The last Portals were opened on May 8, 2024. In the United States, The NYC Portal, located near Flatiron Plaza, in the center of Manhattan, and on the famous O'Connell Street, in Dublin, Ireland.
The connection designed by Portals is made up of circular video screens, 3.4 meters high and weighing "several tons", organizers say, but without details about the camera and screen technology being used. The screens broadcast live, installed in public squares, which operate 24 hours a day. The Portals connect geographically distant cities, which can "embrace the beauty of global interconnection", in the words of the exhibition organizers.
It arose from the idea of Lithuanian artist and businessman Benediktas Gylys, who developed the concept by bringing together several people, applying design and engineering perspectives and with the support of VilniusTech University of Technology.
For the creators, Portals are sculptures of technological art and were born from a feeling that we, humans, have more to share than what separates us; and from a feeling that we are all interconnected on this planet of ours. Gylys, the founder, says that “the portals symbolize a bridge that unifies and an invitation to overcome prejudices and divergences that belong to the past."
Bridge to a United Planet - portals.org
The first portals were opened in May 2021, uniting the cities of Vilnius, Lithuania and Lublin, Poland. Installed in locations in the center of both cities, the Portals attracted a lot of attention. Near Vilnius' main train station, staring at the Portal allows Vilnius residents to interact, in real time, with people on the main square in Lublin, Poland - a city more than 370 kilometers away.
According to Scott (2024), undesirable behavior was observed when the Portals connecting Dublin, Ireland and New York, in the United States, began to operate, which led to their closure on May 14, 2024, just a few days after they were opened. Although protests and rebellions are common in large centers, the Portals organization was surprised by obscene gestures, exposure of nudes and shocking images and decided to close until resolutive measures were adopted.
On May 19, 2024, the Dublin and New York Portals were reopened. Gylys revealed that later this summer, if not closed again, the New York and Dublin portals will change their provider to connect with Vilnius in Lithuania and Lublin in Poland. While the New York and Dublin locations are now operating restricted opening hours as a result of "inappropriate behavior", the other two portals operate 24/7.
For Gylys, “ the main objective is to have as many portals open around the world as possible. The biggest misconception about Portals is that they are about connecting two cities. They are not. Portals are a network of sculptures that connect to each other through a provider that is constantly rotating between different large and small cities on planet Earth."
By Luiz CIncurá
Sources:
GILBERT, David; HOVER, Amanda. WIRED. We Stood on Both Sides of the New York–Dublin Portal and It Was Glorious. Available at < https://www.wired.com/story/new-york-dublin-portal-reopening/ > Accessed on: 02.June.2024.
POITEVIEN, Jessica. TRAVEL + LEISURE. These Real-time Digital 'Portals' Connect People in Cities Hundreds of Miles Apart. Available at: < https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/lithuania-poland-city-portals-live-feed > Accessed on: 02.June.2024.
PORTALS. In the Collective Consciousness . Available at: < https://www.portals.org/ > Accessed on: June 1, 2024.
RAMAKERS, Tim. The Ponts Guy. New technology connects cities with real-time digital 'portals' . Available at: < https://thepointsguy.com/news/real-time-digital-portals/ > Accessed on June 2, 2024.
SCOTT, Simon. NPR. Opinion: A tale of two cities' 'Portal' pandemonium. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2024/05/18/1252231540/opinion-a-tale-of-two-cities-portal-pandemonium Accessed on: 01.June.2024.