Arcade Pop-Up

A temporary video game, art and music venue will open its doors in Manhattan on 42nd Street and 3rd Avenue next to Grand Central on October 4. (At least if we all together pledge the modest 6,000 dollar needed to create this place.) The new venue is an initiative of Babycastles, in conjunction with Showpaper.


Babycastles has a broad tradition in organizing cultural manifestations around the art of video gaming. Their primary goal is to establish independently developed video games as a viable form of social culture for New York City and its youth. Their statement:

“There are diverse explorations of play, statement, format, enjoyment, and development of games, often unpublished and barely acknowledged even by most game enthusiasts. By presenting six consecutive 2-week exhibitions of independent video games at the center of New York, Babycastles is looking forward to showcasing international game development to a wide audience of game enthusiasts, students, press, curators, children, and especially to an audience that may never otherwise encounter the variety of activity in video game culture.”


Pop-up venues like this one play a significant role in the development of innovative cultural scenes as they offer temporary places. It’s interesting to see how digital design and video games are getting more widely accepted as being a cultural phenomenon over last years. Apparently a historical reference is needed to accept the cultural significance.