The Glass Room New York

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Nousha Salimi 2016

In November and December 2016, Tactical Tech in partnership with Mozilla, opened The Glass Room NYC, an immersive pop-up tech store with a twist, that explored the issues of data and privacy through art, interactive displays and workshops.

Located in a 400 square metre gallery space in Nolita, next to SoHo in downtown Manhattan, The Glass Room's impact - from media coverage, to attendance, to engagement – far exceeded all expectations. Following a packed launch party attended by over 450 people, many of whom queued round the block in the pouring rain – the Glass Room hosted 43 workshops, and 75 other events with guest speakers, artists and community groups.

The Glass Room Plus exhibition in New York Credits: Marek Tuszynski 2016

Due to its popularity The Glass Room was extended for an extra weekend, bringing final visitor numbers to nearly 10,000 over its three-week duration, over three times the target attendance of 3,000. Many of those visitors stayed for well over an hour.

The Glass Room Plus exhibition in New York Credits: The Glass Room Plus exhibition in New York

The Glass Room New York received coverage across US and global media including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Forbes and US Vogue. In total there were 45 articles in 7 languages making 30 million impressions.

Quotes from the press

Just in time for New Year’s resolution fever, [Tactical Technology] Collective created an eight-day Data Detox Kit to help users control their online “data bloat.”...So if you’re tired of being creeped out by an increasingly prescient Internet, or if you simply want to understand what kind of digital trail you’ve been leaving behind, then this digital detox is for you.

Vogue — Glass Room New York

To move through the Glass Room...was to be reminded of the many ways we unwittingly submit ourselves and one another to unnecessary surveillance, with devastating consequences…I left the Glass Room invigorated by the ways artists are exploring the dark side of our digital footprint.

New York Times Magazine — Glass Room New York

But enter the chamber known as The Glass Room - and you’ll be encountered with a disturbing array of well-told stories about data. But the pleasant and highly knowledgeable guides who offer to tour you through the exhibit [have] a remarkable way of suggesting, however gently, that there are ways to fight back over the subtle but growing totalitarian impact of data on our lives.

Forbes — Glass Room New York

The Glass Room New York in the press

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