Pokemon Chaos: Did the Van Gogh Museum Make the Right Moves?

IIn early November, I was standing in a long line at Van Gogh’s gift shop in Amsterdam to buy a Pokemon ballpoint pen. It was one of the few items left in the store – this was in its second month of establishment Pokemon collaboration, but the craze for limited edition merchandise continued. Everything from T-shirts with pictures of Pikachu on the front to notebooks to shoulder bags was stripped away, leaving only prints and postcards behind the cash register. It was just after noon, but the number of people inside the store quickly led to the area being cordoned off and other people being denied access until things calmed down.

This has become a familiar sight for participants and staff alike. Launched in September to commemorate the museum’s 50th anniversary, the collaboration aims to introduce the Dutch artist’s work to a new audience, and since its inception, the collaboration has had enthusiasts and scalpers clamoring for the best. It caused a commotion and caused a huge mess of Pokemon goods. But the main culprit was in one item – limited edition. “Pikachu wearing a gray felt hat” trading card. The card sold out online as soon as it went on sale, with desperate gallery visitors having to scrum to get their hands on the card. Footage of the poke riot was quickly posted to Twitter. (now known as X), the card has since sold for up to $900 in eBay listings. This card was discontinued in mid-October.

So, what was it like actually working there? “Her first week was pretty bad,” recalls one of her employee girlfriends. “It’s just been too busy. A lot of people are trying to come four times a day just to get their cards.” The cards are aimed at children aged 6 to 12 and will be on display. Awarded after the conclusion of a Pokémon treasure hunt where participants learned about Van Gogh’s history from a new set of Van Gogh-inspired Pokémon drawings that were temporarily added to the Society.

“In the morning, people were rushing to the store at once, even though there was only one item per person,'' the employee said. They describe the scene as more like a “theme park” than a museum, with at least 2,000 of the 5,500 tickets sold by card alone. Many people who came that day had to be turned away.

“It was total chaos,” explains another. “What did people expect? You’re taking out something from the ’90s that people were fans of. You get the idea, but it doesn’t work with Pokémon.”

To meet demand without compromising the experience, trading cards were replaced with postcards. Additionally, in order to prevent scalpers, limited edition items were moved from the gift shop on the first floor to the first floor, a rule of one item per person was introduced, and customers were required to wait in line. However, when I visited, the Pokémon Adventures treasure hunt flyer was also out of stock, and I was told it would be reprinted. When I told him I was a journalist, he found me behind the counter. The Van Gogh Museum later told me that they had enough treasure hunt leaflets (in Dutch and English) until the end of the collaboration, but that’s not what I found.

In any case, shortages and overcrowding led to an increase in dissatisfied visitors. “Usually a month he gets two complaints,” says one of his staff members. “Most of the time, it’s important to have a lot of people here. [During the Pokémon exhibition] There were 12 pieces a day. First, it was about the line.after that [because] We didn’t hand out any more cards…so they felt like they bought a ticket and thought they didn’t get anything.”

The situation has improved somewhat with the removal of trading cards from the Van Gogh Museum. “I think we drew the wrong crowd for the first few weeks,” the staffer says. “[Afterwards] I was happy. All the kids would do was come and leave with a postcard and happy.”

“I think it’s been that way for the last few weeks.” [successful], yes,” they say. “There were a lot of families who wanted to go on a treasure hunt. Even though there are no more treasure hunts, regular art treasure hunts are still held. Usually we give out about 20 or 30 tickets, but yesterday we handed out about 50. I did. The kids are in.”

www.theguardian.com