It nonetheless hadn’t introduced a location for its deliberate September 2 opening.
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Photo by way of Van Gogh: The Immersive ExperienceWho would have thought we’d spend a lot time this 12 months speaking about, of all issues, Vincent van Gogh?Against all odds the artist’s work—extra particularly, digitally enhanced renderings of his work in “immersive experiences”—underlies one of the crucial fascinating and puzzling sagas to unfold in Boston this 12 months.And now, there’s been a brand new improvement. One of the 2 (sure, two!) “immersive” van Gogh reveals set to hit Boston in the approaching months has been quietly postponed.The occasion, referred to as Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience had been set to debut right here on Thursday, September 2. But it had been shrouded in thriller, and greater than a little bit little bit of skepticism, since March. That’s in giant half as a result of, regardless of greater than six months of saturation-level social media advertising for the occasion, its web site had but to reveal the “secret location in Boston” the place it’s going to supposedly be held.Then with simply two days to spare, and its location nonetheless remaining mysterious, eagle-eyed Boston.com reporter Kevin Slane this week seen that moderators of a Facebook web page for the exhibit have begun telling folks in Facebook feedback that it has been indefinitely postponed.“We are pleased to deliver our Van Gogh immersive expertise in Boston,” a Tuesday message to an apparently pissed off ticket-holder reads. “Unfortunately, now we have had to delay our Boston opening, and reschedulings can be communicated by way of e-mail with all ticket-holders. The venue can be introduced very quickly. We recognize your endurance, and we apologize once more. Thank you!”The exhibit’s organizers have but to make any type of public announcement in regards to the change of plans.In an announcement, a consultant blamed “the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on world transportation logistics” for the last-minute delay, and stated we must always count on updates “in the approaching days.”The consultant stated the exhibit has efficiently opened in Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Miami, and Washington, D.C.The firm behind the occasion, a enterprise capital-backed European startup referred to as Fever, has deliberate related Van Gogh reveals in almost two-dozen cities around the globe, in accordance to its web site, and is at present promoting tickets to 15 of them concurrently. Listings present that every one the opposite cities have areas listed, apart from Boston and Seattle. Seattle’s exhibit is ready to kick off September 10.At least one different Fever-produced version of the exhibit, set to debut in Philadelphia, has additionally been postponed.Controversy has adopted Fever for months. Back in March, when it first introduced it might arrange an exhibit in Boston, some ticket patrons reported feeling duped, as they mistakenly believed that they had paid to see an occasion referred to as Imagine Van Gogh, which is ready to debut at Boston’s Sowa Power Station in December. The dust-up shone gentle on Fever’s dismal score with the Better Business Bureau, which gave it an “F” over plenty of buyer complaints over things like unresponsive customer support and a bent to cancel occasions on the final minute.Locally, the drama escalated this 12 months over allegations that Fever had inappropriately commandeered the branding of a Boston occasions advertising group. Fever had been selling its van Gogh occasion on Facebook and Instagram utilizing the identify “Secret Boston,” and with the web site SecretBoston.com, though it had no connection to Secret Boston, the long-running occasions promotion firm and on-line neighborhood headquartered in Jamaica Plain. A authorized dispute and public confrontation ensued, and in some unspecified time in the future in current weeks, Fever seems to have swapped out its “Secret Boston” branding. Its social media accounts are actually dubbed “Boston Uncovered,” and the SecretBoston.com web site has been taken down.Michelle McCormack, the founding father of the unique Secret Boston, who has been crowdfunding her battle with the corporate by promoting merch with the phrase “Real” on it, declined to remark due to the continuing authorized matter.In the meantime, tickets for the occasion are nonetheless on sale. And for anybody fearful that they handed over their hard-earned money (tickets begin at $36 a pop) for an exhibit that will, or could not, ever really occur, organizers have apparently been suggesting an perspective adjustment.Here’s how one current Facebook trade went on the web page devoted to the exhibit:“It virtually seems like a rip-off,” one commenter wrote again in July. “No sure date or venue?”“It is all a part of the expertise,” the web page’s moderator replied, punctuating the message with an emoji of a flower and including, “[T]he shock can be price it.”
