If you've ever caught yourself in a dream, wondering what was happening at the same moment somewhere else in the world, a new art installation makes the dream come true.
On May 8, a pair of portals were installed; one in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City and a second in Dublin, Ireland. Viewers can look up at the large circular screen and see a real-time broadcast of the city in front.
Connected: Elon Musk Frantically Emails Employees to 'Fix' Livestream: Report
“Conceived as a testament to the power of art to transcend physical barriers, Portal forms an unprecedented visual bridge between these two iconic cities,” said The Flatiron Nomad Partnership. in a release. “Each sculpture features a 24/7 live visual feed from the Portal to the next city, allowing real-time interaction between New Yorkers, Dubliners and visitors to these two global destinations.”
PORTAL: a visual bridge connecting New York City with Dublin
A public technology sculpture known as Portal was unveiled this morning in New York's Flatiron neighborhood. The sculpture has a real-time live visual feed connecting New York City to Dublin, Ireland. pic.twitter.com/ATNBq63QeC
— Noel Y. Calingasan • NYC (@nyclovesnyc) May 8, 2024
In NYC, the portal is located near the iconic Flatiron Building in the Flatiron South Public Plaza at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd St. in Dublin, the portal faces O'Connell Street, Dublin's main High Street with views of the GPO Building and the Spire.
The portal was set to go live in the autumn but was shut down on Monday afternoon in Dublin due to a technical fault, according to a spokesman, although many on social media believe the real reason is due to a series of insensitive and disturbing images shown between two countries.
“There was a brief disruption to the live stream between the Dublin City and New York City portals this morning due to a technical glitch in the software,” a spokesperson said. The Irish Mirror. “Our technical team is looking into the cause to improve the stability of the live stream moving forward. The nature of the project, providing a 24/7 live stream, is such that sometimes outages will occur due to technical glitches, maintenance or simple software updates.”
Connected: Netflix Slammed Over 'Love Is Blind' Live Stream Failure
At the end of this month, the portals are scheduled to present a program of cultural performances that every country can experience at the same time.
The project is being run in partnership with the Simons Foundation, NYC DOT Art, Dublin City Council and the EU Smart Tourism Capital.
As of late Monday afternoon, the Dublin portal appeared to still be down.