13 Witches Take 29Rooms

Brooklyn. Los Angeles. Me and my plus one(s) (YOU). 29 Rooms. Bring your game. No excuses.

This series of screeches went off in my no-electronic seminar as a result of a single email from Refinery29 confirming press passes for me and 12 lucky other witches.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES.

“Shhhhhhh,” Coupled with filthies.

(Professor was glaring at this point).

But, I’m going to...

“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” - Demon stare.

I stare back. More menacingly than a hard stare. Focus on the lecture. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. But I’m already planning what to wear to the year’s most fabulous art-meets-social-awareness creative extravaganza.

Only one answer. Pink. Full on Coven glamour.

29 Rooms. 29 adventures. 2 locations.

Refinery29 partnered with Coven to invite our most loyal witches to their funhouses in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Boss ladies brushed shoulders with their fellow curious art fanatics, Instagrammers, bloggers and fashion week goers. Described as the “center of art, cinema, technology and fashion,” 29Rooms is placed in a spacious, repurposed warehouse. Over 30 artists, filmmakers and designers collaborated to create enticing and interactive rooms to explore. If you hadn’t entered The Coven in time for your invites, here’s the rundown of what you missed. And take note, because you won’t want to miss out on all the pink photo ops next year when 29Rooms comes to town again!

After waiting in a line that wrapped around a very large Brooklyn block, visitors entered a dark “Grand Hall” that had large colored spotlights shining from the corners. In this space — which was considered the first room — there was a large, spotlighted white wall with “a girl can dream” spray painted across it. The neon hue was just a small taste of what was to come: bright, engaging and technologically advanced 28 other rooms.

Each of the 29 rooms had a main focus. The Vote Your Values room encouraged visitors to share on a post-it what they hoped would come from the years following the next election. Perrier, a 29Rooms partner, welcomed guests into a “carbonated” room filled with various sizes of white balloons which had a carbonated pool where you could write on a clear plastic bubble and toss it in. The white room was washed in a funky green light, making for an intriguing photo.

Girls Talk, a room designed by feminist activist and model Adwoa Aboah, had several corded phones dangling from the ceiling. Gold receivers played recordings of women who recounted the stories of how they struggled to succeed in life. They shared valuable and empowering advice.

There was the highly Instagrammed panda ball pit, as well as a room that was covered floor to ceiling in plush pale pink fur. Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation had a room that encouraged people to write positive affirmations on the walls. There was a silent disco, short film theater, a sound bath and a space-themed room where one could have their aura photographed and read.

29Rooms allowed small-time creators to show off their work to a large audience that would otherwise not have had access to it: the collection placed thousands of people at the apex of several galleries and interactive, thought-provoking spaces. It was a bright, immersive way to bring people together and empower their creativity. A large projection at the end of the grand hall read, “Your power glows beyond these walls.” 29Rooms promoted the idea that the space was as much “ours” as it was the artists’ — that it couldn’t be possible without the energies of those who came to enjoy it. Their lighthearted fun house fostered a positive, creative community that empowered girls, artists — anyone — to believe in their energy and ability to create.