Indianapolis Museum of Art Closes Controversial Immersive Digital Gallery

The Lume, a high-tech exhibition space featuring digital art, shuttered after a 5-year run.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields has announced the closure of its immersive digital art gallery, The Lume, after a 5-year run. The Lume featured crowd-pleasing exhibitions like 'Van Gogh Alive' and 'Dalí Alive', but its launch in 2021 coincided with staffing controversies at the museum.

Why it matters

The closure of The Lume marks the end of an era for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which had embraced immersive digital art exhibitions as a way to attract new audiences. However, the initiative was also controversial, with critics arguing that it prioritized spectacle over substance. The museum's decision to shutter The Lume suggests a shift in focus back towards more traditional contemporary art programming.

The details

The Lume was created by the Australian company Grande Experiences, which specializes in immersive art and science experiences. Over the past five years, it hosted popular shows featuring the work of artists like Van Gogh, Monet, and Dalí. However, the museum has now announced that the Lume's final exhibition, 'Connection: Land, Water, Sky — Art & Music from Indigenous Australians,' which closed on February 28, will be its last. The museum says the closure will make way for a 'new monumental exhibition' that will 'further advance the Indianapolis Museum of Art's contemporary art vision'.

  • The Lume opened at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in the summer of 2021.
  • The Lume's final exhibition, 'Connection: Land, Water, Sky — Art & Music from Indigenous Australians,' closed on February 28, 2026.

The players

Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

The art museum that housed the Lume immersive digital art gallery.

Grande Experiences

The Australian company that created and operated the Lume exhibition space.

Charles Venable

The former president of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, who resigned in 2021 following public outcry over a job posting that sought to maintain the museum's 'traditional, core, white art audience'.

Colette Pierce Burnette

The director hired to replace Charles Venable, who resigned after just 15 months on the job.

Belinda Tate

The director eventually hired in 2023 to fill the role whose posting sparked the controversy.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

The takeaway

The closure of the Lume immersive digital art gallery at the Indianapolis Museum of Art marks the end of an era for the institution, which had embraced high-tech, crowd-pleasing exhibitions as a way to attract new audiences. However, the initiative was also controversial, and the museum's decision to shutter the Lume suggests a shift back towards more traditional contemporary art programming.