Shared Studios

Portal

Art

Mexico City

2016-2017

Creativity

Context

A portal to our common ground

It is currently said that social media traps us in our own world, preventing us from coexisting, socializing, or even leaving our homes, but that is a very narrow view of things. Technology can also unite us.

That is the mission of Shared Studios, a multidisciplinary interactive art group in New York that conceived the Portal: an art installation that uses audio and video technology, in addition to the internet, to allow its users to experience real, face-to-face conversations with people thousands of miles away.

Objective

Our objectives were clear: to support Shared Studios in implementing the Portal in Mexico City and to ensure its success in terms of public engagement, interaction, and impact on the city.

Challenge

In a city with complex bureaucracy and countless events, experiences, and stimuli happening all the time, how could we successfully implement and operate the Portal? How could we generate the necessary buzz and precise communication to spark interest, forge alliances with institutions, and, most importantly, attract visitors?

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The Idea

Place a golden container, equipped with immersive audiovisual technology, at emblematic art-related locations throughout the city.

Any curious individual or invited guest who enters will find themselves face-to-face with a stranger located in another country, with no option but to start a conversation and get to know each other live, as if they were in the same place despite being thousands of miles apart, to set aside differences and focus on their commonalities.

Portal