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It’s no secret that New Yorkers love immersive environments, which seem to be everywhere these days—from creations by fan fave Yayoi Kusama to what are essentially pop-up ads for TV shows to more fantastical fare. Joining the latter category is the newest entry into the immersive genre, ZeroSpace, which promises a mind-blowing experience that will take you through a “portal to another dimension in the middle of New York City.”
Photograph: Inna Shnayder
Part theatrical experience, part new media installation, ZeroSpace bills itself as Alice In Wonderland with lasers, and is located across the street from Madison Square Garden at 136 West 33rd St between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. When visitors enter the 25,000-square-foot space, they encounter an actor-driven sci-fi scenario involving operatives from a super-secret government agency on a hunt for aliens.
Agents escort you through a series of large rooms filled with trippy projections and interactive elements. One area with pillows invites you to lie on the floor and stare up at a ceiling filled with dangling, fiber-optic “plants” while you're being tended to by robed figures. Elsewhere, you’ll find yourself being mesmerized by a hanging kaleidoscopic light sculpture. And if you get thirsty during your otherworldly adventure, ZeroSpace also boasts two bars.
Photograph: Inna Shnayder
Getting through all of this typically takes about one to two hours, but visitors are welcome to stay as long as they want. (We suggest leaving the molly at home or you’ll never leave.) Timed tickets are required, which you can find here along with other pertinent info.
Photograph: Inna Shnayder