We’re three weeks out from the Dallas debut of Refinery29’s touring, immersive pop-up art museum, 29Rooms. The current iteration of the popular attraction invites you to Expand Your Reality in dozens of trippy themed rooms, unusual experiences, and an Art Park.
Expand Your Reality kicked off this morning in Chicago, the first stop of five cities. Dallas is the second, opening August 9 and running through August 18 at Gilley’s South Side Ballroom. Tickets start at $34, and general admission includes a two-and-a-half hour window in the colorful dreamscape.
29Rooms tapped two local artists to participate in the Dallas show (the majority of installations will be the same from city to city). Dan Lam, known for her delectable, drippy, amorphous sculptures, will be featured in the Art Park, 29Rooms’ new initiative that groups together local artists from every tour stop. Displayed on specially designed pedestals, Lam’s sculptures look more enticing than ever.
“There are little steps that lead up to it. It’s a fun way, normally they’re on pedestals or shelves, so to have a unique structure is really cool,” says Lam. The artist has been steadily increasing the scale of her sculptures over the past two years, which makes them the perfect fit for an immersive exhibition like 29Rooms. “That’s what I’ve been thinking about a lot more–installation based works and how the public interacts with them,” she adds.
Denton-based artist and UNT professor Alicia Eggert, whose arresting neon signs have been a crowd favorite at Aurora, will create a full-scale billboard for the entrance of Dallas’ 29Rooms. This piece will be exclusive to the Dallas location (and I hope it sticks around after the exhibit ends).
Other offerings in this smorgasbord of interactive artwork include “29 Questions”, a social experiment where two strangers ask one another 29 questions; and “A Blind Date with Destiny,” a room where you “embark on a cosmic journey to unpack the mysteries of your fortune.” (Is this a fancy way of saying it’s a fortune teller? I’m not a psychic, so I’m not sure.) The talented Carlota Guerrero collaborated with the company for “A Conversation with Your Inner Child,” where guests can write messages to their past selves. Musician Kali Uchis played a part in “Dream Doorways,” a surreal installation bridging the conscious and subconscious. Unbothered, Refinery29’s dedicated platform for black millennial women, has an installation called “A Long Line of Queendom.” There’s also an array of rooms brought to you by partnerships with brands and companies like Bitten, Prudential, Transitions Lenses, SheaMoisture, Panera, and others.
The full exhibit will take over 94,000 square feet at Gilley’s South Side Ballroom. Tickets are already available–and if 29Rooms’ popularity in other cities is any indication, you’ll want to plan a visit sooner than later.
