Escapism in a Post-Pandemic World: Immersive Art Exhibits in NYC
As we transition from the pandemic, that locked us in our houses for a year, to the ‘new normal’ of a “post-pandemic” world, there has been an upsurge of escapism where we are now seeking immersive and sensory experiences—giving us a break from reality.
The American Psychology Association defines escapism “as the tendency to escape from the real world to the safety and comfort of a fantasy world.” The lack of physical access during the shutdown “forced the museum field to innovate in ways that were surprising,” mentions Bethany Montagano, Interim Director of USC Museums. According to Sarah Roberts, copywriter and biographer at Agora Digital Art, the immersive art trend has dominated the art community where “these works envelop their audience in a full-body experience, engaging with sight, touch and sometimes even smell.”
If you want to experience an out-of-this-world adventure, you should check out the following NYC immersive exhibits that are inevitably going to transport you into another world.
Arcadia Earth Immersive Exhibit
Source: Travel & Leisure | DAVID MITCHELL FOR ARCADIA EARTH
Created by Valentino Vettori, an experiential artist dedicated to encouraging people to re-imagine the way they interact and engage with the environment. The exhibit was “designed to inform, inspire, and activate our community to positively impact our planet.” Put Arcadia Earth Immersive Exhibit into your maps to experience multi-sensory adventures through underwater worlds, fantasy lands, and inspirational art installations.
ARTECHOUSE NYC
Source: MACHINE HALLUCINATION: NYC, ARTECHOUSE
“AN IMMERSIVE
AUDIO-VISUAL JOURNEY
THROUGH FRACTAL DIMENSIONS”
ARTECHOUSE is an innovative art destination that combines the elements of art, science and technology and resides in the boiler room space below Chelsea Market. This art incubator strives to inspire, educate, and empower by presenting works created by pioneering new media artists to showcase their art without limitations.
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE
Source: Museum of the Moving Image | NYC Travel Tips
Founded in 1988, the Museum of the Moving Image explores the art, history, and technology of the moving image. The museum presents a diverse screening program that encompasses hundreds of films, hosts public discussions with creative professionals in film and feature numerous exhibitions.
SPYSCAPE
“SUCH A UNIQUE, INTERACTIVE AND ENJOYABLE PLACE! ”
summit one vanderbilt
Source: Real Estate Weekly
Midtown’s newest transformational experience, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is an interactive and playful escapade that contains four floors. Air begins at ground level and you transcend your way up to Ascent, Levitation and to the final destination, Après. “You emerge,” the website affirms, “into a boundless, structureless world, one with its own relationship to physics and time.”
“FROM GRAND CENTRAL, YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A RESETTING OF YOUR SENSES. YOU ASCEND, BREAKING THROUGH INTO ANOTHER REALM.”
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt posted a TikTok for the launch of the recently developed observatory deck located in the heart of NYC.
These immersive exhibits will captivate you with its high-tech features and stimulating sensory illusions. “The need to escape from the limits of our bodies, physical spaces, families, societies, culture, and hell, the solar… For some, escaping altogether will be the only solution,” Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock writes in Campaign Live. We all need an escape from reality every so often, especially during these unprecedented times and mesmerizing exhibits are the answer we have been seeking for.
If you visit any of these fun, immersive exhibits, leave a comment below about your experience!