Artist Refik Anadol, cofounder of Refik Anadol Studio, announces the opening of DATALAND, a new museum for data designed from the ground up in collaboration with architect Frank Gehry at The Grand LA. The project aims to create an architectural space inherently designed for immersive, AI-generated, and constantly evolving art, moving beyond the need to retrofit traditional museum structures like the white cube.
This development matters because it represents a significant evolution in the concept of the museum itself, shifting from a repository of static objects to a dynamic "dreaming machine" that collects and visualizes data as living cultural heritage. Anadol argues that museums hold a unique responsibility as custodians of cultural memory, and DATALAND's focus on preserving dynamic, data-driven experiences challenges fundamental institutional practices around conservation, installation, and collection, potentially redefining the relationship between art, audience, and architecture in the digital age.