An art installation that connected Dublin and New York City but was quickly hijacked by controversial acts has returned to a different location.
‘The Portal’ started off as a well-intentioned “virtual bridge” and appeared earlier this year on May 8. It was the brainchild of artist Benediktas Gylys and showed a silent 24/7 livestream of the Irish city to New Yorkers, while Dubliners were treated to a sight of the Big Apple.
Within hours chaos had descended and police in Dublin were forced to drag a drunk woman who was “aggressively grinding” on the sculpture. This was followed by someone mocking 9/11 and got worse when adult model Ava Louise flashed her breasts from the US – quickly leading to authorities hitting pause on the exhibition.
(Image: avalouiise/Instagram)
But now Dublin City Council has announced The Portal will return, but instead of New York City citizens in the Emerald Isle will be connected to the city of Philadelphia.
“The Portal’s arrival in the heart of Philadelphia is an exciting moment for our city that offers a new way to engage with the world,” said Michael Newmuis, 2026 Director, City of Philadelphia. The Portal will be found in the city’s JFK Plaza (Love Park).
Although Portals team member Joseph Callahan promised it will be for “people to share a moment in time… using universal languages of signs, music and joy,” authorities may be quietly hoping it’s not a repeat of the New York City farce, where it was shut down just over a week after being set up.
(Image: @avalouiise/Instagram)
A statement at the time from Dublin City Council said: “Unfortunately, we have also been witnessing a very small minority of people engaged in inappropriate behaviour, which has been amplified through social media.
“While we cannot control all of these actions, we are implementing some technical solutions to address this.”
The livestream will now alternate every three minutes between Dublin, Vilnius, Lublin and Philadelphia.
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