The Portals project has recently opened another portal, but this time in Kigali, Rwanda. The launch was held on 30 April 2016 in Kiyovu, as a result of collaboration between Shared Studios and Kurema Kureba Kwiga.
Portals, an initiative originally created by Shared Studios, works with local art groups. For their most recent Portal, the project turned to Kurema Kureba Kwiga, a Rwandan public art platform that aims to initiate social change.
The Portals project sees the repurposing of old shipping containers into futuristic means of communication. The containers are sprayed golden, carpeted, wired and submerged in audio video technology to make the experience as stimulating as possible.
Shared Studios describes the process: “When you enter one, you come face-to-face with someone in a distant Portal and can converse live, full-body, and making eye contact as if in the same room.
Shared Studios, the multidisciplinary creative collective, lists Portals as one of its many interactive art ventures. Other projects include Channels, Phonos and Tunnels.
According to the website, “We ground the connective potential of technology in physical spaces to create environments in which distant people can naturally converse, collaborate, and play. We envision wormholes throughout the world, carved by an Internet you can walk through.”
To date, Shared Studios has planted Portals in 18 different locations around the world. This includes three in Africa, namely Kigali, Rwanda; Nairobi, Kenya; and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Sessions to participate in the interactive design can be scheduled online.
