DATALAND is set to open on JUNE 20th, 2026, AT THE GRAND LA
Refik Anadol Studio presents DATALAND, the world’s first Museum of AI Arts, opening on June 20th, 2026, at The Grand LA, a Frank Gehry-designed development in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The project features art experiences blending human imagination and artificial intelligence, establishing a new model for artistic expression at the onset of the digital age.
The 2,320-square-meter institution is designed to feature five distinct galleries and serve as a hub for exploring the creative potential of data and generative systems. In anticipation of its opening, Refik Anadol Studio unveils a first look at Gallery C – Infinity Room, an evolved iteration of one of the studio’s most iconic installations.
As the opening approaches, the studio reveals a first look at Gallery C – Infinity Room, alongside details of the inaugural exhibition Machine Dreams: Rainforest, on view from June 20th, 2026 through January 31st, 2027. The museum marks a full-circle moment for Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, who established their studio in Los Angeles over a decade ago and have since exhibited globally. With DATALAND, their long-term exploration of data-driven art takes on a permanent architectural form.
all images courtesy Refik Anadol Studio
a groundbreaking proposal by Refik Anadol studio
Situated within Los Angeles’ Grand Avenue Cultural District, DATALAND anchors itself among institutions including Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad, and MOCA Los Angeles. The location reinforces the long-standing relationship between the studio and the city, recalling projects such as WDCH Dreams (2018), where large-scale projections transformed Gehry’s concert hall into a dynamic surface of machine-generated memory.
Developed by Related Companies, The Grand LA integrates DATALAND within a broader mixed-use complex that includes the Conrad Los Angeles, residential units, and cultural programming. Designed in collaboration with Gensler and Arup, the museum extends beyond exhibition-making into infrastructure, embedding AI systems directly into its spatial and environmental logic. Central to this vision is the studio’s Large Nature Model, a large-scale AI system trained on ecological data gathered through collaborations with institutions including the Smithsonian and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The model underpins both the museum’s architecture and its inaugural exhibition, enabling real-time interaction between environmental data, machine learning, and visitor presence.
installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026 – January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. Photo: Refik Anadol Studio
INFINITY ROOM OFFERS FIRST GLIMPSE INTO THE PROJECT
Originally developed in 2014 at UCLA, Infinity Room returns at DATALAND as an expanded, multisensory environment. The installation evolves the studio’s early exploration of light and data into a fully immersive system incorporating AI-generated scent and advanced world models capable of simulating physical and spatial dynamics. Over the past decade, the work has been presented in more than 35 cities and experienced by over 10 million visitors. Its latest iteration introduces a deeper integration with the Large Nature Model, offering a preview of the museum’s broader approach: environments that are not static installations but responsive, living systems.
Infinity Room has traveled to 35 cities worldwide and been experienced by more than 10 million visitors
MACHINE DREAMS: RAINFOREST INAUGURATES THE MUSEUM
DATALAND opens with Machine Dreams: Rainforest, an immersive exhibition that unfolds across all five galleries as a narrative exploring the relationship between machine intelligence and the natural world. Drawing on extensive ecological datasets and real-time biofeedback, the project constructs a continuously evolving environment shaped by both planetary systems and human interaction.
The work originates from Anadol and Erkılıç’s experiences in the Amazon rainforest, where encounters with interconnected ecological systems informed the conceptual foundation of the Large Nature Model. Within the exhibition, data becomes a medium for translating invisible environmental processes into sensory form, raising questions around perception, empathy, and the capacity of AI to interpret natural intelligence.
The exhibition integrates cultural knowledge through collaboration with the Yawanawá people, embedding ancestral narratives, naming practices, and soundscapes into the computational framework. In parallel, it registers ecological loss, most notably through the inclusion of the final recorded call of the extinct Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō bird within the Infinity Room.
a first glimpse at Gallery C – Infinity Room
ARTIST RESIDENCY WITH GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE
Alongside its opening, DATALAND launches an Artist Residency Program in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. Over six months, selected artists will develop new projects exploring human–machine collaboration, culminating in public presentations within the museum. The institution also introduces a membership program ahead of its opening, offering early access, preview events, and entry into its digital platforms, including the Living Encyclopedia, where visitors can interact directly with the datasets and AI systems powering the museum.
establishing a new model for artistic expression
DATALAND is set open in June 2026
Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç | image © Dustin Downing
The Grand LA | image © Weldon Brewster
project info:
name: DATALAND
location: The Grand LA, Dowtown Los Angeles | @thegrandla
artist: Refik Anadol Studio | @refikanadol
architects / collaborators: Arup, Gensler
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