For somebody staying in Mumbai and having braved its monsoons year after year, if I was to be told that I could stand under a downpour without getting wet, I would probably laugh at them. When I was informed about the Rain Room in Sharjah, where such a phenomenon happens, my expression must have been of pure disbelief. At the permanent art installation placed at the Sharjah Art Foundation, motion sensors on the ceiling prevent the water droplets from falling on you, clearing a sort of path, roughly six foot in radius. The immersive installation by Random International brings together technology, art and nature as one walks through the downpour without getting wet in the darkened underground space. On a recent visit to Sharjah, I had the opportunity to undertake the almost surreal experience which was truly one-of-a-kind. After Hrs spoke to HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), to tell us more about it...

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Can you tell us more about the Rain Room?

Random International have long worked at the intersection of art, technology and nature and have always aimed to explore the human condition in an increasingly mechanised world. Their work generally centres on audience interaction. Plans to bring the Rain Room to Sharjah permanently have been underway since 2012, when the installation was first on view at the Barbican’s Curve gallery in London. Sharjah’s Rain Room invites you to walk through a downpour of continuous rain without getting wet. Motion sensors detect the movements of the human body as visitors navigate through the darkened underground space.

The project has earlier been displayed in places like London, Shanghai, Los Angeles and New York. What are the kind of reactions it received there?

Sharjah’s Rain Room marks the Middle East premiere and the first permanent installation of this work. The work has previously been on view at the Barbican, London (2012); Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (2013); Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2015) and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles (2015–2017). All iterations of the Rain Room have been met with enthusiasm by audiences. In New York, for example, when the installation was put on view at MoMA, lines to get in ran for three or four hours, sometimes longer, with a total of over 70,000 visitors.

Why was it decided that the permanent installation will be kept in Sharjah? 

As Sharjah Art Foundation has always worked across the city and emirate of Sharjah, Rain Room’s location in Al Majarrah Park is in keeping with the foundation’s commitment to local and surrounding communities. Rain Room has encouraged further public participation and engagement and increased dialogue between the foundation and local neighbourhoods. Watching the engagement of the audience with the installation has been exciting. The public response has been remarkable.

The Rain Room is permanently sited in Al Majarrah, Sharjah. Tickets are sold online and at the venue. Timing are Saturday–Thursday, 9 am-9 pm and Friday, 4 pm-11 pm.