Pixinity, New York City’s newest interactive, digital art experience, opened on August 16 at Soho’s 1 York Street and will run until November 8. Tianyu Qiu, former creative director of the Wonder World exhibition, created “Pixinity: Pop Futurism” to transport guests to a “pop-up playground of infinite possibilities” where technology, gaming, and social media imagery converge in 10 rooms families can travel through. ‘Born to Shine’, Pixinity’s philanthropic arm, is partnered with Autism Speaks to raise awareness of autism in a creative way.
Pixinity is a digitized world brought to life in physical form. 10 rooms contain colorful spaces that feature more than 100 individual pieces, including sculptures, pixel art, emoji-like characters, digital and gaming icons, and computer-inspired imagery. Guests might leave thinking about the intersection of pop culture, contemporary digital life, and art in the digital age. These pieces are Qiu’s original creations.
“Pixinity is my artistic expression of our current technological climate and our extreme reliance on social media and digital culture in our daily lives,” said Qiu. “I asked myself what this might look like in the form of an exhibition. How can I interpret this through materials and space? And so, Pixinity was created as the ‘ultimate digital playground,’ to show how social media-driven art can be simultaneously meaningful, playful and critically engaging.”
Mignons, one Pixinity installation, represents how emojis are used in social media and online communication. Mignons was inspired by one who Qiu’s family members, who has autism and for whom communicating verbally can be difficult. Mignons reflects Qiu’s experience of communicating with his relative through digital figures and emojis, hoping to bring awareness to autism in a unique and creative way.
“It is my goal to use Pixinity as a platform for autism awareness and spark a much needed dialogue about autism support,” Qiu said. “With this in mind, we launched ‘Born To Shine,’ our philanthropic arm that helps and supports autistic children and their families. We are thrilled to be partnering with Autism Speaks, one of the leading autism support organizations nationally, for this exhibit.”
Pixinity will run Monday-Sunday at 1 York Street from 11am-9pm. Tickets for adults are $38 and $19 for children 10 and younger. All tickets must be purchased in advance. To snag yours, visit Pixinity’s website.
Main Image: Courtesy Pixinity
