immersive experience project
Funded by the City of Bellingham and Tourism to enhance Downtown activation & beautification, Paper Whale is activating vacant storefronts in our City center.
The Immersive Experience Project
Like a vacant house, vacant storefronts are challenging for an urban neighborhood. We want people to feel the vibrancy of city life, pedestrians moving between businesses and accepting invitations to explore new possibilities for our future. So, we asked ourselves, why let these spaces sit empty?
We present "The Immersive Experience Project," a project born from the brain of Paper Whale (inspired by the Art House Project in Japan), a moment in time with a goal to utilize vacant spaces in the interim during (what we hope to be) a short-term vacancy. Each immersive experience is temporary, inspiring our community to take pause and look more closely, while also helping property owners secure a long-term tenant.​​
Dive Into the Experience
Launching in Spring 2025, Paper Whale has matched four artist proposals with four vacancies in downtown Bellingham, challenging each local artist to transform a vacant storefront into an alternate reality. Several public openings will include:
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May 2, 5:00 - 9:00pm | Opening Release Party & First Friday Art Walk (all locations; FREE)
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May 9, 5:30 - 9:00 pm | Wine Walk (1329 N. State)
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June 6, 5:00 - 9:00pm | First Friday Art Walk (all locations; FREE)
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June 7 | Punk Rock Prom (1015 N. State, alley level): all ages, $10 cover at door
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June 20 | Ticketed event, details TBA (1015 N. State, main level and alley level)
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July 3, 5:00 - 9:00pm | First Thursday* Art Walk (*holiday weekend) (all locations; FREE)
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July 16 | Movie Night: The Labyrinth (1015 N. State, alley level): FREE, bring a lawn chair
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July 19 | Rose Reverie (1329 N. State): details TBA
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July 23 | Luminous Sounds (215 Prospect)
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July 25 | HALO LAN Party (1015 N. State, alley level): details TBA
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July 30 | Luminous Sounds (215 Prospect)​
More release dates announced soon!​​​ Follow Paper Whale on Instagram to track new event dates as they go live. During First Friday Art Walks, look for the sandwich board signs on the sidewalk outside of each immersive location.
The Immersive Spaces
Each of the four Immersive Experience Projects are temporary pop-up galleries, and the spaces they are occupying are FOR LEASE, so we encourage you to visit them before they're gone—like all good things in life, opportunities like these come and go.
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Digital Extrusions | 1015 N. State St. (main street entrance) | Leasing contact
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The Age of Nostalgia | 1015 N. State St. (alley entrance) | Leasing contact
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Sylvan Passage | 1329 N. State St. | For Leasing info, contact (360) 676-4866
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Luminous Growth | 215 Prospect St. | Leasing contact
Digital Extrusions is a three-dimensional artwork that explores the realm of holographics. Working with sheer fabrics suspended in space, combined with projected motion graphics, this work brings 2D digital art into real three-dimensional space; blurring the lines between our digital worlds and our real life experiences.
The core is a mirrored infinity space, creating a fully immersive environment that expands beyond physical boundaries. At the heart of the installation is a towering stack of 30 CRT televisions, forming a sculptural media shrine.
Combining three interactive light sculptures, Luminous Growth transports you into a glowing forest of fungi and slime mold. Each piece reacts to your presence and the forest communes with and around you. The combination of these three pieces into one space creates an immersive environment that can be enjoyed by all ages.
A multi-sensory installation blending play, nature, folklore, surrealism, and transporting music. Guests of all ages drift through the enchanting striped fabric passages, surrounded by mist and projections of cedar tree forests. Soft blue-green light fills the shifting and billowing environment. A white rabbit guides the way, leading through the dimensions of the three unique spaces.
Meet the Artists
Remsbecher is an artist who works across varying mediums of paint, plaster, photography, sound and light. Pulling from his profession as a designer and builder, Matt explores a variety of techniques and ideas that range from the minimal to the ethereal; organic forms found through materialism, repetition and light. @largr_ Setia is an emerging visual artist based out of Seattle, Washington, exploring the intersection between the human condition and technology. @sourcedbysahana
Barrett Lizza is an artist drawn to the forgotten and the strange, piecing together worlds from discarded relics and weathered curiosities. Based in Bellingham, Washington, he works with whatever he can salvage—antiques, oddities, fragments of the past—giving them new life through sculptures, installations, and assembly art that feel both haunting and familiar. His work leans into the uncanny, where beauty and decay tangle together.
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Ron L Smith, II, creating art as OctoEyes, is a Seattle-based artist known for his captivating sculptures that often integrate light, fire, and interactive elements. Inspired by the spectacle of Burning Man, OctoEyes embarked on a transformative journey, transitioning from creating smaller-scale ceramic works to crafting larger sculptures that engage and captivate audiences.
Ms. Tide Walker is a designer specializing in immersive environments that merge historical narratives, architecture, and human interaction. With a background in product design, jewelry, accessories, and clothing, as well as a degree in Art History, her work bridges the past and present, crafting spaces that are both visually striking and deeply experiential.
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