It feels like every single time I go on Instagram, I see another friend who’s visited Philly Wonderspaces. The recognizable glowing lights have been a permanent fixture on my Instagram feed since the first day I stepped foot on campus. Though I’ve yet to visit myself, I feel like I’ve already seen the main exhibits front and back from the comfort of my own room.
Philly Wonderspaces describes itself as an immersive experience; I don’t doubt that there are elements I lose in the translation to social media. Having gone to other immersive installations before, there’s definitely a sense of otherworldliness that comes with being surrounded physically by art. However, I also acknowledge that, strangely, the more I see pictures of that experience on my feed, the less I feel compelled to actually visit. In a weird way, the inherent “Instagrammability” of the experience (which I’m sure is incredible in real life) is what turned me off to visiting entirely.