VIOLA'S ROOM North American Premiere and More Set for Summer at The Shed

Summer at The Shed offers a dynamic season showcasing new, groundbreaking artistic experiences across disciplines from leading and emerging talent. Minimizing barriers for audiences to access art, Open Call: Portals, Beeple’s Diffuse Control, West Side Fest, and The Zora Project will be presented for free. 

“The Shed aims to be a home for some of the most inventive, interdisciplinary art of our times,” said Alex Poots, Artistic Director of The Shed. “From the interactive world of Punchdrunk to Beeple's innovative exploration of the eternal possibilities of AI and art, and, now in its sixth year, the vital platform provided by our Open Call program for early-career, NYC artists, The Shed will produce and present art across formats and disciplines all summer long.”

Summer at The Shed:

Viola’s Room created by Punchdrunk

June 17 to October 19
Location: The Shed’s Level 4 Gallery
Tickets start at $49
The celebrated immersive theater company Punchdrunk, known for its genre-defying productions, will present the North American premiere of Viola’s Room, its first new production in NYC since 2011’s long-running Sleep No More. This intimate, audio-driven experience, narrated by Helena Bonham Carter and written by Booker Prize-shortlisted author Daisy Johnson, invites audiences to step into a dreamlike world for a one-of-a-kind Gothic adventure. For more information, visit theshed.org/violasroom

Diffuse Control by Beeple

Beginning June 25
Location:  The Shed’s Doctoroff Lobby
Free
Beeple’s Diffuse Control is a new interactive kinetic sculpture that invites users to collaborate with AI to generate never-before-seen images. Selected by a group of established and emerging curators, original artworks serve as the source images that are then reimagined by Diffuse Control’s AI program as users manipulate the art through an online dashboard. What evolves is a cutting-edge compromise between human and machine. For more information, visit theshed.org/beeple

The Zora Project

May 17, 1 – 4pm; June 21, 1 – 3 pm; and July 19, 4 – 6 pm
Location: Tisch Skylights
Free
The Zora Project, by Tanya Birl-Torres and Reza Salazar, honors groundbreaking writer, cultural anthropologist, folklorist, and theater-maker Zora Neale Hurston, a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Three public programs will be offered -  The Anatomy of a Folktale on May 17 will explore Hurston’s folktales; The Fire Dance: Exploring Zora Neale Hurston’s Lost Choreographic Works on June 21 will explore movement and dance; and Glitter in the Dust: Exploring the Work-Song Tradition on July 19 delves into the music of her work. These workshops reveal the threads that tie Hurston’s art to our own innate creativity. The Zora Project is part of The Shed’s Social Practice Artist-in-Residence program. For more information, visit theshed.org

Open Call: Portals

June 27 – August 24, 2025
Location: The Shed’s Level 2 Gallery and Plaza
Free with reserved ticket    
Showcasing the work of 12 early-career, New York City–based artists and collectives, Open Call returns with a new, free group exhibition. Open Call: Portals features new works ranging from painting and film to sculpture and performance by Zain Alam, AYDO, Mel Corchado, Marwa Eltahir, Patricia Encarnación, Laurena Finéus, Lily Honglei, Tyson Houseman, Jarrett Key, Chelsea Odufu, Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, and Yelaine Rodriguez and Luis Vasquez La Roche, each exploring forces shaping our world, including colonialism, migration, and environmental crisis. The exhibition is accompanied by a schedule of free performances and public programs. This initiative underscores The Shed’s commitment to providing a platform for rising, NYC-based talent and fostering artistic innovation. For more information, visit theshed.org/portals.

West Side Fest