The Dublin-NYC Portal has been connected with Vilnius in Lithuania and Lublin in Poland, Dublin City Council announced today, Tuesday, August 27.
The Portal's live streams rotate every 180 seconds, forming a global network, beginning from 1 pm today Irish time.
The Dublin Portal is located on O'Connell Street while the NYC Portal is situated at the Flatiron South Public Plaza until September 2. The Vilnius Portal is positioned adjacent to the city's central station, and the Lublin Portal is located on the central city square, Litewski Square.
The network rotation is now active daily from 1 pm to 8 pm in Dublin, 8 am to 3 pm in NYC, 2 pm to 9 pm in Lublin, and 3 pm to 10 pm in Vilnius.
More Portal locations are being added to the network later this year.
“The Portal in Dublin has attracted over 340,000 visitors since its launch in May and has brought a new lease of life to North Earl Street,” said the Lord Mayor of Dublin, James Geoghegan.
“We are delighted to see the network of cities expand to Vilnius and Lublin and look forward to seeing more people enjoy the Portals experience.”
Dublin City Council is delighted to announce that 2 extra cities have been added to the Portal. As well as connecting with New York, people on North Earl St will be able to see Vilnius in Lithuania and Lublin in Poland.
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) August 27, 2024
The livestreams will rotate every 180 seconds forming a… pic.twitter.com/bBJdFloHjn
The Dublin-NYC Portal first went live on May 8. However, it was switched off temporarily as solutions were sought following some instances of "inappropriate behavior." It reopened under limited operating hours later in May.
Announcing the new connections, the Portals team said in a statement: "Having been at the center of global media attention, Portals have emerged as iconic landmarks, generating billions of online impressions and attracting an average of 25,000 weekly visitors on site in Dublin.
"On the Flatiron South Plaza in New York City, foot traffic surged by 47% over the 2023 monthly average.
"Previously connected in pairs (NYC to Dublin, and Vilnius to Lublin), the sculptures have fostered diverse interactions across the cities, including vibrant dance competitions, cultural performances, and successful marriage proposals."
Beata Stepaniuk-Kuśmierzak, Deputy Mayor of the City of Lublin for Culture, Sport and Participation, commented: "We are delighted today to welcome Dublin and New York - the next cities to join this unique project.
"We are excited that our Portal is growing in reach and popularity, opening up unlimited opportunities for communication and collaboration on an international scale.
"Thanks to the installation, we can now peek into New York's Manhattan and Dublin's city centre, share culture, experiences and initiate new projects together."
Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, said: “We can discover how similar we all are through the use of portals, which connect us to a shared network that brings people from different places and cultures closer together.
"I hope that this idea, which originated in Lithuania, will continue to grow and connect the entire world, allowing people to better understand each other."
Benediktas Gylys, founder and artist of Portals.org, commented: “We are thrilled to finally connect all four Portal sculptures together.
“The Portals mission is about building multiple Portals, which together form a global entity - a bridge to a united planet that invites people of distant cultures to meet above borders, differences and narratives.
"It took us eight years to arrive at this special day and we are grateful for the consistent support from our partners in Dublin, New York City, Vilnius, and Lublin. The current four Portals form the foundation of a network that will expand later this year, bringing Portals to even more countries around planet Earth.”
Comments