King Tut comes to Phoenix. What to know about the immersive experience coming to the Valley

Sofia Krusmark, Arizona Republic

July 4, 2022 at 9:30 AM·2 min read

This July 1996 photo shows the mask of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The immersive exhibits keep on rolling into Phoenix. The latest, “Immersive King Tut: Magic Journey to the Light” will launch at Lighthouse ArtSpace in Phoenix on Sept. 30.

The exhibition — created by Lighthouse Immersive — follows the company’s series of immersive experiences that have included “Immersive Van Gogh,” “Immersive Monet & the Impressionists” and “Immersive Klimt: Revolution.”

“Since the discovery of his tomb a century ago, Tutankhamun — or King Tut — has transfixed the world,” Corey Ross a producer of "Immersive King Tut: Magic Journey to the Light" said in a press release. “Over the past one hundred years, the magnificent artifacts from his tomb have drawn millions of visitors eager to see first-hand the grandeur and splendor of Egypt’s most famous leader. This captivating experience will use sight and sound to transport visitors more than 3,000 years into the past in a groundbreaking way that only Lighthouse Immersive can.”

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The exhibit launches in celebration of the 100th anniversary of archeologist Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of the legendary “boy king” in November 1922. Phoenix is one of six cities debuting the exhibition. The touring roster also includes Chicago, Denver, Toronto, Los Angeles and Dallas.

Through its collaboration with United Exhibit Group and the International Foundation for Fine and Decorative Arts — two premiere arts exhibition groups that have spent 30 years presenting exhibitions that honor King Tut and Ancient Civilizations — this exhibition will tell the story of pharaohs across the ages.

Through video mapping and animation, viewers will traverse through the story of King Tut’s passage into the afterlife. The immersive experience will also tell the story of the Amduat, the ancient Egyptian funerary text that details the journey of Re, the Egyptian sun god who travels for 12 hours through the afterlife from sunset to sunrise.

“For the first time we’re moving beyond the men and women who have created some of the world’s most prized treasures into a world where the world’s most prized treasures were created to honor one man,” Svetlana Dvoretsky another producer, said in the release. “Visitors to our Lighthouse ArtSpace venues will virtually move from room to room, experiencing ancient Egypt in a mesmerizing way that’s befit for a king.”

Tickets are available now.