Portals (initiative)

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The original Portal, built in Washington DC, USA by artist Amar C. Bakshi in 2014.

Portals is a global public art initiative that connects people around the globe through real-time video audiovisual technology housed inside a gold-painted, converted shipping container or other structure.[1][2][3] Individuals and groups enter local Portals and engage with individuals or groups in distant Portals through live, full-body video conferencing. The experience has been described as "breathing the same air."[4] Portals are placed in public spaces such as public squares, museums, university campuses, high-level summits, and refugee camps. Participation is free, and the spaces are maintained by staff called Portal_Curators.[5][6][3]

History

The project was started in 2014 by artist Amar Bakshi, and initially connected the cities of New York and Tehran. According to Bakshi, he started the project "to connect people who wouldn't otherwise meet.” He had the idea to start the project after his days as a foreign journalist, where he launched How the World Sees America for The Washington Post. After returning from his time reporting, he realized he missed the conversations he had had with strangers he met around the world.

Bakshi, along with his art collective Shared Studios, has operated the project in nearly 50 cities around the world. Notable project participants have included U.S. president Barack Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Google founder Sergey Brin.

Artist Amar Bakshi built the first Portal in 2014. He launched Portals in collaboration with fellow journalist Michelle Moghtader and Iranian artist

Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art in Tehran, Iran, and was in place for two weeks.[9][10][11]

Computer science professor Omid Habibi then became interested in the project and decided to create a Portal at Hariwa University in Herat, Afghanistan, which then launched in March 2015.[12]

The project has since expanded to over 40 cities around the world.

Structure

The videoconferencing has been done through different platforms, including Zoom.[13] According to Bakshi, he originally had wanted to strip the shipping containers of paint, buff them, and repaint them, but this process proved to be too expensive and bad for the environment. The decision to paint the shipping containers gold emerged through trial and error. He previously experimented with painting the container black, white, and silver, but he decided on the color gold because he felt it conveyed “sacredness.”[14]

In some locations the video conferencing equipment is housed inside an existing building rather than a shipping container. In other locations the project operates inside a gold, inflatable portal.[10]

Participation in the project is free, and those who wish to participate can often make appointments prior to arrival. The sessions typically last 20 minutes, and participants are asked an open-ended questions such as “What would make today a good day for you?” to get the conversation going.[15] Interactions are sometimes aided by text translations or in-person translators.[5]

Notable Portal locations

Portals have been placed at the following locations:

Notable guests

Portal participants include:

References

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  2. ^ Inskeep, Steve. "Art Installation Opens Passage To A Different World". NPR.org. National Public Radio.
  3. ^ a b Stephanopolous, George (30 May 2016). "This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Reporting on the Global Public Art Initiative, Portals". ABC This Week.
  4. ^ "Peace News Network". Peace News Network. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  5. ^ a b Wallace, Chris (26 May 2016). "FOX News Sunday: Creating global community center one conversation at a time". FOX News Sunday.
  6. ^ Woodruff, Judy (11 August 2015). "Strangers step inside this portal to make global connections". PBS. PBS NewsHour.
  7. ^ "Going from New York to Tehran in minutes time". MSNBC. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  8. ^ a b Kalbasi, Bahman (2014-12-27), اتاق اینترنتی: تهران-نیویورک, retrieved 2018-06-07
  9. ^ "This New York art installation opens up a new gateway to Tehran". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  10. ^ a b Murphy, Tim (December 3, 2014). "A New Exhibition Offers a Virtual Link to Tehran". T Magazine. New York Times. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  11. ^ Zakaria, Fareed (5 March 2015). "CNN Last Look: A Portal between Iran & U S". CNN.
  12. ^ "Omid Habibi". IAM - Internet Age Media. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  13. ^ a b WMAR Staff (2017-02-14). "Portal that connects people around the world unveiled at Lexington Market". WMAR. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  14. ^ a b "Baltimore Portal Aims to Connect Locals with…". Baltimore magazine. 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  15. ^ a b "ABC: Portal that connects people around the world unveiled at Lexington Market". Shared_Studios.
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  21. ^ "The 16 best photos of the New Lab grand opening on Saturday night - Technical.ly Brooklyn". Technical.ly Brooklyn. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
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  26. ^ "Step inside the Portal and enter a global gateway". Yale News. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
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  31. ^ "A portal to global conversations at Greenwich Academy". GreenwichTime. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  32. ^ Codik, Emily (2015-09-02). "This Art Installation Uses Shipping Containers to Introduce You to People Around the World". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  33. ^ "7,500 Miles in 15 Minutes". 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
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  41. ^ "Chlorophyll Innovation Lab to host 'The Mumbai Portal'". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  42. ^ "Going borderless with The Mumbai Portal ahead of the Mumbai Marathon | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
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  46. ^ "Portals at Sundance Film Festival Connects Characters Around the Globe". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  47. ^ Ball, Nicole. "The Portal: The Rye Arts Center's Newest Public Art Installation". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
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  52. ^ "Live Portal Connects Georgetown with Hariwa University in Herat, Afghanistan". berkleycenter.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
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  56. ^ "Immersive exhibition brings delegates closer than ever to refugees, displaced, and migrants during UNGA". UN SDG Action Campaign. United Nations. 1 November 2016.
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  61. ^ a b "Yale Law Student Launches Art Exhibit Linking NYC to Tehran - Yale Law School". law.yale.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  62. ^ "Powering Peace Through Portals". PeaceTech Lab. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  63. ^ Kozlowska, Hanna. "The UN is using virtual reality and an immersive "wormhole" to connect diplomats with Syrian refugees". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-07-01.

External links

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