Few things stir our hearts as much as art-centric photo opps. Maybe Hamilton tickets. Or Dunkin Donuts. But other than those, all we really want in life is 100-plus double taps on a selfie in the Rain Room or jumping in front of the Paul Smith wall or lounging in the sprinkle pool at the Museum of Ice Cream. The ultimate Insta-coup in this town, though, is snapping a pic inside of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room at the Broad—a feat that requires two things Angelenos hate: months of planning and lots of waiting. But come October, the Broad is quintupling your chances at social media fame/jealousy by bringing five more of Kusama’s totally bonkers installations into its hallowed halls.
When tickets for the October 21 to January 1 run of Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Broad Museum went on sale on September 1, over 100,000 Angelenos logged on to compete for some 50,000 tickets and the entire show was sold out in minutes, leaving lots of art lovers feeling crestfallen. Well, the Broad heard our pleas and has figured out a way to make 40,000 additional tickets available on Monday, October 2 at noon.
For those who felt frustrated by the music festival-style “waiting room” used for ticketing the first time around, watching available ticket numbers drop, not knowing if you would be able to complete your purchase or not, they’ve announced an updated system for this release. This time, you can log on any time between 11 a.m. and noon on the on-sale day to enter a lottery-like system. At noon, you’ll get one of two messages: either that you were randomly selected to purchase tickets or you’re out of luck (hey, at least you’ll know, right).
These additional tickets are possible because the Broad will be extending their daily hours just for Infinity Rooms, keeping the show open 62 additional hours each week beyond when the museum is normally open. Beyond the Broad’s standard opening times, the exhibit will also be open 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The additional tickets going up for sale on October 2 will be timeslots in these extended hours periods.
Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 day of. If you miss out on the sale, don’t bother looking for scalped tickets online; representatives from the museum have confirmed that resale or transfered tickets will not be honored. If all else fails, there will still be a small number of daily stand-by tickets available on site each day.
For the lucky few who are able to secure tickets, you will be given a specific time to attend the exhibit. For each 15-minute block, there will be 25 tickets sold. Once your time comes, you’ll enter the exhibit with the group of 25, but only two people will generally be in a specific room at a time. Before entering, you’ll put your personal items in a cubby and then go inside, where you’ll be allowed 30 seconds of personal time in the room (so be sure to nail your selfie on the first try). After each 30 seconds of glory, the Broad suggests expecting to wait about 15 minutes to enter the next one, adding up to a total experience of about 93 minutes. Photography is permitted in all the rooms except for Infinity Mirrored Room—All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, where the artists requests you refrain (will you, though?).
Here’s a peek at what you can expect from the show, the first survey of Kusama’s enrapturing, immersive exhibitions:
Infinity Mirrored Room – All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins
Infinity Mirror Room — Phalli’s Field
Infinity Mirrored Room — Love Forever
Infinity Mirrored Room — Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity
Dots Obsession — Love Transformed into Dots
If that weren’t enough, a sixth room, titled The Obliteration Room, rounds out the show, where you can channel your inner toddler and cover whitewashed walls and furniture with stickers:
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