The wait is over.
Instagram fans have been seeing the teasing posts for weeks and now it’s official: The Chicago incarnation of Refinery29’s “29Rooms” arrives in Chicago July 26-29. Tickets are $39 for one three-hour session (kids under 2 are free; parental discretion is advised for some rooms featuring mature content). They will go on sale at 11 a.m. March 30 at 29Rooms.com (a portion of the proceeds will be donated to 29Rooms’ non-profit partners).
The inaugural Chicago fun house-style celebration of creativity will be housed at 1522 W. Hubbard, and will feature, well, 29 rooms of interactive spaces curated in partnership with “global artists, visionaries, innovators, meaningful causes, and brands” representing myriad creative disciplines. (In the New York version, one room allowed visitors to “walk” on the keys of a massive, oversized typewriter or hand-write notes on blank book pages. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal’s curated “room” allowed guests to write their anxieties on a piece of paper and “discard” those woes by passing the paper through a hand-cranked shredder.)
The event’s theme, “Turn It Into Art,” “celebrates the transformative power of creativity, and explores how art can alter mindsets, shift perception, and create powerful change,” Wednesday’s official announcement stated. The Chicago event will include some of the most popular installations from the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco rooms, along with work from new collaborators specifically for the Midwest version.
“After taking both coasts by storm, we’re thrilled to bring 29Rooms to the heart of the Midwest,” said Refinery29 co-founder and executive creative director Piera Gelardi in the announcement. “As a city of diverse neighborhoods, with rich culture and history, Chicago is a perfect place to bring our dream world to life and to spread creativity and dialogue to a new audience.”
