Unfortunately for D.C. residents and visitors, Infinity Mirrors does not mean an infinite number of tickets.
Since the opening of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden more than a month ago, online tickets have sold out in a matter of minutes every Monday.
Tickets to one of the best places to take mirror selfies and appreciate out-of-this-world art by an 88-year-old artist are bound to be a hot commodity, but there has to be a better way to snag a ticket.
Here are six tips to help get you in the door:
Wait in line: If you’re an early bird, you’re in luck. Instead of hitting the snooze button, line up outside the Hirshhorn at 9:30 a.m. near the fountain toward the center of the courtyard. Passes will be distributed at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are your best shot for getting tickets by walking up, Hirshhorn spokesperson Allison Peck said in an interview with the Washingtonian.
Keep in mind, this is for a time slot, and the ticket does not guarantee immediate entrance, so you may need to get up early but come back later in the day. Be sure to only bring friends you can handle in large doses because you’ll be spending a lot of quality time together.
Ask people in line for extra tickets: Everyone has a flaky friend. Once the clock strikes noon and it’s time to fight for your tickets, there is no time to think so people typically reserve more tickets than they need, just in case. If you’re friendly enough and have a little extra time to beg, walk up to people in line to enter the building and ask for an extra ticket.
Check with the front desk to see if they have unclaimed tickets: It’s the people at the front desk’s job to help you out. They not only provide information, but these wish-granters have the ability to hand out tickets that weren’t picked up in the morning line or extra tickets that people drop off. And if the tickets don’t sell out in the morning, the surplus finds its way to the front desk.
Scour Craigslist: Although the tickets are free, Infinity Mirrors timed passes are creeping their way into the classifieds. Peck said in an interview with the Washingtonian that the museum is working directly with Craigslist to take down posts selling the free passes, but if you’re willing to break a few rules and shell out a few bucks, you may want to check out Craigslist.
Try your luck with the online timed passes: You might just hit the lotto. Be sure to hydrate and do finger stretches before the tickets go live at noon Monday. The advanced timed passes are released on the Hirshhorn website every Monday at noon for a visit the following week. Clicking “first available” and leaving your day options open is the best way to get a ticket through the online release. The next online release is April 10 at noon for the week of April 18.
Live vicariously through visitors: If this all seems like too much effort, you are not alone – but you are in luck. The fact that this exhibit has been dubbed extremely Instagrammable by New York Magazine’s The Cut and The Washington Post means that you’ve probably already been overwhelmed by photos of the exhibit taking over your social media feeds. Scroll through Instagram, troll Facebook and read about the exhibit online to get your fix instead.