In the News
'Golden Portal' Project Brings Strangers Together for Discussion
NBC Television July 22, 2017
A Yale Law research project titled "The Criminal Justice Dialogues" brings strangers from across the country together to discuss issues inside an air-conditioned "golden portal."
The 'Portals' Encouraging Real Conversations About Policing and Race
City Lab Print May 8, 2017
Two Yale professors are using immersive technology to enable connections between communities of color in low-income neighborhoods across four U.S. cities.
The Unlikeliest Neighborhood
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Print March 29, 2017
Dennis Walton remembers swimming in the new Calvin Moody indoor pool in the dead of winter. Built in 1978, the 54,000-square-foot complex was a year-round gathering spot in what was then called Franklin Heights, on Milwaukee’s north side.
Speaker Discusses Examining Policing Through Portals
The Observer Print March 22, 2017
In an effort to create conversations about policing, Yale University professor Vesla Weaver and her colleagues created spaces called portals where people can speak with others from different cities about their experiences with law enforcement in their communities.
A Chance To Connect With The World In The Baltimore Portal
CBS Baltimore Television February 20, 2017
It’s a unique way to connect with people around the world, and it’s now here in Baltimore. The Downtown Partnership debuts the city’s first portal as a chance to interact with someone face-to-face in real time, even if they’re in another country.
Baltimore Portal Aims to Connect Locals with Strangers Around the World
Baltimore Magazine Print February 14, 2017
Just before lunchtime, as foot traffic outside of Lexington Market reaches its peak, regulars are raising their eyebrows—stopping to stare at a massive gold shipping container that has been positioned outside of the main entrance.
High Tech Equipement Aids Crime Prevention
TMJ4-TV Television June 24, 2016
MILWAUKEE - It looks like a shipping container, but it's so much more. This gold painted portal is allowing people in Milwaukee to connect with portals in 29 countries. On Friday, thoughts on crime prevention were exchanged. Conversations in the Milwaukee portal are being recorded. The dialogue will be shared with researchers at Yale University, who are trying to better understand the public perception of police.
Experimental Installations Put the Social in Social Science
Associated Press Print May 30, 2016
The truck-size metal container sitting in a downtown park here isn't meant to raise awareness about the global shipping industry, though it may nudge some people's curiosity in that direction.
Through Newark Art Installation, a Portal to the World
NJTV Television May 17, 2016
A TV piece on the Newark_Portal, engaged in Criminal Justice Dialogues.
Gold-Painted Shipping Containers Create a Global Public Space
Next City Print May 11, 2016
What do Newark, New Jersey, and Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood have in common? They’re both high-crime, high-homicide and highly policed, and right now, a public park in each is hosting a gold-painted shipping container designed to facilitate conversations between the two cities about criminal justice and incarceration.
What is the 'Portal,' and Why is it in Newark?
NJ.com Print May 10, 2016
NEWARK -- It's the one shipping container that can travel across the world without leaving New Jersey.
The "portal," a repurposed container that was installed as a temporary exhibit in Newark's Military Park last month, is part of a global artist initiative to connect strangers around the world. The container is equipped with technology that allows users to video chat with people in similar portals that have been placed in other cities around the world.
Episode #68 A Portal to Answers
Precious Lives Project Radio May 3, 2016
“What is the point?...of you know, you going out and doing something so illegal and so pathetic to actually send people through pain that's unnecessary. You know? Like why? Why are you doing that?”
Artist's 'Portals' to Connect Milwaukee and Newark
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Print April 12, 2016
Travel between Milwaukee and New Jersey is about to get cheap and fast.
Milwaukeeans will have a chance to step inside a shipping container, painted a lustrous gold and tricked out with cutting-edge audiovisual technology, in order to have one-on-one encounters with strangers in Newark, N.J.