The M+ museum, Asia's global museum of contemporary visual culture, has opened a major exhibition, "Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now." Presented in the M+ West Gallery and other spaces until Jan. 18, 2026, the exhibition showcases 12 immersive, multisensory environments that invite visitors to step inside and experience art with both mind and body.
"Spectral Passage" by Aleksandra Kasuba Photos from M+ museum's official website
The exhibition traces the pioneering role of women artists in developing "environments" — a radical art form that emerged in the mid-1950s and 1960s, combining art, architecture, and design. While these experimental, often-ephemeral works laid the groundwork for today's immersive digital experiences, their female creators have often been overlooked in art historical narratives. "Dream Rooms" directly addresses this gap, celebrating the visionary contributions of women from Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
"Feather Room" by Judy Chicago
The exhibition features nine meticulously reconstructed historical installations. Visitors can walk through a powerful artificial gust of wind in Laura Grisi's "Vento di Sud-Est" or traverse the symbolic life cycle within the rainbow-colored nylon tunnels of Aleksandra Kasuba's "Spectral Passage." The exploration of the body is central to works by Lea Lublin and Lygia Clark, whose environments use transparent tunnels and darkened chambers to evoke processes of reproduction and birth.
Other highlights include Judy Chicago's "Feather Room," an otherworldly, all-white space filled with hundreds of pounds of feathers, and Nanda Vigo's Ambiente cronotopico vivibile, a mirrored, neon-lit portal that marked a step forward in interactive art. The historical section is rounded out by psychologically intense works from Tania Mouraud, a vibrant, inhabitable soft sculpture by Marta Minujín, and a glowing red cube by Yamazaki Tsuruko that revolutionized art experience in 1950s Japan.
"Infinite Memory" by Chiharu Shiota
For its M+ presentation, the exhibition evolves with three compelling new commissions. Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak presents "The House Is Crumbling," an ever-changing environment of Thai khid pillows that visitors are encouraged to deconstruct and rebuild. In the Focus Gallery, Chiharu Shiota's "Infinite Memory" features a cascade of red threads enveloping towering dresses, evoking the female body and its memories. Kimsooja transforms the museum's atrium with "To Breathe," using translucent film to bathe the architectural space in shifting, iridescent light.
"'Dream Rooms' brings to light a vital yet overlooked chapter in art history," said co-curators Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese. "These pioneering artists have fundamentally transformed how we experience art."
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Tuesday to Thursday, and weekends); 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday)
Dates: Until Jan. 18, 2026
Venue: M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong
