It just so happened that I was going to be in Washington D.C. the same weekend that Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors were on exhibit in the Hirshhorn Museum. I have been wanting to see the infinity mirrors for years after seeing pictures on social media. I quickly looked to see how I could get passes, and I was in luck because free passes would become available on the museum’s website the next day starting at noon. 

Since the website even said that the passes go quickly when released, I was prepared to get the passes the next day. Once the clock struck noon, I refreshed my page and saw all the available passes. However, because so many people were online, the website crashed and I was unable to get any passes. At 12:03 pm all the passes for the week were sold out! I was disappointed, but I looked on the website to see if there was any other way. Lucky for me, a limited number of same day passes would become available each day at the museum starting at 10 am. 

On the morning I planned to see the mirrors, I woke up early so I could have a spot in line to get passes. I got to the museum around 8:30 am, and there were already about 60 people in front of me. I waited outside in the cold for two hours just for free passes for one exhibit in the museum, but it was so worth it! The line was so long at the end of the two hours that some people were not able to get any passes. Each person can pick-up up to 4 passes, but these passes are only valid for the same day. Each pass has a certain time for when you can see the exhibit. The people at the front of the line will have more preference to what time they would like to see the exhibit. If you are at the end of the line, you might receive one of the last entry times, so be prepared to have some waiting time. Viewing the museum took me a little more than 2 hours, so I recommend getting the earliest available tickets. 

In the exhibit, there are six different infinity mirror rooms alongside a collection of Kusama’s other significant artworks. Each room has its own line, and you can see the rooms in whatever order pleased as many times as you would like, but you would have to get back in line each time. There are strict rules in the exhibit such as you can only be inside each room for 20-30 seconds (the workers timed it and opened the door when your time was up), and you had to enter in groups of 2-3. 

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors was an amazing, out of this world experience. My favorite rooms were The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away and The Obliteration Room. I like The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away because the installation gives an illusion of a galaxy and the vastness of the universe. The Obliteration Room was the most interactive room. It is not a closed room like the others and there is not a limit on how many people could enter the room. The room is filled with colorful polka dots everywhere. The museum assistant gave me a set of polka dot stickers to stick anywhere in the room. 

I definitely recommend seeing this exhibit if you have the chance! I wish that I would have had longer than 20-30 seconds to experience each room, but because of the time limitation, I recommend entering each room twice. One time could be used to take pictures and another time to just enjoy the room. And if you are going to take pictures, be prepared to know how you will take your pictures, and make sure you have enough storage on your phone. 

This exhibit will be in the Hirshhorn Museum until May 14, but will be making a tour to five other major North American museums in Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleveland, and Atlanta. Passes online are almost impossible to get, so I recommend waking up early to try to get the same day passes if you were unable to get passes online. A good time to arrive to the museum to ensure you will get tickets is 8:30 am. It’s all part of the experience!