Lowry’s Going to the Match is blown up and seen from new angles

Standard adult tickets cost between £22 and £30, with an extra £5 for a flexible ticket, and some “affordable” £10 tickets available on Mondays.

Joy Coker, editor of arts outlet Alt A Review, said she thought it was worth it, but that the price could exclude some people.

“Right now with the cost of living it might not be something everybody can afford,” she said.

“It’s thought-provoking and it actually makes you think about each individual subject again, and takes you back to those moments in time, which you’re not necessarily going to get from a looking at a portrait on its own.”

In recent years, artists from Vincent van Gogh to David Hockney have successfully been given the immersive treatment.

This weekend, LS Lowry will also be added to the list when a new, free immersive experience brings his trademark matchstick men to life at Salford’s Lowry arts centre.

The walls, floor and ceiling of one gallery show projections of the artist’s 1953 painting Going To The Match. The crowds flocking to watch Bolton Wanderers FC are animated, with the visuals zooming in on sections of the artwork.

The six-minute experience is narrated by Bolton comedian and actress Sophie Willan, and visitors can then see the real painting in the next gallery.

“People are going and standing in front of the painting and then looking for elements that have come to life, and that is a different way for them to be able to engage with the real artwork,” The Lowry chief executive Julia Fawcett explained.

The venue bought the painting for almost £8m in 2022 and has spent two years working on the immersive version. Fawcett said she did not consider charging for entry.

“Our galleries are free and this is part of our gallery offer,” she said. “For us, it was about making sure we reached the widest possible audience.

“We know immersive [art] is popular but we know also that price can be a barrier, and it would be counter-intuitive, when you have a project that is about reaching more audiences and deepening people’s love and appreciation of the artist, to put a barrier in place.”