you again soon.
Love,
Sam ♡
Hello, in case you have not read my intro post, my name is Samantha. You may call me Sam for short. I am from Cebu, a beautiful island in the Philippines. I created this space in an attempt to put all the good things in one place, thus, my blog name 
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