Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn opens Masterpieces, the Prado’s first multi-user location-based VR show in the U.S., on October 1. Adult early-bird pricing ends September 8.
Powerhouse Arts is staging the U.S. premiere of Masterpieces: A Virtual Experience of the Museo del Prado from October 1 through December 20, 2026 at its Gowanus loft (322 3rd Ave, Brooklyn). The show is produced by ACCIONA Cultura in exclusive collaboration with Madrid’s Museo Nacional del Prado. Venue copy frames it as the first multi-user, location-based VR experience made with the Prado — not a headset-store download, a timed walk-through install.
A night-shift guard, five paintings that do not travel
Powerhouse’s synopsis does not recreate the Prado through a curator’s tour. Visitors follow a security guard on his final night before retirement as five iconographically distinct works open into three-dimensional spaces: Rubens and Brueghel’s The Sense of Sight (1617), Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656), Veronese’s Venus and Adonis (ca. 1580), Goya’s Witches’ Sabbath (1820–1823), and Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490–1500). The venue says conservation rules make some of those canvases effectively Madrid-only — The Sense of Sight is rarely lent, and the others are described as prohibited from loan — so the VR cut is pitched as access, not a substitute gallery walk.
Tickets climb September 8. The room is not passive.
That is the near-term clock. Powerhouse lists early-bird adult tickets at $20 through September 8, then $30. Seniors, veterans/military, and visitors with disabilities are $20; students (13+ with ID) $16; children 8–12 $8; PHA patrons free. Groups of ten or more get 15% off. Hours run Wednesday–Friday 11 a.m.–7 p.m. (last entry 6:30) and Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (last entry 5); Monday and Tuesday closed. An opening-night party is set for October 3, with family workshops and a November staff art show tied to the run.
Accessibility notes matter for XR coverage: guests walk the space for about 40 minutes in a headset; motion-sickness-prone visitors and anyone sensitive to flashing lights or sudden loud noise are advised to skip; subtitles are not available; the experience is recommended for ages 8 and up with adult supervision. The venue has wheelchair access, gender-neutral restrooms, a quiet room, and welcomes service animals.
Why this beat lands now
Location-based VR is having a quieter autumn than the headset product cycle, but museum installs keep shipping concrete dates. Masterpieces already toured Madrid, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Tokyo and other cities under related titles before Brooklyn. Brooklyn Eagle flagged the U.S. debut in August; Powerhouse’s live ticket page is what locks the early-bird cliff for September 8. For New York XR calendars already stacked with Venice Immersive imports and Quest store drops, this is the Prado-backed LBE slot — timed tickets, not a wishlist button.
Sources: Powerhouse Arts — Masterpieces; Brooklyn Eagle; Art Plugged; ArtDaily.