Chapter Two opens at immersive West Loop museum

(Published Aug. 1, 2019)

Elisa Shoenberger, Staff writer

An immersive art museum opened as a pop up in the fall with Chapter One. Visitors got to play with a variety of artistic installations and take selfies inside artist Yayoi Kusuma’s Infinity Room.

Now, Chapter Two has opened at the wndr museum, 1130 W. Monroe St.

The museum closed in April and Chapter Two opened in May. The company has decided that the museum will remain a permanent part of the neighborhood

Chapter One’s theme was finite/infinite, explained Joanie Faletto, social media and digital marketing manager at the wndr museum. The first chapter explored the relationship between art and science and installations allowed visitors to play with their sense of scale.

“Chapter Two highlights how we look at art and what we consider to be art,” Faletto said. 

Many people think about art as a tangible thing—paint on a canvas, she said. The museum challenges this and presents “digital, tech-based installations” and asks people to experience art in the 21st century. 

While the museum prioritizes the five senses, there are more audio installations. A sound shower in the wndr museum’s Music Cave allows viewers to touch emojis that represent their mood and at that point, music will play. Visitors are invited to sing along, a variation of singing in the shower. 

With Chapter Two, the museum will look to partner with organizations in Chicago, Faletto said. A planned after-dark event has the wndr museum partnering with Young Chicago Authors, a group that cultivates young voices through writing, publication and performance education. The group performs spoken word pieces. 

“We haven’t been around for a year, so we’re still a new company,” Faletto said. “Now that we’ve decided to be permanent, we want to see how we can give back to the community and become a part of the fabric in Chicago, like partnering with organizations like Young Chicago Authors.

Most of the museum is new for Chapter Two. Faletto said each chapter will be open for a limited time.

“If you’ve done it once, you haven’t seen it the whole thing. It’s a continuing narrative over the years. But Yayoi Kusuma fans can rest assured—the Infinity Room remains,” she said.

As its name implies, the museum aims to bring a little more wonder into the world. 

“We want people to leave wndr feeling more inspired than when they walked in,” Faletto said.