San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Get ready for another visual ‘experience,’ courtesy of Refinery 29.
Like the Museum of Ice Cream and Color Factory before it, 29Rooms is the latest must-see, must-selfie “experience” to pop up in San Francisco. From June 21-24, the Palace of Fine Arts will house 29 rooms designed to dazzle the senses, with a heavy celebrity assist. The event comes courtesy of Refinery29, a women’s lifestyle website and media company.
“It’s essentially a funhouse meets a cultural exhibition,” says Piera Gelardi, Refinery
29 Rooms
June 21-24, Palace of Fine Arts. www.29rooms.com or @29Rooms for updates. 29’s executive creative director and co-founder. The theme of the event, “Turn It Into Art,” celebrates the transformative power of creativity and the ability of art to heal and unify, uplift and provoke. “The name comes from Carrie Fisher’s quote: ‘Take your broken heart, and turn it into art.’ ”
Although this is not 29Rooms’ first rodeo, having held events in New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco’s inaugural event offers a host of new exhibits and collaborators, along with many favorites from previous runs.
“Within our space, artists and visionaries Rooms for art: At top, model Shaun Ross enjoys the “Become the Masterpiece” room in LA, and above, Refinery 29’s Piera Gelardi in the Girl Love room in collaboration with Lilly Singh, a.k.a. IISuperwomanII. bring to life culturally relevant ideas through interactive installations and performances rooted in storytelling and selfexpression,” Gelardi says. “Our environment is meant to ignite creativity, spark dialogue, and dare people to dream bigger.” What does that look like?
“We’ve added some new rooms surrounding Pride to further celebrate LGBTQ+ rights and the idea of joy as protest,” Geladi says. “We’ve collaborated with additional partners that have a cultural tie to the city like virtual reality artist Wesley Allsbrook. We’re also excited to welcome new talent, including Jessica Alba, Anna Kendrick and Paul Feig, who are bringing amazing new energy to the space with their rooms.”
Slightly less lofty are “brand collaborations,” such as a three-part installation inspired by Bravo’s quasi-reality shows “Below Deck,” “Vanderpump Rules” and “Southern Charm,” and another with Haagen-Dazs featuring — wait for it — “a wonder-filled world of larger-than-life HäagenDazs TRIO Crispy Layers Ice Cream.”
Clearly SF-ers are all in —15,000 tickets (at $39 each) sold out quickly after going on sale six weeks ago. There is a modicum of hope, however, for those still seeking entrance: Refinery29 is holding ticket giveaways via social media.