New York City's Mercer Labs captivates with interactive, multisensory experiences
3When you think about museums in New York City, The Met, the Guggenheim, MoMA, and the Brooklyn Museum likely come to mind. But did you know there's a new museum downtown unlike anything you've probably experienced?
Mercer Labs - the Museum of Art and Technology -- features 36,000 square feet of 15 interactive, multi-sensory immersive exhibits.
"I always had this dream to create a space we can transform all the time," co-founder Roy Nachum said. "As an artist, you start with a white canvas, so you can draw whatever you want. Here, I wanted to do the same thing. But with physical spaces, it allows you with the mirrors and the reflection to create a new world like a new galaxy, a new space."
Nachum's journey to create this space began long ago, far from New York.
"It's a magic, you know, and New York welcomed me and I put my work, like you said, on the streets started from that, and build my way, slowly," Nachum said. "And this was always my dream to create. So my tiny journey in New York was super magical, and super incredible. So I love the city. It's incredible here."
He says his philosophy is reflected in every space of Mercer Labs.
"I'm coming from Jerusalem," he continues. "You know, my grandma lost her vision. And my grandpa was on a wheelchair. I never saw them differently. You know, I saw them normal to me, in my eyes, it was completely normal. So for me, as a visual artist creating and painting, I want my art to be accessible to everybody. To me, everybody's equal, everybody's the same. There's no difference between humans, we are all equal and deserve an equal chance in life."
From the 360-degree film experiences to the interactive sound installations and exhibits to the Braille sprinkled throughout, Mercer Labs is more than just a museum. It's a testament to the power of dreams.
"Everybody deserves to dream as big as they can and to fly as hard as they can," Nachum said.
The museum is open seven days a week.
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