By Amanda VanNostrand.
A sense of wonder is seldom felt after the passing of childhood. Once life begins to feel familiar, that sensation of amazement at the world is felt less and less. Sensitivity to awe has a tendency to dwindle.
Wonderspaces opens on Friday, January 24th at Fashion District Philadelphia (27 N 11th Street, between Filbert St. and Market St.), and it is the precise space to reawaken this departed friend, wonder. A family-friendly venue with art installations allowing viewers and participators to walk through, touch, experience, photograph, and ogle at, Wonderspaces provides well-spent time for all.
Unlike your typical art galleries, Wonderspaces brings installations that are not confined to a wall, but that spread through spaces that invite viewers to physically explore and imagine: two Virtual Reality experiences abduct participants into seemingly dreamlike worlds; a room of strings raining multicolored bulbs invites a surreal experience full of dancing, flashing colors that transform the room into foreign territory; the opening space with balloons tied above and below, connected by single strings and aligned in arrays and causes one to wonder why the need to stare is so heavy; a room where colors splash with your movements; a wall full of remorse and honesty; a hanging fist that requires a single perspective for identification; in short, experiences that can seldom be found elsewhere.
Wonderspaces brings these, and other art installations to attendees, providing them a long-lost sense, as they walk from room to room, that possibilities are endless in a world that has a seeming tendency to be set in its ways. Words, lights, colors, alternate realities, and illusions make up Wonderspaces and form a uniquely moving experience of art, entertainment, and heightened sense of wonder. (And a ton of well-received Instagram photos.)
A few things to note:
-Tickets are for a select time and date
- Monday/Wednesday/Thursday: Noon – 10 pm
- Friday – Saturday: 10 am – 11 pm
- Sunday: 10 am – 8 pm
- Closed Tuesdays
-Ticket prices:
- Adults: $24
- Students/Seniors 60+/Military (with ID): $20
- Children 3-12 Years: $15
- Under 3: Free
-Plan to spend between 75 – 90 minutes at Wonderspaces
-Photography is permissible, for personal use only.