Portal 2, at the old Gladiator Gym, and scenes from last Saturday’s Portal Parade, part of an ongoing series.
The Portal Parades — by the East Village-based Free Art Society and Antidote Games — promise to transport participants to the “hidden East Village.”
On July 13, dressed in a black-and-white theme a crowd converged at Portal 2, on E. Sixth St. between Avenues A and B, next to Sidewalk Cafe, where a new freshly painted portal has materialized in the doorway of the old Gladiators Gym. Then, at an after-party at ABC Sanctuary, 638 E. Sixth St., with the Queen of Duality, the 13 Portals Kickstarter campaign kicked off as Portals fans partied to the sounds of Kiss Slash Crooked Smile, Johnny Arco, Walker Fee and more, and then jammed on instruments.
Tucked into abandoned doorways around the East Village, hand-painted and intricate murals by Nicolina Johnson and Perola Bonfanti depict the ancient and esoteric meanings behind the numbers and symbols they represent.
According to the 13 Portals Web site, “Participants enter into the game through the…site and then work together online and in the streets to crack puzzles that uncover the secrets and meanings of each portal. One portal leads to the next revealing deeper mysteries, bringing more challenging puzzles to solve. The streets of the East Village will be transformed into a realm of mystery and magic, with participants discovering keys in hidden eggs, questioning local shopkeepers for clues, and navigating the waters of the East River to find another piece of the Portals puzzle. Every week, a new portal will be unveiled with the chance for participants to obtain one of 64 special keys for the final mystery experience. Each Portal conceals multiple layers of information in a real-world adventure orchestrated by Antidote Games, a Brooklyn-based games studio.” For more information, go to https://13portals.com/ .
