This weekend, Chicago will be chock-full of opportunities to engage your senses: Pitchfork fun (amid the heat), the Silver Room Block Party and ComplexCon, to name a few. But only one promises to “expand your reality.”
Refinery29’s pop-up, 29Rooms, gives creatives (musicians, artists, dancers, astrologists, etc.) a place to showcase artwork and interactive pieces that speak to this year’s theme: “Expand Your Reality Experience.”
At the first stop of a five-city tour, participants are treated to everything from a finance-themed escape room (find a way out with friends and retire early) to a space to write and display messages to your younger self. In yet another area, visitors become storytellers, rewriting popular movie storylines to feature female protagonists, instead of male. (Because Hollywood can’t win without women.)
According to Piera Gelardi, Refinery29’s executive creative director and co-founder, 29Rooms was expanded from four days in 2018 to 10 because fans wanted more interaction with one another and more hands-on exhibits.
“You don’t need a credential to be creative — it’s part of our human DNA,” Gelardi said. “But a lot of people don’t nurture that part of themselves because they don’t feel they have permission to, but it’s innate. 29Rooms is a fun way for people to tap into that something, that life force, to find new parts of themselves. Ours is an access space for creativity, an interactive world of culture.”
The concept of 29Rooms was born in 2015 when Refinery29, a digital media and entertainment company for young women, was celebrating its anniversary. The idea was to bring to life what its website stands for in a physical space and celebratory way. The 29Rooms tour began in 2017.
The goal of this year’s experience is to create spaces that ignite wonder, spark conversation and dare people to dream bigger. Here are but a few scenes from the curated, multisensory pop-up.
“Dance Break,” by artist Rae Chardonnay, is just that: a place to dance to music and just let loose. No velvet rope or VIP area here; all are free to cut a rug and share their energy.
The “You Are Magic” room has a yin-yang vibe. One side shines brightly; the other is a bit darker, but the walls you sit between give off an aura of Zen, thanks to the positive self-affirmations that filter through the air: “I am courageous.” “I am the architect of my life.”
Artist Uzumaki Cepeda wanted to create the ultimate safe space. The result is a teenager’s bedroom entirely covered in faux fur. The primary-colored fuzzy accessories take you back, along with the hamburger phone, cliche posters and SpongeBob SquarePants TV (stroke the furry wall!).
“A Long Line of Queendom” envelops visitors in gold, nodding to the Black experience through a women’s lens. Black excellence, beauty and achievement are represented with golden shea butter bars, pieces that resemble bamboo earrings, and the names of prominent women in Black culture adorning a do-rag crown/cape.
Chicago artist Yvette Mayorga’s piece may, at first glance, seem very Candyland. But look closely, and see the fallacy of the American Dream by way of immigration issues.
At “Mark Your Mark,” attendees paint boxes with Chicago landscapes, play Pictionary with clay and make portraits (without looking down at the paper). Gelardi likens the area to “art school circuit training.”
In “Blind Date With Destiny,” you’ll enjoy a palm reading with a stranger.
Gelardi believes the “29 Questions” room will become a fan favorite. In it, strangers sit across from each other and ask questions from a deck of cards to facilitate a conversation. Questions are both fun and deep, she said.
“We’re sort of this new amalgamation of creative expression, so we work with dancers, musicians, astrologists — we’re equal-opportunity for all creatives,” Gelardi said. “I love the art part because a lot of these people haven’t worked in or built environmental installation pieces before, so we’re kind of giving them the stage to do that.”
29Rooms Chicago at 141 W. Jackson Blvd., LaSalle Plaza entry. 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 18-27. Tickets are on sale
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