New media artist Refik Anadol is to open the world’s first museum of artificial intelligence (AI) arts, called Dataland, in downtown LA in 2025.
The plans were announced by Refik Anadol Studio yesterday (24 September). Dataland will be located at The Grand LA, a mixed-use development designed by Frank Gehry.
“Los Angeles is the perfect city to launch Dataland, a forward-thinking, revolutionary museum in support of the fields to which I have dedicated my career: art, science, technology and AI research,” said Anadol.
“LA has long been a city that looks to the future in art, music, cinema, architecture, and more, and it feels natural to open Dataland here.”
“To have a permanent space for us to develop a new paradigm of what a museum can be, by fusing human imagination with machine intelligence and the most advanced technologies available, is a realization of one of my biggest dreams. To do so in a building designed by one of my heroes, Frank Gehry, is almost unbelievable,” he added.
The Grand LA is a $1 billion mixed-use destination, developed by Related Companies. Dataland will serve as the site’s anchor attraction, and will be joined by other art-driven experiences.
Nick Vanderboom, chief operating officer of Related California, said: “Dataland will inspire entirely new audiences to visit downtown LA, infusing new energy into the neighborhood and further cementing Grand Avenue as a place to see and be seen in the international arts community.”
The Grand LA is situated directly across the street from Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, where Refik Anadol Studio projected the history of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a piece of algorithmic video onto the exterior of the building in 2018.
Dataland at The Grand LA
Dataland is designed in collaboration with award-winning architecture firm Gensler and global sustainable development consultancy Arup.
Efsun Erkiliç, Dataland’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, said the museum “is a place where human creativity meets innovation, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary”.
“Dataland will be a place where audiences of all ages are transported to new worlds of discovery, inspiration, and wonder,” he added.
“We are building a visionary museum that redefines learning and community, igniting the human spirit and fuelling a journey into the beauty of our collective memories – the world of data.”
Anadol’s work has been exhibited at places including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Sphere in Las Vegas. The artist uses collections of public data and machine learning algorithms to create immersive art installations.
Images courtesy of Refik Anadol Studio
