A video portal in the Polish city of Lublin – which up until now has provided a live link to another portal in Vilnius, Lithuania – has been connected to New York City and the Irish capital of Dublin.
The device allows people in the cities to see – and interact with – one another in real time. It was first opened in May 2021, with one side of the portal on Lublin’s central Litewski Square and the other next to Vilnius’s main train station.
The project drew global attention, with media reports appearing in the BBC and USA Today, among others.
Earlier this year, the Lithuanian artist behind the portal, Benediktas Gylys, opened another one that connected Flatiron South Public Plaza in New York with Dublin’s North Earl Street.
Now all four cities have been connected to one another, with the feeds between them rotating every three minutes for a seven-hour period each day (2 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Lublin and Vilnius, 8.a.m. to 3 p.m. in New York, and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Dublin).
“We are delighted to welcome Dublin and New York – the latest cities joining this unique project,” said Lublin’s deputy mayor, Beata Stepaniuk-Kuśmierzak.
“We are pleased that our portal is gaining more and more reach and popularity, opening up new possibilities for communication and cooperation on an international scale.”
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“Thanks to the installation, we can now look at Manhattan in New York and the centre of Dublin, share culture, experiences and jointly initiate new projects,” added Stepaniuk-Kuśmierzak.
Dublin’s lord mayor, James Geoghegan, noted that his city’s portal has already drawn over 340,000 visitors since its launch, “bringing a new lease of life to North Earl Street”. In New York, foot traffic around the portal is reportedly up 47% on last year.
“We are delighted to see the network of cities expand to Vilnius and Lublin and look forward to seeing more people enjoy the portals experience,” said Geoghegan.
Gylys says that his aim “is to build multiple portals that together create a global entity – a bridge to a united planet that invites people from distant cultures to meet beyond borders, differences and narratives”. He revealed that further portals will be opened in new locations later this year.
Dublin City Council is delighted to announce that 2 extra cities have been added to the Portal. As well as connecting with New York, people on North Earl St will be able to see Vilnius in Lithuania and Lublin in Poland.
The livestreams will rotate every 180 seconds forming a… pic.twitter.com/bBJdFloHjn— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) August 27, 2024
Main image credit: Miasto Lublin
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
