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Has London hit peak immersive experience? We’ve got immersive art, theatre, game shows and even an optical illusions museum in the pipeline – but while you can spend entire days in the capital just doing immersive experiences (which we did here), you get the feeling that there’s even more to come.
And now yet another ‘immersive’ museum has opened in London. Called the Balloon Museum, it opened last December and features lots of – you guessed it – big inflatable balloons.
Like all ‘immersive’ experiences, the Balloon Museum offers visitors the opportunity to touch and interact with its contents. The Balloon Museum has previously had outposts in both Europe and the US, having welcomed three million visitors – though this is the first time it’s been in London.
The Balloon Museum has opened with an exhibition called ‘EmotionAir: Art You Can Feel’. Featuring the work of 20 artists from around the world, it apparently ‘aims to explore the profound relationship between art and human emotion through the captivating medium of inflatable art’. So, erm, make of that what you will.
It officially opened on December 27, taking over a 78,000 square feet space at Old Billingsgate in the City.
How much are tickets for the Balloon Museum?
Similar to many other ‘immersive’ things, the Balloon Museum won’t be cheap. Adult tickets will apparently cost £32, while child tickets will be priced at £15.
How long does the exhibition run for?
The current exhibition runs until February 18.
If you need some colourful stuff for your ‘Gram and you’re feeling flush, you can book an advance ticket to the Balloon Museum online now here.
Is the Balloon Museum worth it?
It depends what you’re looking for, really. It’s Instagram-friendly and great for kids, but maybe not so rewarding if you’re after conventionally engaging art.
In Time Out’s review of the museum, critic Andrzej Lukowski said: ‘It’s like a soft play injected with at least enough genuine artistic sensibility to distort it into wild maximalist forms that are fairly mind-blowing to a tween
‘Balloon Museum is essentially a grabby name for what you might call an exhibition of inflatable art, but might also call a playground with pretensions.’
If you’re after the people’s consensus, the Balloon Museum currently holds a 4.1/5 rating on Google Reviews, which is pretty good!
How long does it take to go through the Balloon Museum?
By our reckoning, you can probably get through the Balloon Museum in an hour. If you want to take your time with it and perfect those snaps for the ’Gram, maybe allow an hour and a half.
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