9. TimesSquare_Portal Tours

Image via TimesSquare_Portal. Rendering courtesy of Shared_Studios; original photo by Michael Grimm for Times Square Alliance

In partnership with Shared_Studios, Times Square Arts is bringing TimesSquare_Portal to one of New York City’s busiest commercial hubs: Times Square. The interactive public art installation will run from October 10th to November 21st, and features gold shipping containers equipped with immersive audio-visual technology. During the span of seven weeks, visitors are invited to enter the containers, where they will come “face-to-face, live and full-body” with someone in an identical space someone else in the world (including in countries like Afghanistan, Germany, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Rwanda, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam and Yemen).

The “portals” will exist in a variety of locations such as refugee camps, art museums and public plazas. Each week of the installation will focus on a different theme ranging from food to identity. Free timed reservations can be booked at www.TimesSquarePortal.com, but walk-ins are welcome. Although the project is open access, Open House New York is also offering advanced registration tours of TimesSquare_Portal.