To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam had come up with a fun collaboration: A special exhibition, which opened Sept. 28, features six paintings in which Pokmon are presented in the style and setting of Van Gogh paintings.–>
Matching merchandise with matching Van Gogh Pokmon crossover motifs is also available in the museum’s own store. However, it is doubtful whether the organizers expected to attract so many “fans” on the very first day.
Pokmon: Rare Pikachu card for hundreds of euros on eBay
A video soon circulated on Twitter showing how the museum store was virtually overrun. A crowd of people crowds around the displays like at a Primark opening to grab some of the limited-edition merchandise as quickly as possible. Some of them are probably just Pokmon and possibly even Van Gogh fans who are happy to acquire a new and unusual gem for their collection; however, a look at online auction portals shows that there are also a huge number of scalpers (people who deliberately buy limited-edition goods in order to sell them on at a higher price).
Echt zin in een dagje Van Gogh museum om Pokmon te kijken 😎😎😎 pic.twitter.com/txMKLKxzk4
– monkeloidtv (@monkeloidtv) September 28, 2023
On eBay, for example, you can buy the trading card Pika-Portrait (“Pikachu with gray felt hat”) for several hundred euros. Other goodies such as a tote bag or plush animals have also landed on these platforms for many times the purchase price. Meanwhile, the items cannot be found on the museum store’s homepage.
“Pikachu with a gray felt hat” is already being traded for abnormal sums on eBay.
Actually, the special exhibition should encourage children to engage with art. The limited-edition Pika Portrait card is a reward for kids (and adults, of course) who go on a museum tour and solve riddles based on clues. The museum’s homepage lists the card as “subject to availability” – let’s hope enough of them are available for the kids who really want to take the tour.
The collaboration between Nintendo and the Van Gogh Museum can still be viewed until January 7, 2024 . Perhaps the hype will die down after a while and visitors will be able to enjoy the exhibition undisturbed.