A touring exhibition recreating every one of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes opens Friday at Polaris Fashion Place, bringing life-size reproductions of the ceiling and altar masterpieces to a mall in suburban Columbus. Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition runs through Dec. 27, with tickets already on sale for visitors eager to see the recreated frescoes up close without a trip to Vatican City.
According to the exhibition's official announcement, the show faithfully recreates all 34 of Michelangelo's ceiling and altar masterpieces using licensed high-resolution imagery and an advanced printing technique. The exhibition sets up at Polaris Fashion Place, 1500 Polaris Pkwy, and visiting it is expected to take 60 to 90 minutes, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
Hours and Pricing
The exhibition is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last entry at 7 p.m., and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last entry at 5 p.m., per the official announcement. It closes entirely on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Dispatch's report notes. Visitors are asked to arrive at their scheduled time and no more than 30 minutes late, since late arrivals may have to wait for an available space; VIP ticketholders, by contrast, can arrive any time before last entry on their ticketed date.
The Dispatch lists general admission at $28, with student and age-55-or-older tickets at $26 and military and youth tickets, ages 4 to 18, at $20; children 3 and younger get in free. VIP tickets, which include any-time entry and a souvenir guidebook, are also offered. Tickets can be purchased at sistinechapelexhibit.com/columbus.
Audio Guides and Photo Rules
Signage and audio guides are built into the walkthrough, the official announcement notes. Visitors access the audio by scanning QR codes posted next to each fresco, with narration available in multiple languages, and the same audio guide can also be pulled up through the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel app for Apple and Android devices. Photos are allowed throughout the exhibition, though professional cameras and tripods are not permitted.
Not Columbus's First Michelangelo Show
This isn't the first time reproductions of Michelangelo's work have passed through central Ohio. A separate exhibition called Michelangelo: A Different View was previously presented at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, according to Columbus Navigator. That show featured more than 50 recreated works, including the Last Judgement and the Creation of Adam, and ran through Jan. 22, 2022. The Polaris exhibition is a distinct touring production, with its own licensed imagery, printing process and 34-fresco scope.
For now, the countdown is on Columbus's end: doors open Friday at Polaris Fashion Place, and the clock on discounted admission runs out Nov. 15.
