Recently, The National announced the opening of the permanent installation, The Rain Room.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 This immersive exhibit, launched in 2012 was created by Random International, and seen all over the world, has found its permanent home in, of all places, Sharjah.\u00a0 My curiosity completely piqued, I decided to take advantage of easier traffic patterns during Ramadan, and convinced Hubs we were in need of some culture last Saturday morning.\u00a0 \u00a0Having had at least one friend who attempted to visit earlier (and wasn’t able to), I realized it was in our best interest to buy tickets in advance (and I’m very glad we did).\u00a0 Fortunately, when I logged on the evening before, there were still 3 tickets available for my preferred timing.\u00a0 Tickets are a very reasonable AED25 per person (students are AED15).\u00a0 Given our appointment was scheduled for 10 AM, but we really didn’t go in until 10:10 and the sessions are in 15 minute blocks, I would highly suggest booking the first session of the day.\u00a0 I have a feeling that much like a doctor’s office, things get delayed as the day goes on.\u00a0 As someone who particularly hates waiting (quelle surprise<\/i>), the decision is up to you.\u00a0 Tickets can be purchased on the spot, however, be prepared for disappointment\u00a0or a long wait — especially on the weekends.<\/p>\n

So, I rarely (if ever) spend time in Sharjah, such that the drive was a bit of a novelty for me.\u00a0 More surprising, the location is bang in the middle of a regular area of town.\u00a0 There is no signage (on the building or near the building), nor is this any sort of cultural center in the city.\u00a0 While I thought the placement was strange, my urban planner husband thought it was an entirely good use of space, and was impressed by how seamlessly the pavilion was integrated into the paving around us (he literally took pictures of how carefully it was aligned).\u00a0 A note for those visiting — there is no dedicated parking, so you’ll have to try and find local parking nearby (again, probably a good reason to go earlier rather than later, and on a weekend, if you can schedule it).<\/p>\n

Anyway, after a bit of back and forth with our tickets (apparently, my phone screen, complete with e-mail from the Sharjah Art Foundation with confirmation details was almost not enough – !), we were escorted down a small ramp to the Rain Room itself.\u00a0 With a single bright light guiding the way, our host invited us to walk forward into the rain — but to do so slowly, as the sensors above are good, but not quite enough to keep you dry if you run through the exhibit.\u00a0 \u00a0I’ll admit, it’s a real leap of faith to take a step forward into the rain (be it real or fake) and expect not to get wet.\u00a0 Of course, living in the desert, playing in the rain is more of a novelty than it is just about anywhere else in the world.\u00a0 Furthermore, when you’re in the exhibit, it entirely takes over your senses.\u00a0 As in, you forget about the rest of the world and things just sort of fall away.\u00a0 I honestly can’t think of the last time an experience so completely removed me from reality.<\/p>\n

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Getting our art on this morning.<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Courtney Brandt<\/a> (@cbrandtwright) on May 25, 2018 at 11:50pm PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n