New LGBTQ+ immersive art experience coming to Times Square in June

“Polar Rainbow”, an augmented reality sculpture from Latvian-British artist Kristaps Ancãns will be unveiled at Times Square Arts in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month.

The project will be available for viewing from June 1-30 and is curated by Corina L. Apostol of Tallinn Art Hall. 

Inspired by the discovery that rainbows cannot naturally occur at either the North or South poles, Ancãns’s project creates a virtual double rainbow stretching the two poles along the 74W meridian line – the most populous meridian line in the Americas and happens to cross directly through Times Square.

“Polar Rainbow” was created to support communities undergoing discrimination or other hardships and is inspired by the 1989 “Baltic Chain of Freedom”, which saw approximately two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join hands and link arms to form a human chain to peacefully demonstrate during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“I believe that art today has to define new additional tasks for itself to prepare us for a world with new points of reference appearing,” said artist Kristaps Ancāns in a press release on May 26. “Historically, standing for human rights has emerged from different local contexts; since then, we have developed new technologies, and have created tools of inspiration and support that can globally unite communities. The rainbow uniting both poles reminds us of the challenges that persist and, at the same time, that the arc of temporality can bring lasting change” 

The sculpture will also be available to view via the “Polar Rainbow” app which was also designed by Ancãns in collaboration with data visualization studio, Platvorm which is based in Estonia.

Visitors and spectators can download the app by visiting the Times Square Arts website. 

“Polar Rainbow” will kick off a host of Pride events hosted in Times Square throughout the month of June, including a weekend-long Pride celebration June 24-26.

“Times Square has long been a space of both protest and celebration for LGBTQIA rights, and Kristaps Ancāns’ Polar Rainbow brings a timely and uplifting reminder that the ongoing pursuit of justice and equity requires global unity,” said Times Square Arts Director, Jean Cooney.