Community Corner
From Georgetown to Afghanistan: Artist Creates Connections
Artist Amar C. Bakshi has created "portals" including one in Georgetown, where you get in a box and meet someone from across the world.
Want to get to know someone in Afghanistan? Just stop by One Portal at 3665 N St. NW.
One Portal is... a big box, literally. A Portal is currently placed at Georgetown University, at 3665 N St. NW. The other Portal is at Hariwa University in Herat, Afghanistan. (The Portal in DC is open from 8:30-11:30 a.m. daily, which is 5-8 p.m. in Afghanistan.
You can book your conversation here through Saturday, April 18.
Find out what's happening in Georgetownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Portal is a gold shipping container, featuring audio and video technology inside. When you enter, you come face-to-face with someone in the other container, full-body, and the two of you converse live as if in the same room.
It’s the brainchild of artist Amar Bakshi, who graduated from Harvard University in 2006 as the first joint major in Social Studies and Visual and Environmental Studies.
Find out what's happening in Georgetownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Since December 2014, Bakshi’s Shared_Studios has connected more than 1,000 people in Tehran, New York and New Haven in private conversation about “What would make today a good day for you?” The most recent Portal connected the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven and the Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art in Tehran. Participants came out giddy, weeping, and everything in between, according to Shared Studios.
The Georgetown leg of the project was successfully funded on Kickstarter last month when 331 backers pledged $60,592.
PHOTOS of Georgetown Portal courtesy of Shared Studios via Twitter
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