Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is set to open this June inside the collection of buildings that were recently used as T.J.Maxx downtown on West Fourth Street. A construction crew has been working around the clock this week to transform the two-story interior.
"We are very excited about the positive impact that this will have in continuing to bring arts and culture and more people back to downtown," said John Zaller, a Cleveland native and executive producer for xhibition Hub, whichis organizing the show. "This is also a perfect moment to be a part of the renaissance that is happening on West Fourth Street."
The venue was secured about a month ago, according to Jim Tarbell, a former Cincinnati councilman who has helped the building’s owner, businessman Les Sandler, find a potential tenant.
It’s not been easy, Tarbell said, but the van Gogh exhibition is the first official tenant to sign a lease there in the eight years since T.J.Maxx left.
It’s typical for Zaller and his team to keep the venue a secret until weeks from opening day. In the cities chosen for the van Gogh exhibition, Zaller has a track record of finding aging but architecturally-significant structures in which to outfit the show. The first one in North America opened last May in Atlanta’s railcar manufacturing and repair plant Pullman Yards.
