Kusama's Infinity Mirrors causes chaos at Hirshhorn Museum
The opening of Yayoi Kusama's retrospective 'Infinity Mirrors' at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2017, has led to massive crowds and logistical chaos. The museum's policy of free admission, combined with Kusama's immense popularity, resulted in queues averaging 90 minutes outside and further waits inside. Visitors are allowed only 30 seconds in the mirrored rooms, and guards manage flow with stopwatches. The museum extended hours by two hours to accommodate the masses. A free pass system offering 19,000 tickets per week caused the website to crash within an hour of launch. Additionally, a visitor damaged the mirror room, forcing its closure. The exhibition runs until May 14, 2017. The 'Kusama effect' is already being felt in Los Angeles.
Key facts
- Yayoi Kusama's 'Infinity Mirrors' retrospective opened at the Hirshhorn Museum on February 23, 2017.
- Free admission policy led to queues averaging 90 minutes outside the museum.
- Visitors are allowed only 30 seconds in the mirrored rooms.
- The museum extended hours by two hours to manage crowds.
- A free pass system offering 19,000 tickets per week caused the website to crash within an hour.
- A visitor damaged the mirror room, forcing its closure.
- The exhibition runs until May 14, 2017.
- Kusama won the Praemium Imperiale in 2016.
Entities
Artists
- Yayoi Kusama
Institutions
- Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Ota Fine Arts
- Victoria Miro Gallery
- David Zwirner
- KUSAMA Enterprise
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States
- Los Angeles