An enormous new immersive art venue is opening in Greenpoint next month

ArtsDistrict Brooklyn, also referred to as AD/BK, is a new immersive arts venue set to open in Greenpoint at 25 Franklin Street this July. 

The 25,000-square-foot space is the former home of concert space House of Vans, which closed back in 2018.

To celebrate the opening of the venue, sure to become part and parcel of New York's larger devotion to all things experiential, AD/BK will host the U.S. premiere of Limitless AI, a 70-minute show that first debuted at the Atelier des Lumières museum in Paris. 

Two other shows will be mounted on premise simultaneously: Flight and Séance. Both created by London-based company Darkfield, the two immersive, audio experiences will be presented in complete darkness inside customized 40-foot shipping containers. How cool?

In addition to its function as an exhibit space, the complex will be home to a daytime café that's being marketed as a pre-show destination as well. Visitors will get to enjoy free Wi-Fi and an open-air patio space with outdoor seating.

Also on the docket: an NFT gallery where folks will get to purchase works from main stage shows. AD/BK might therefore become the very first destination in New York to blend two popular trends: NFTs and immersive art.

This isn't the only experiential venue to hit town this summer. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, the oldest savings bank in New York City, is actually turning into a giant new center for custom-designed immersive art experiences dubbed Hall des Lumières (yes, it's connected to the above-mentioned French iteration of the space). Although the latter destination isn't yet open to the public, those interested can already purchase tickets for the inaugural exhibit, which will focus on Gustav Klimt, right here.

Creatives are betting big on experiences all around the city these, clearly identifying a public craving for things to do and feel over, perhaps, places to go to. Whether that is a result of a pandemic that forced us to relinquish experiential events for nearly two years is, at this point, irrelevant. What is clear, through, is that art, music, film and even food-related endeavors now require something more to capture our collective attention. 

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