I was nervous that I didn’t have anything interesting to say, but it turned out that the simplest topics of conversation are still profound when you are talking with someone you’d never otherwise have the chance to meet – soccer, shopping at the market, jobs, family. I felt honored that someone would want to take time out of their day to connect with me, and I hope to do it again sometime soon… thank you!

Omar is poignant, funny, beautiful, wise and filled with other worldly joy. Meeting him and getting to know him briefly has been a highlight of my life. It is work like this that makes me hopeful for the future of the country and proud of this institution.

With all the experiences I’ve had as an Iranian American and as a part of this community, this experience was unimaginable and incredible. I had a conversation with a complete stranger, someone who I would normally never meet. Thank you for organizing this experience. Please do it more! I can’t wait to meet someone from another place. There was a moment when all I wanted to do was jump through our boxes and see his street and show him mine. So we told each other about the weather and painted an image for each other. Mana

This was the best hour of my life.

The Portal worked perfectly, like magic. I was transported to the life of a young photographer who is propelling herself toward studies in the US. We soon swapped stories of our travels and interests and as cliché as it sounds, we are all one community. I look forward to staying connected with this lovely and talented woman.

I was happy. We saw a lot of killing in front of us in Mosul, but now we have a better life in the camp. I hope to come here every day and see my lovely friends in the Portal.

To me this experience was mind blowing. Sharing to someone on the other side of the world makes you feel that you live in a place where everyone cares so much about time and space. You are locked in a container standing there “literally” naked.When a man naked, you are standing in front of someone, and this person can see your hands, the way you stand and move. You are opening your soul and your thoughts to another human being. It’s like a time machine. To him was 6pm to me was 9:10am. Time is not crucial, and space is nothing when you metaphysically are confined to express what makes a good day to you. Have you thought about it?

Amazing, incredible profoundly beautiful and connective experience. This is a terribly important art exhibit that instantly breaks down the arbitrary barriers that we put up between cultures and people. This is exactly what social media technology should be used for. It’s a beautiful, gorgeous bridge that I hope to see crossing more boundaries in the future. I am grateful and honored to be part of this art exhibit. Yours truly, Kwadwo ADAE

As an educator, constantly opening my students’ eyes to current happenings in the world is something I consider one of my duties. Before I can do that I need to open up my own. Thank you for such an eye opening experience.

Amazing how the first moments and awkwardness gave ground to joy the technology and the opportunity to share a moment of connection across continents. Thank you.

The Portal is a place where you lose yourself — however momentarily — and exist in a space with no time, place, language, constraint. The Portal is a type of control that allows for the most authentic human exchange — a conversation — so simple, yet undeniably profound.

Can you please portal make all over the world! The longer I stayed inside, the more I realized the power of communication especially because people we’re told we shouldn’t communicate with! Art can change the world – and this project is an epic fresh step. Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

We connected with beverage consumers in Mexico City, who told us about their consumption of our products and where they find it in their lives. I could imagine sitting here in the Portal and speaking to a rotation of Portal sites all day, and all over the world, for similar insights.

I have a lot invested in this community. My daughter goes to high school here, I went to high school here. I even was shot in this neighborhood, I lost my brother in this neighborhood…. I’ve been incarcerated before. I’ve been shot. I’ve lost siblings to gang violence and gun violence. I’m a person who a lot of kids look up to in this neighborhood. I have an intimate connection to this neighborhood. And I thought who better to run this Portal than me? And it’s been working wonders for this neighborhood….. We been utilizing the Portal in so many ways and it’s been helping control the violence that goes on in these neighborhoods. It’s been doing a world of a difference. We have made lots of progress on this discussion of criminal justice. So what we’re trying to do is just raising awareness and have been shining a light on the fact that there is a problem of mass incarceration of minorities.

With the proliferation of the novel coronavirus, Morehouse School of Medicine wanted to find a way to celebrate the achievements of our graduates. Shared Studios created a seamless, secure platform that delivered interactivity and inclusiveness. Their client teams helped us build and execute a memorable experience. In a word: flawless.

Amazing, fantastic, memorable experience chatting with Omar. His message - talk with refugees, not about them. Powerful.