Photos: Explore 29Rooms' Kaleidoscopic Corners Before It Officially Opens in LA Wednesday
In Light of You by Jose Roda.
Photos: Explore 29Rooms' Kaleidoscopic Corners Before It Officially Opens in LA Wednesday
Nicole Richie, Kesha, Lena Waithe, and other rad women created cool spaces.
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Refinery29's immersive installation, 29Rooms, is much more than your average selfie-powered modern art experience. The five-day "Expand Your Reality" event officially kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday, December 5 at DTLA's The Reef, and we had a chance to take a peek inside at today's media preview.
Spanning the building's entire second floor, the stylish space houses cool corners created by rad women collaborators inspired by imagination, inclusivity, individuality, and impact. Guests can explore pop superstar Kesha's intergalactic aquatic fantasy (complete with space/water helmets), soak up actor and writer Lena Waithe's four-part video installation focused on the experience of Black Americans, contribute their own love letter to the world in musician and performance artist Cocovan's installation, and travel into the night sky of '70s California inside a cosmic capsule dreamed up by House of Harlow designer Nicole Richie.
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If you're in need of a self-care and R&R break, you can visit a meditative crystal cave by The Hoodwitch (a.k.a. Bri Luna), a sonic sanctuary created by Aaron Taylor Kuffner (where you can tap into all of your senses via a musical robotic sculpture called the Gamelatron), and Whisperlodge's multi-sensory space (where you'll touch, smell, and hear your surroundings while blindfolded). Then there's artist Uzumaki Cepeda's fuzzy '90s teen bedroom, where you'll want to cloak yourself in a millennial pink scarf, jump on the bed, and call your BFF on the burger phone. (We predict you'll be seeing these scenes all over your IG feed.)
29Rooms' focus on getting social offline is also represented in spaces like Blind Date with Destiny (where you can get your palm read by a stranger — and vice versa) and 29 Questions (where you can get to know another guest by answering random Q&A cards). There's also New York nightclub House of Yes' Inner Beauty Ball, a disco party starring theatrical characters whose mission is to spread joy and unapologetic dance moves.
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Activism informs rooms like the Values Stand, which was created by Refinery29's editorial design team, and the American Civil Liberty Union's Know! Your! Rights! game show-inspired space. Of course, there are plenty of branded moments, too, including a whimsical bar fueled by Smirnoff and activations with Pantene, Amazon Prime series The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Plan B One-Step, and Birchbox x Walgreens.
For the gift shop, R29 teamed with LA's own Fred Segal for a Mastercard-powered virtual experience that merges IRL shopping with online retail therapy. In addition to picking up official 29Rooms merch, attendees can explore the legendary local retailer through a giant touch screen that allows them to buy items directly from Fred Segal's curated Refinery29 collection as well as its women's, men's, and kids departments. It's essentially the equivalent of a shoppable Google Maps, and guests can move throughout the store to buy clothing, accessories, and more inventory currently on shelves.
There's another layer to the already mind-blowing art installation, too: Scan the kaleidoscopic QR codes to activate the Cosmic Doorway into the #29thDimension, a.k.a. a trippy Instagram filter accessible only at the event. On top of all that, there'll be a full schedule of classes with 29Rooms' artists in residence (like a 15-minute drawing sesh with Carolyn Suzuki) and performances by the Trans Chorus of LA.
Don't have tickets yet? You've still got time to buy 'em. Admission is available in timed sessions Wednesday, December 5 (3 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m.), and Thursday, December 6 through Sunday, December 9 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 3 to 6 p.m., and 7 to 11 p.m.). Tickets are $40 for general admission before 6 p.m. and $70 for VIP After Dark entry after 7 p.m., and evening sessions include two drink tickets, access to exclusive pop-up performances, live DJ sets and dancing, live art sessions, and more.
See more inside the insanely photogenic space and scroll through the gallery above, then head over to 29Rooms' website to buy tickets here.
29Rooms at The Reef, 1933 South Broadway, LA, 90007; Wednesday, December 6 through Sunday, December 9
