For this New Years Eve edition of Friday Props we started by thinking about views into the future which ultimately led us to views across not just time, but places. And so this week we give Friday Props to the Portals project from Lithuanian Benediktas Gylis and the foundation that bears his name. Specifically, we think the project they have funded to create portals between cities is a phenomenal example of bridging divides which we think is something that matters.

The foundation, established in 2013, promotes science (yay!), creativity (yes!), tolerance (thank goodness), and entrepreneurship (right on!). These jive with our beliefs and so we dove deeper to learn more about the projects they have supported which is when we found "pOtrals". The capital O in "pOrtal" makes sense once you see one the installations:

pOrtal is described as an invitation to rise above all prejudices; a reminder that we are all inseparably connected and that the divisions between "us" and "them" are essentially bunk.

The project began in Lithuania in the city of Vilnius and connects to Lublin, Poland. Two additional pOrtals are being installed to connect to Reykjavik and London. People from different cultures and cities engage across the pOrtal in real time with no audio - they interact with only body language and yet divides are crossed and people are left with the feeling of togetherness the project seeks to embody. We wonder, of course, if pOrtals between the United States (Vermont comes to mind) and locations around the globe might be on the horizon. 

As we look to turn the page on another year we are pleased to find such a props-worthy project to recognize. From all of us at Edgeworks Creative we wish you a healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and fulfilling year ahead.

Learn More:

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/benediktas.gylys.foundation/

Website:  https://www.benediktas.com/