Tech art ‘Portal’ connects NYC and Dublin in real-time

In what looks like a scene from a Doctor Strange movie, a tech art sculpture called the Portal, facilitating real-time interactions between people on the streets of New York and Dublin, debuted this week.

One of the 24/7 portals is in NYC’s Flatiron South Public Plaza, and the other is in Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

Blending technology, sociology, anthropology and art, the roughly 3.5-ton Portal features a large circular video screen showing the other side of the world.

There is no audio, but anyone can go to the screen and communicate with a stranger on the other end.

The brainchild of Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys, the art project aims to foster connections between people across borders and prejudices, viewing Earth as a unified home.

Governments were initially wary of the always-on connection to another country but have gradually come on board since the project’s inception in Lithuania and Poland in 2021.