Color Factory is a pop-up museum dedicated to the celebration of color found through life like food, light, sound, dance. It originated in California and made its way to the big apple this summer. I only recently heard of it as I seem to not be able to keep up with so many new pop-ups and happenings as I get older. It's hard! Which is funny because we live in the age of social media where news can reach your fingertips in a matter of seconds after it happens now, rather than next day news or next month. With so many "live" feeds, you can even learn things as they happen.
Anyway, I made my way down to this new exhibition a few weeks ago when it first opened up. I went into this not knowing what it was so I had no expectations, honestly, and I actually ended up really enjoying this experience. You can tell a lot of thought and work went into this and there's a method to the madness in each and every room. Each room is made by different artists all around NYC and each room is dedicated to and inspired by a different location in NYC, making this pop-up uniquely curated to its own city, and not just a repeat copy of the California version. I love that they collaborated with so many local artists to bring this all together. Each room had it's own story and fun uniqueness to it. And the bold explosions of color drew me in completely since I've always lived my life in such rich color. I rarely like to wear black because color is so much more fun. Sure, black goes with everything, but what's the fun in that?
There are approximately 14 rooms to experience here, although there's probably more backdrops and photo ops than that altogether. It's a big area and many rooms and they make use of every space in the exhibit. Even the hallways you wait in are utilized to not waste any space. There are different treats and little souvenirs along the way; you get mochi, macarons, raspberry soda, gummy candy, and gelato as part of your edibles, and buttons, coasters, postcard, and a souvenir of your choice in the shape of a pin, keychain, pencil, ruler, and other cute unique collectibles.
Upon entering, you actually sign up for a QR card which you keep throughout the exhibit and use to take photo-ops at designated spots, which get instantly emailed to you for instant upload and posting. I liked this feature a lot since not everyone visits these things with an entourage, nor do they have an awesome sister on hand to be your IG boyfriend and take awesome photos for you. It's a simple feature but I love that they had this for guests to utilize. And there were plenty of them located throughout the space to collect a decent amount of photos.
One of my favorite rooms was actually the drawing room. You sit in a jail-like telephone booth, across from your partner and listen to a series of instructions on what to draw about the person you're sitting across from and what colors you see. If you don't have a partner, they pair you up with someone. It's interesting to see what the other person sees and what they end up drawing. It was a different experience for once from a pop-up that was more than just a photo-op and actually interactive. I wish more pop-ups had unique ideas and varied activities like this.
Color Factory is located at 251 Spring Street in the Soho area of NYC, which is one of my favorite shopping areas. There's also many good food places nearby to grab a quick bite or to even sit down and have a nice meal so it was pretty nice that this pop up wasn't out of the way of my usual path. I would say Color Factory is definitely one of the better pop-ups I've visited thus far, and not necessarily a cheap IG trap. The rooms are well done and well spaced between each other - it didn't feel like a bunch of random shit just thrown together for shits and giggles. You can even stop by without paying the pop-up fee and ask for the free map they have showcasing each part of NYC that helped inspire the exhibit, and go on your own Color Factory journey. The fun doesn't stop at the end of the pop-up! It inspired me to continue living my life in full, loud, and bold color.