Portals (initiative)

Public art initiative

Not to be confused with Portal (sculptures).

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

[edit]

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 Sohrab Kashani. Bakshi began construction of the first Portal in his parents’ backyard in Washington, D.C.[7][8] The first project connected participants in Lu Magnus art gallery in New York City, USA and 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Portals have been placed at the following locations:

* Amman, Jordan, at Fablab [1]
* Aspen, USA at the 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival[16]
* Austin, Texas at St. Edward's University and 2017 SXSW[17]
* Baltimore, USA at Lexington Market[18][14][13][15]
* Berlin, Germany at Tempelhof Airport[19]
* Boulder, Colorado at University of Colorado Boulder[20]
* Brooklyn, USA at the New Lab[21][22]
* Chicago, USA at Chicago Ideas Week 2016[23]
* College Park, USA at the University of Maryland[24]
* El Progreso, Honduras with Organization for Youth Empowerment[25]
* Erbil, Iraq at the Harsham IDP Camp with UNICEF[26][27][28][29]
* Gaza City, Palestine at Gaza Sky Geeks[30]
* Greenwich, USA at Greenwich Academy[31]
* Havana, Cuba with Vistar Magazine[25]
* Herat, Afghanistan at Hariwa University[32][33]
* Isfahan, Iran[34]
* Kigali, Rwanda at Impact Hub Kigali with Kurema Kureba Kwiga[35][30][36]
* Los Angeles, USA at Grand Park[1]
* London, UK at Campus London[37]

* Mission, USA with Mission Economic Development District[38]
* Mexico City, Mexico at Museo Tamayo and Center for Digital Culture[39]
* Mumbai, India at the 2017 Mumbai Marathon[40][41][42]
* Newark, USA at Military Park[43][44]
* New York City, USA at the United Nations Headquarters, UNGA 2015 and UNGA 2016, Lu Magnus Gallery and Danese/Corey Gallery[45]
* Oxford, UK at 2017 Skoll World Forum[17]
* Park City, USA at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival with Airbnb[46]
* Palo Alto, USA at Stanford University[35] and the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit with Google for Entrepreneurs[27]
* Rye, USA at Rye Arts Center[47]
* San Francisco, USA at ProxySF[25]
* Seoul, South Korea at Campus Seoul[37]
* Tehran, Iran at the Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art[48][49][8][50]
* Washington, DC at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,[29] the U.S. Capitol,[51] the Woodrow Wilson Plaza,[52] and Georgetown University[53]
* Yangon, Myanmar[54]
* Za'atari, Jordan[55]
* Davos, Switzerland (for the World Economic Forum)

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## Notable guests

[edit]

Portal participants include:

* Barack Obama[56]
* Ban Ki-moon[55]
* Haider Al-Abadi[57]
* Samantha Power[58][59]
* Ewan McGregor[58]
* Fareed Zakaria[60]
* Doug Liman[61]
* Morgan Spurlock[62]
* Amy Chua[63]
* Robert Post[63]
* Vint Cerf[64]
* Tom Friedman

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Jason Kravarik; Stephanie Elam (April 23, 2017). "This gold box is 'better than Facebook'". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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.
16. ^ "A portal around the world from Aspen Ideas Fest | AspenTimes.com". www.aspentimes.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
17. ^ a b "Skoll | 2017 Skoll World Forum: Overview". skoll.org. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
18. ^ Ritter, Rick. "A Chance To Connect With The World In The Baltimore Portal". Retrieved 2017-05-26.
19. ^ de Leon III, Jose. "From Mission to Berlin: MEDC Portal connects residents to people around the world". Retrieved 2017-05-26.
20. ^ "Golden 'portal' lets CU Boulder students speak with Iraqi refugees". Retrieved 2017-05-30.
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.
22. ^ "The Next Genius Idea Is Creating Global Empathy". Fast Company. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
23. ^ "A 'portal' to the world will open in Daley Plaza in October". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
24. ^ "Shared Studios Portal Project". www.arhu.umd.edu.
25. ^ a b c "Enter a Portal to Iran (or Honduras, or Cuba) in This Hayes Valley Art Experience". Time Out San Francisco. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
26. ^ "Step inside the Portal and enter a global gateway". Yale News. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
27. ^ a b "Virtual Obama meets a young Iraqi entrepreneur - UNICEF Connect". UNICEF Connect. 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
28. ^ "Displaced Iraqi children ask U.S. lawmakers for help". www.jrsusa.org. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
29. ^ a b Gibson, Caitlin; Gibson, Caitlin (2017-02-28). "An American in D.C. A refugee in Iraq. And a powerful exhibit that let them talk face-to-face". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
30. ^ a b Jackson, Cheryl V. "A portal in Daley Plaza can take you to Rwanda during Chicago Ideas Week". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
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.
34. ^ "Portals Links Miami to Afghanistan and Iraq - artnet News". artnet News. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
35. ^ a b "Portals Project makes connections around the world". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
36. ^ I Teleported | in Kigali, 2016-05-10, retrieved 2017-05-26
37. ^ a b Kelly, C (2016-06-29). "How containerships are connecting the global start-up scene". Virgin. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
38. ^ de Leon III, Jose. "From Mission to Berlin: MEDC Portal connects residents to people around the world". Retrieved 2017-05-26.
39. ^ Fox News Sunday: Creating global community center one conversation at a time, 2016-05-26, retrieved 2017-05-26
40. ^ "Over 42,000 runners set to cross the finish line at the 14th edition of the iconic SCMM". The Sports Mirror. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
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.
43. ^ "Experimental installations put the social in social science". AP News. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
44. ^ "Through Newark Art Installation, a Portal to the World | Video | NJTV News". NJTV News. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
45. ^ "Art Installation Opens Passage To A Different World". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
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.
48. ^ Inside a Golden Container, Talking to Tehran, retrieved 2017-05-26
49. ^ "A New Channel Opens To Tehran | New Haven Independent". New Haven Independent. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
50. ^ "TED Talks opens portals for attendees to make connections across globe". Vancouver Sun. 28 April 2017.
51. ^ "Displaced Iraqi Children Call on US Leadership for Help". Global Citizen. Global Citizen.
52. ^ Wang, Yanan (2015-06-14). "At Woodrow Wilson Plaza, a Portal to connect with faraway strangers". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
53. ^ "Live Portal Connects Georgetown with Hariwa University in Herat, Afghanistan". berkleycenter.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
54. ^ "This Giant Gold Shipping Container Lets You Befriend a Stranger Halfway Across the World - Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
55. ^ a b "Coming Face-to-Face With Zaatari Residents at the U.N." Newsweek. 23 September 2015.
56. ^ "President Obama Meets With Global Entrepreneurs at GES 2016". YouTube. Google For Entrepreneurs. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
57. ^ "Immersive exhibition brings delegates closer than ever to refugees, displaced, and migrants during UNGA". UN SDG Action Campaign. United Nations. 1 November 2016.
58. ^ a b "Coming Face-to-Face With Zaatari Residents at the U.N." Newsweek. 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
59. ^ Kozlowska, Hanna. "The UN is using virtual reality and an immersive "wormhole" to connect diplomats with Syrian refugees". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
60. ^ "A portal to Iran". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
61. ^ "Portals: A Global Public Art Initiative, Connects Newark, NJ to Milwaukee, WI and the World | Deconstructing Ferguson". campuspress.yale.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
62. ^ "Skyping As Art: Meet the Man Connecting Strangers As a Social Experiment". Vulture. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
63. ^ a b "Yale Law Student Launches Art Exhibit Linking NYC to Tehran - Yale Law School". law.yale.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
64. ^ "Powering Peace Through Portals". PeaceTech Lab. Retrieved 2018-06-18.

## External links

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* Official website