Van Gogh Dreams is an immersive narrative installation about Vincent van Gogh’s emotional journey during the year he spent in Arles (1888-1889)—a period that defined him both as an artist and as a man. Tellart crafted the experience from concept to installation, in close collaboration with the museum’s curators and leadership team. This is the first time the museum presents the artist in a visitor experience without using paintings. Van Gogh Dreams is designed to complement the main collection, while also making bold headway into new storytelling formats for engaging visitors.

The story is told through five distinct multisensory environments that capture contrasting emotions, inviting visitors to empathise with the man behind the paintings. Working closely with the museum’s curators and educators, Tellart conducted rigorous research on Van Gogh’s works and letters, arriving at a narrative arc that conveys the exciting ascent to his dreams, productive and motivated periods of happiness, and conflict and despair as his aspirations come crashing down.

Visitors move slowly through the exhibition, taking in the scenes and feeling for themselves what Van Gogh felt at these different stages of his life. The experience builds a deeper visitor relationship with the artwork and historical narrative portrayed elsewhere in the museum, and brings a sensation of intimacy to an artist many admire from afar.