Prepare thy Instagram. 29Rooms, Refinery29’s stunning interactive exhibit, is headed north of the border. The “Expand Your Reality” tour hits Toronto Sept. 26 for 10 days and it will be more groundbreaking and boundary-pushing than ever — we’re talking a crystal cave, a dance party, an art park and an installation designed by Toronto's very own Hatecopy. Here’s everything you need to know about the Toronto iteration. We'll see you there.
What is 29Rooms?
It’s an artistic wonderland that has 29 (duh) different rooms/mini-interactive galleries designed by local and notable creatives. Since Refinery29 launched 29Rooms in 2015, over 100,000 people have taken in this sensorial exhibition. This year, the temporary gallery has popped up in cities from Chicago to Dallas to Atlanta. 2019’s theme "Expand Your Reality," is more of a feeling than anything concrete. When you see what 29 talented artists and visionaries come up with when they synthesize their thoughts, dreams, and inspirations into actual rooms, you'll realize that 29Rooms is more than an event — it's an experience.
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What’s different about Toronto’s 29Rooms?
It’s more Canadian! Desi pop artist HATECOPY designed the city's version of The Travelling Billboard, an oversized mural created by a local artist in each stop on the 29Rooms road trip. Meanwhile, Nova Scotian neo-folk artist Hanski, was tapped to design the 6ix’s version of The Art Park (a geometric playground of sorts) along with artists Yvette Mayorga, Dan Lam, NNEKKAA, and Trap Bob.
Another room exclusive to Toronto is the Stella Artois and 29Rooms collaboration which features an introspective dining experience to test alllll your senses. All we can say is it will be completely different than any dining experience you’ve ever had before.
What else can I expect to see?
We’re not going to spoil everything — part of the fun of 29Rooms is never knowing what’s around the corner. But, from building your beauty tool kit in Shoppers Drug Mart’s “Shop Class” to The Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s interactive milk carton, there are so many made-in-Canada exhibitions. Step inside a larger than-life-lash playground by COVERGIRL; check out an alternate universe designed by Kali Uchis, throw it back with an unexpected twist on a step class by Reebok Canada, or write a message to your inner child in artist Carlota Guerrero’s room.
Where can I get tix?
Call your girlfriends and make some room in your iCal — tix are on sale now. 29Rooms begins Thursday, September 26 and is open every day until Sunday, October 6 (except for Sept 30). General admission tickets are $34 to $49, but until Sept. 10, you can use the code DANCEBREAK during checkout to get 50% off. (After selecting preferred session, click on enter promo code at the top of the next screen before choosing how many tickets you'd like to purchase.) Score your tickets for Toronto, now on sale, HERE.