Four Workers Suspended by Van Gogh Museum for Pokémon-Related Misconduct

Four employees were suspended by Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in mid-December for inappropriate behavior during the institution’s Pokémon exhibition, several employees reportedly told the Dutch newspaper Parool.

The workers had allegedly provided potential visitors with insider information on how to get limited tickets to the Pokémon exhibition. One employee even allegedly embezzled a box of Pokémon cards that had been produced for the show.

The collaborative Van Gogh Pokémon exhibition featured six paintings of Pokémon in the Dutch artist’s famous style. Playing cards depicting Pikachu à la a van Gogh self-portrait were available for purchase at the museum. Initially intended to bring in a younger audience, the cards ended up causing riots that ended the distribution of the cards early on. (Despite reports that the cards would ultimately come back, the museum has said they won’t be returning.)

The identities of the suspended employees remain unclear, though one such employee reportedly worked at the museum for 25 years.

Parool’s sources asked to remain anonymous because they still work at the museum. The Van Gogh Museum has not responded to ARTnews’s request for comment.

The exhibition closed on January 7.