The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has partnered with The Pokemon Company to bring Van Gogh-style Pokemon artwork to the iconic museum. This is happening to celebrate the museum's 50th anniversary this year, but unfortunately, apparent scalpers are negatively impacting the event right out of the gate.
The museum's Pokemon exhibit is hosting an event called "Pokemon Adventure." People can pick up a copy of this booklet at the museum's information desk, complete the answers, and then return it to receive a special promo card. The card might end up holding special value someday, so naturally, people swarmed the museum to try to get their hands on it. As evidenced in the video below, this created a pretty poor experience attendees.
This makes me so sad and is why we can’t have nice things
I saw so many wanting to go over in the first few days just to get any card and merch to resell. This is not an acceptable practice. If you do that, shame on you. https://t.co/vVHLHhVyZ1
An FAQ states that promo cards are "subject to availability" and may run out. A maximum of one promo card is available per person. "If the stock at the museum runs out, there is no other way to obtain the promo cards," the museum said.
As VGC reminds us, The Pokemon Company partnered with the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 2019 and also sold trading cards inspired by the iconic painting, "The Scream." This card may now be worth more than $500, which could explain why people believe something similar could happen with the card from the Van Gogh Museum.
The Van Gogh Museum's partnership with The Pokemon Company includes special paintings of Pikachu, Eevee, Snorlax, and other Pokemon drawn in a "whole new way." The collaboration isn't totally random, as Vincent Van Gogh himself is said to have been a fan of Japanese art. He said in a letter to his brother, "It makes us return to nature, despite our education and our work in a world of convention."
Exciting news! 🎁 Our collaboration with @Pokémon starts tomorrow and runs until 7 Jan 2024. Come and visit the presentation or complete the art-hunt to receive a Pokémon TCG promo card 🕵️♂️🕵️♀️ (subject to availability). See you soon? pic.twitter.com/YD5CxahXq2
— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) September 27, 2023Van Gogh Museum director Emile Gordenker said, "This collaboration will allow the next generation to get to know Vincent van Gogh's art and life story in a refreshing way."
The exhibit is open now through January 7, 2024. Tickets are already sold out through the middle of October.