Moncton 
Lighthouse Immersive, the people behind immersive exhibitions like Immersive Van Gogh and Immersive Klimt: Revolution, is bringing another blockbuster experience to Toronto, just in time for March Break.
Library of Parliament, Ottawa/ Credit: Lighthouse Immersive
Beginning March 10th, The Library at Night experience, by acclaimed Canadian theatre artist Robert Lepage and his company Ex Machina, will take you through an immersive and sensory virtual-reality journey across ten libraries, real or imagined, throughout time and across the globe.
“I’m very happy this project is finally coming to Toronto,” said Robert Lepage in a news statement. “The initial inspiration for this experience is the work of Alberto Manguel, who lived in Toronto for almost twenty years, during which time he was an important literary life force in the city. It’s exciting for me to think that Alberto’s work is finally going to be celebrated in the Canadian city that he made his home.”
Rendering of the Admont Abbey Library/Credit: Lighthouse Immersive
With the help of VR headsets and 360 video immersion technology, the exhibit is inspired by Argentinian Canadian writer Alberto Manguel’s acclaimed 2006 book The Library at Night, will let you explore the theoretical, architectural, and social dimensions of real or fictional libraries like Admont Abbey in Austria, Hasedera Temple in Japan, Captain Nemo’s library aboard the Nautilus from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the National Library of Sarajevo in Bosnia, the Alexandria Library past and present, the Vasconcelos Library in a dry riverbed in Mexico, the library of Social Sciences of Copenhagen University, Canada’s Library of Parliament, the Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris, and the Library of Congress in Washington.
Alberto Manguel’s library/Credit: Ali Kazma/ Lighthouse Immersive
According to the press release, the experience begins in an antechamber, a reproduction of Alberto Manguel’s personal library, bringing the visitor into the author’s universe and introducing them to the library of his imagination. Participants then transition into a second environment – a large mythical forest. Here, the most significant sensorial experiences take place, as visitors explore a mysterious and otherworldly environment teeming with trees that contrasts with the order and rigour that characterize libraries. At stations in the forest, visitors are then transported by means of virtual reality, through time, and around the world, to 10 mythic libraries – and on an immersive and sensory adventure engaging the heart, intellect, and memory.
Sainte-Genevieve Library Paris/Credit: Lighthouse Immersive
The Library at Night will be held at the vacant five-stories of the 1 Yonge Street building that previously housed the Toronto Star printing presses. You can also enjoy Immersive Van Gogh And Immersive Klimt: Revolution until the end of March and Immersive Frida Kahlo starting March 31st.
The exhibition is held in association with the Luminato Festival, Toronto’s international festival of arts and ideas.
Tickets for The Library at Night go on sale to the public on February 11th at 10:00am.
The Library at Night – Trip Planning
What: The Library at Night is an immersive and sensory virtual-reality journey that whisks you away to ten libraries, real or imagined, throughout time and across the globe – from Mexico to Japan, Copenhagen, Sarajevo and beyond.
Who: The age recommendation for this exhibit is 14+.
When: March 10th to April 18th.
Where: Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto (previously Toronto Star Building), 1 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M5E 1W7
How much: Tickets on sale to the public on February 11th at 10:00am.
