Even as debates over AI’s role in the art world continue to rage, Turkish artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç of Refik Anadol Studio have established DATALAND, billed as the world’s first museum dedicated to AI art and a new platform for exploring how machine intelligence can transform data into immersive artistic experiences.
Located at The Grand LA, a Frank Gehry-designed complex in downtown Los Angeles, DATALAND opened on June 20, 2026, with “Machine Dreams: Rainforest”, an inaugural exhibition drawing on real-time rainforest data around the world and visitor interactions. Combining visuals, light, sound and scent, the omni-sensory experience uses wearable biosensors to capture visitors’ biometric data and shape evolving artworks that explore the intersection of nature, technology and human perception.
“For 5,000 years humans have been emotionally moved by artworks, but the relationship has always flowed in one direction,” Anadol, co-founder and artistic director, points out. “While developing DATALAND we asked ourselves, ‘Is it possible for artworks to feel us back?’ We dreamed of a place where audience and artwork could merge, creating a feedback loop of collective emotion. Through collaborations with extraordinary innovators, and technologies woven directly into the architecture itself, that dream has now become reality.”
Designed in collaboration with design firm Gensler, with engineering by environment consultancy Arup and strategic support from Constellation Immersive, the museum spans approximately 3,000 square metres across five galleries. Its centrepiece is Refik Anadol Studio’s Large Nature Model (LNM), an open-access AI model trained exclusively on nature data, sourced through partnerships with leading scientific and cultural institutions including the Smithsonian, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Getty, iNaturalist, and London’s Natural History Museum, and first-hand research across 16 rainforests worldwide.
Visitors can choose to wear two devices: a medical-grade wristband developed with Empatica, a leader in digital health and wearable technology, that measures heart rate, skin temperature and conductivity to capture physiological responses; and a neck-worn device developed by L’Oréal Luxe that delivers a personalised scent experience.
Each biosensor carries a unique two-digit code, enabling physiological signals to interact with real-time environmental data and shape evolving artworks. To protect privacy, the museum ensures that all data remains anonymous unless voluntarily claimed through a My.Dataland account. It is never shared with third parties, can be deleted at any time, and is automatically erased after 30 days if unclaimed. The scent-diffusion technology also ensures that fragrance dissipates instantly without leaving residue on visitors or the surrounding environment.
A highlight of the exhibition is “Latent Forest” in the Data Pavilion, an immersive digital landscape generated by AI from ecological data collected across rainforests worldwide. Projected imagery and spatial sound evolve in real time in response to environmental data and visitors’ movements and biometric signals, making each experience unique to the people in the space.
The Infinity Room features “The Dream of Ruwe Pinu”, a 360-degree immersive installation combining AI-generated rainforest imagery, a translucent hummingbird, and spatial sound. Inspired by a dream Refik Anadol had while staying with the Yawanawá Indigenous community in the Amazon, the hummingbird guides visitors through a virtual rainforest. The soundscape incorporates the recorded call of the last known male Kaua, captured in 1987, whose unanswered mating call evokes the loss of biodiversity.
In the Latent Gallery, visitors can explore the Large Nature Model’s ecological datasets and experiment with AI-powered tools. The Thinking Brush turns hand gestures into evolving digital paintings, while Fluid Pigments translates body movements into dynamic visual forms. The gallery also features Data.Chocolate, an edible data sculpture developed with Valerie Confections, translating rainforest and cacao data into a four-piece chocolate tasting experience.
The journey concludes in the Sanctuary, a contemplative space centred on a 30-foot digital painting shaped by visitors’ collective biometric data. Rainforest soundscapes, musical traditions connected to the Yawanawá community, and the scent of the Amazonian moonflower which blooms for just one night each year combine to create an evolving, multisensory experience.
DATALAND’s five galleries combine 1.5 billion pixels across displays developed with Epson, LG Electronics and custom LED systems. The Data Pavilion uses 84 Epson 4K projectors synchronised by Scalable technology to create seamless imagery across curved surfaces. The Infinity Room, meanwhile, features immersive LED displays across its walls, ceiling and floor. Throughout the museum, 1,577 custom 10K LED panels cover approximately 325 square metres, complemented by 28 LG displays.
Sound is another essential element of the museum’s immersive experience. Its 250-speaker system, powered by L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology, weaves together original music by composer and sound designer Kerim Karaoglu, the layered sounds of the rainforest, and sacred healing songs of the Yawanawá, creating an enveloping soundscape that shifts and unfolds in real time.
To support the future of AI art, the Large Nature Model runs entirely on Google Cloud infrastructure in Oregon, where 87 per cent of energy comes from carbon-free sources. The museum states that each visitor’s artwork iteration consumes roughly the equivalent of one smartphone charge, reflecting its aim to expand artistic possibilities while minimising environmental impact.
“Collaborating across disciplines has always shaped how we think and create; it is inseparable from our way of being,” Erkılıç explained. “Our own practice emerges from the convergence of art, science, and technology – a collaboration of complex intelligences to develop a collective memory based on shared knowledge. At DATALAND, we honour that complexity by highlighting the many minds, processes, and intelligences that have been animating our vision for years.”
If you go:
- DATALAND is located at The Grand LA, Grand Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles, USA.
- The inaugural exhibition “Machine Dreams: Rainforest” continues until January 31, 2027
- It can be enjoyed from Tuesday to Sunday.
- Standard admission is $49–$79 (approximately THB 1,600–2,600).
- For more information, visit www.dataland.art.
