Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

You’ve been briefed on your mission. You’ve passed the evaluation test. You’re ready to enter ZeroSpace. Led by special agents of a secret government task force, you are ushered to the entrance of a portal that has opened up next to Penn Station. On the other side is another dimension you have been tasked with exploring. Once through the portal you are immersed in an experience that is like a sci-fi Sleep No More full of fantastical light displays, hi-tech interactive stations, beautifully strange beings, no-nonsense special agents and mesmerizing graphic displays. Recently, Untapped Cities Insiders got to preview this new narrative driven, immersive art space which opens to the public this month.

Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

Once you pass the initial briefing and take a psychedelic journey through the portal you emerge into a 25,000-square-foot space with multiple rooms to explore. On this self-guided extra-dimensional trip, no cell phones or photography are allowed as “what lies beyond the portal is to be experienced, not recorded.” Curiosity is rewarded as you walk through ZeroSpace. Pull back the curtains, get lost and don’t be afraid of the strange beings floating about, they come in peace. Each space offers a unique experience.

In one room you’ll find an entrancing lace-like chandelier that casts a soft patterned glow over the entire room, in another you’ll find a technicolor wheel of lights that you could lay underneath for hours as you watch the patterns change. In yet another room carpeted with grass and walled with floor to ceiling mirrors, you will be mesmerized by the undulating flow of lights through a fiber-optic display hanging from the ceiling. There are also intricate projections mapped onto the architecture of the space.

Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

ZeroSpace combines impressive interactive technology with stunning art from new media artists to create a well-rounded immersive experience, it’s not just about watching the pretty lights. There are moments spread throughout the space where with surprising ways for you to change what you see. You can watch a series of effects and shapes form based on your movements at a wall of monitors or dig into a giant sandboxes and discover how to change the colors of the sand.

Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

As you enjoy the displays and hands-on activities, don’t forget you are on a mission. Special agents and extraterrestrial beings mingle throughout the space with you and your fellow explorers. You may be asked to report your findings or be called into a room for an interview with one of the creatures. Untapped Cities Insiders got to preview ZeroSpace before it opened to the public and a few of our members got to have one-on-one time with the masked beings. We found them to be very friendly.

Photograph Courtesy of ZeroSpace

The entire is experience is both exciting and strangely soothing. The hype of the briefing and the fast paced portal entry display prepares you for an experience where anything can happen. Once inside the various rooms it’s easy to lose track of type laying watching the lights and graphic art dance in front of you. Tickets for this one-of-a-kind experience are available online for dates this week through September. The experience is self-guided and once you’ve decided you have seen all you can an agent will escort you back to reality.

Next, check out 15 New NYC Public Art Installations Not to Miss in August 2019