In Charlotte, North Carolina, immersive art is not just something you watch — it is something you enter, explore and share with others. At the center of this movement is Blumenthal Arts, which, under the visionary leadership of President and CEO Tom Gabbard, has expanded beyond its traditional theatre roots to create groundbreaking experiential events that attract new audiences while fostering local creative talent.

“For us, this has all been about growth and expanding the family of people who are part of Blumenthal,” says Gabbard. “As much as we love our traditional theaters, there are some people who don’t want to sit in a fixed seat. They want to get up, move around and have a different kind of creative experience. Our traditional programming didn’t connect with them, so they didn’t pay any attention to us.”

That philosophy took root in unexpected ways. Immersive programming was not originally a planned strategic focus but rather a bold response to unforeseen challenges. Before COVID-19, Gabbard was already impressed and intrigued by immersive work, having twice visited the pioneering digital art space Atelier des Lumières during trips to Paris. When the pandemic shuttered venues and left over 200 Blumenthal employees without work, Gabbard was determined to find a way to reignite the organization and return staff to their jobs.

“I told people back then, I have never worked harder and enjoyed it less because I was on the hunt every single day, seven days a week, to find some way to get back to business and get my people back to work,” he recalls.

In July 2020, Corey Ross, a producer friend from Toronto, reached out to Gabbard with an opportunity to bring Immersive Van Gogh to Charlotte.

Gabbard needed no explanations or convincing. His iPad screensaver was a picture of Immersive Van Gogh from the Atelier des Lumières. The original Parisian show had revolutionized digital art with floor-to-ceiling projections of Van Gogh’s paintings. And despite operating under severe pandemic restrictions, including drive-in performances limited to 10 cars at a time, the Toronto production was a great success.

So, Gabbard said to Ross, “I’m already a fan, let’s start talking about how to do this.”

Gabbard explains, “I went to my board in the darkest days of COVID — January of 2021 — and said, ‘Look, I think there is a way for us to get active again, but it is going to mean going into a 100-year-old warehouse without air conditioning, without insulation and opening this show that we have no experience with in the middle of June. But … my spidey sense says there is a moment, and we either do this now, or we do it never.’ And with their support, we did it then.”

The gamble paid off spectacularly: over 300,000 people attended the show, which was extended three times due to popular demand. Blumenthal hired around 400 staff, and many attendees were previously unknown to the organization.

“We have this incredibly diverse database because we do ticketing for … all the resident groups and others who use Blumenthal. We also do ticketing for venues outside of our facilities. So, we have this robust, diverse database and yet 78% were new to file. That really told me that there were people who wanted creative experiences, but what we were offering, the place, the product, wasn’t right for them. So, we needed to find the right place and the right product.”

This revelation prompted Blumenthal to pursue a new type of venue — a flexible space where large-scale immersive programming could thrive. Enter Blume Studios, situated in Charlotte’s Iron District, a former industrial area transformed into a vibrant neighborhood with the help of local artists. The 55-acre site, once home to Charlotte Pipe and Foundry for over a century, is being redeveloped into a dynamic, pedestrian-focused destination with apartments, retail and restaurants.

“It took us a while to find the right building,” says Gabbard. “We are not in a perfect building because it still has a few columns, but it does have ceiling height and expansive space.”

The organization is understandably proud of Blume Studios’ design and infrastructure improvements, including a commitment to accessibility that meets or exceeds Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.

Gabbard says, “People know and remember us for Immersive Van Gogh. So, as we started up again, we wanted to demonstrate that we were going to explore all sorts of other things. I purposely stayed away from digital art at the outset.”

The first show in the new space was Space Explorers: The Infinite, which opened in late September 2024 and, after an initial run through mid-November, was extended until early January 2025. This immersive virtual reality experience transported guests 250 miles above Earth, aboard the International Space Station. Using 360° cinematic footage shot in collaboration with NASA and a dozen international astronauts, visitors could explore the inside of the station and gaze upon breathtaking views of our planet. It was just as the astronauts saw it from space.

The show’s educational impact was immense. With the help of a supportive community, Blumenthal raised over $160,000 to bring every sixth grader in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district, more than 11,000 students, to the experience, supporting their science curriculum.

“Every hour that the staff could figure out a way to squeeze in another school group during the run of The Infinite, we did,” recalls Gabbard. “We also had sixth graders attend from other school districts.”

Gabbard recalls an extraordinary moment when a woman attending a conference in Charlotte bought a ticket to the show, went through the experience, and then made a beeline to find staff. She introduced herself and said, “I’m with SpaceX, I am in charge of astronaut training, and this footage is better than anything I have to work with. How do I connect with the filmmakers?”

Following The Infinite, Blumenthal launched Monopoly Lifesized, an interactive experience that turns the iconic board game into a high-energy, life-sized challenge. Teams race to solve puzzles and acquire properties during timed rounds, supported by theatrical effects like flashing lights, music and other sounds.

“It has a lot of tech built into it, but it is all tech behind the scenes,” notes Gabbard. “This is a much more human, community-focused thing, where you play Monopoly in a rapid 70 minutes. This is not the Monopoly some people remember, which goes on for days. The focus is really on just having fun together.”

He adds, “The communal piece is integral, and it is part of what people are looking for. Yes, they want creativity, but they also want light-touch communal experiences, to be around other people. People are feeling increasingly isolated. They are talking to screens … They are looking for more opportunities for human connections. They’re not looking to go to church or date somebody, but they do want to be in a room with other people having a good time together. Immersive allows us to do that.”

Blume Studios offers more than ticketed shows, with expansive space that hosts free community events alongside areas where visitors can buy food and drinks, continue the experience or drop in without a ticket to connect and create community.

“We didn’t explore it much with The Infinite because I wanted our staff to learn how to operate the building. But now, we are leaning into all sorts of other activities, some of which are related to the exhibition … [We have had] a Twister Festival … That’s a Hasbro product, so we are exploring things related to Hasbro, which is the IP owner for Monopoly. We are also exploring things that are totally unrelated,” says Gabbard, adding that this includes everything from music to renting out the space.

“We have had a group called Residency in a few times. It’s a huge group doing sing-alongs. One of them was diva songs, and [another was] Taylor Swift … So, we are really leaning into having a whole series of other activities, but also special events. The space is rentable, too. If someone on the corporate side wants to rent it and have the coolest special event in Charlotte, we have the space available to support that.”

A hallmark of Blumenthal’s immersive model is deep collaboration with artists, and from the beginning, local creatives have helped enrich each show’s atmosphere and narrative.

“This has created a fantastic way for us to commission work from local artists who create fun, quirky, interesting things,” notes Gabbard. “Sometimes it is connected to the show; other times it’s just wildly fun. In many cases, we have actually bought the work, so we are creating a really interesting permanent collection.”

Blumenthal has also incorporated local art into its gift shop offerings. “Starting with Van Gogh, we leaned in very hard to work with local artists,” explains Gabbard. “Within the exhibition itself, we had three stations where we had artists-in-residence for a month at a time, and they were working there, but they were also selling. That quickly led us to working with the merch, which was largely managed out of Toronto. We went to them and asked if we could work with local artists to create themed merch that they could sell. That was a huge success. Charlotte was one of 21 cities on the tour, and a lot of that merch was so good they carried it on and sold it in other cities. We didn’t have a perfect way to track it, but we know it generated well over $600,000 in direct payments to artists.”

He continues, “We have adopted that model, not quite at the same large scale as we did with Van Gogh, but with our subsequent shows, at least 50% of what we sell is locally created art.  Sometimes it relates to the subject matter. In other cases, it’s cool, interesting stuff that people can buy. That has been a huge benefit to local artists, helping them not only get recognition but also generate some cash for themselves. We are hopeful that, over time, as the show travels to other cities, they will carry that forward. And it does change the merch shop in a good way. For example, with Monopoly Lifesized, if it were just Monopoly merchandise or even Hasbro games, the gift shop would look and feel a certain way. Add locally created merch, and it feels like a much more interesting space.”

Gabbard adds, “By adding the local arts element, it … creates some local connection, authenticity and creativity. It changes the texture of that ticketed experience in a very positive way and makes it a fuller, richer and more memorable experience. And that is very unique. Nobody else approaches this work in that way.”

These experiences fit in with a change that’s happening globally in marketing, says Gabbard, adding that immersive events are particularly well-suited to influencers and people who share their personal experiences. Regardless of the genre, “the public listens to influencers more than critics or traditional journalists,” he says. “This kind of programming lends itself to inviting influencers in, and some of their followings are unbelievable. We had some folks [visit] who have a national show about gaming. They found us online, came in and played Monopoly for 45 minutes on YouTube. That video is now over a million views.”

Gabbard adds, “For those of us who have been doing this for a while, I’m 47 years in this business, it’s about really embracing the fact that we need to think beyond your usual friends and approaches … I can't think of anything else in the traditional world where we have had a piece of content that’s had over a million views. You have to open yourself and realize there are lots of people expressing and celebrating creativity in ways I never knew of, that I don’t do personally, but they need to be part of our family.”

Expanding audiences beyond traditional arts patrons remains a core goal, and Gabbard emphasizes that reaching new people is essential. Blumenthal invites community groups such as the Black Gamers League to host regular events at Blume Studios, creating fresh entry points into the arts ecosystem that may eventually lead to ticketed show attendance. High school students with an interest in business and entrepreneurship have also connected with Monopoly Lifesized, with some even applying for jobs at Blumenthal to gain hands-on experience.

Welcoming these new audiences, however, requires more than simply opening the doors. Gabbard underscores the importance of treating all visitors authentically and with flexibility. Non-traditional patrons may not be familiar with theater “etiquette,” arriving late or unaware of certain conventions, so clear communication and operational adaptability are key, especially for events with timed entry. “Most importantly, be genuinely glad they’re there. Respect and authenticity win every time.”

While Blumenthal is still gathering data on whether immersive audiences transition to traditional theater attendance, these experiences broaden its reach and lay the groundwork for lasting relationships. “Our brand is strong, and people trust us,” Gabbard says. “[If they believe] whatever Blumenthal touches is going to be worth my time, it helps to build confidence and curiosity about us.”

Financially, immersive programming is still evolving. While Immersive Van Gogh generated about $20 million in gross sales for Blumenthal, these experiences are not generating the same kind of cash flow as they did during the pandemic. However, when combined with food and beverage sales, merchandise and corporate rentals, the picture improves significantly.

“A lot of what I’m talking about has to be through the lens of [Blume Studios] being a giant R&D space. Even something like Monopoly, which comes from London, and those of us who work with theatrical shows back and forth, we know that even though we share a common language, the Brits and Americans process this kind of content differently,” says Gabbard. “So, we are working with the producers to tweak various things. But particularly when I talk about the extra space and the things we are trying, it is definitely with an R&D mentality.”

For arts organizations of any size considering immersive programming, Gabbard’s core advice is the same: find a way to begin. “People who have studied us and seen what we have done will see things done at a very large scale. Large buildings, large productions. It does not have to all be that. That is where I have encouraged people: just get started with something. Don’t try to make it too complicated by making it too big or too expensive … People see candlelight concerts pop up in their social feeds. A lot of us in our buildings already do chamber music; we just don’t add 500 candles. There are relatively simple ways to take what we know, embellish it and offer it to the public in a different way that allows people to get started. That is my key advice to people: if you are curious about [immersive events], just get started with something.”