The Orange Lounge includes a flexible project space for large-scale projections, a lounge area with a variety of different seating configurations for viewing works on monitors, and plasma screens plus a listening station to experience audio works. A retail space will also offer a special selection of items related to digital culture for purchase.

The space, designed by Bauer & Wiley Architects, integrates art, technology, and architecture to create a unique experience for the visitor, expanding the viewing of media art beyond sitting on a bench in a dark room or at a traditional workstation. The design of the Orange Lounge seeks to address this viewer-object relationship by providing a variety of kinesthetic and social settings for interaction. Both the domestic and public spheres serve as inspiration for the viewing strategies, each suggesting different levels of privacy and group participation, as well as varying the viewer's body position in relation to the work.

The space evolved from the inherent contradictions involved in designing a nontraditional museum gallery in a retail complex. The lounge context evokes familiar settings - such as the kitchen table, the bed, and the conversation pit - while offering fresh perspectives on traditional media art viewing. The viewing landscape, in concert with the retail area, encourages users to access media art, creating an inviting transition between casual shopping and the activities in the Orange Lounge.

Orange Lounge design and construction funded by the Segerstrom Foundation. Major support for the Orange Lounge programs is provided by the James Irvine Foundation. Technical support provided by Integrated Media Systems.

Orange Lounge design and construction funded by the Segerstrom Foundation. Major support for the Orange Lounge programs is provided by the James Irvine Foundation. Technical support provided by Integrated Media Systems.

Orange Lounge Programs and Resources

The Orange Lounge will present solo and group exhibitions and special events featuring artist demonstrations, performances, and discussions that investigate the impact of digital media on contemporary visual culture. Exhibitions during the Orange Lounge's first year will introduce a range of exciting and innovative video, audio, and new media works. From real-time computer-generated moving images, to room-sized video installations, to artworks based strictly on the Web, the Orange Lounge will be a dynamic site for exploring and interacting with the world of new media art.

Orange Video

Orange Lounge visitors can view the Orange County Museum of Art's Orange Video, a viewer-navigated menu with access to the museum's growing collection of single-channel videos by artists such as Douglas Gordon, Gary Hill, Joan Jonas, William Kentridge, Christian Marclay, Paul McCarthy, Nam June Paik, Pipilotti Rist, and William Wegman.

Orange Lounge Website

The Orange Lounge website connects you to online exhibitions, new media resources, and global news postings. View announcements about current and upcoming exhibitions and programs in the Orange Lounge. The Orange Lounge website is designed by Amy Franceshini and David Lu of Futurefarmers, a new media collective. To learn more about this global collective, visit www.futurefarmers.com.

Partnership with the Beall Center for Art and Technology

The museum will partner with the Beall Center for Art and Technology at the University of California, Irvine, on selected projects in the Orange Lounge. Established in 2000 within UCI's Clair Trevor School of the Arts, the Beall Center is a research and exhibition center that explores new relationships among the arts, sciences, and engineering, promoting new forms of creation and expression using digital technologies.

About the Orange County Museum of Art

The Orange County Museum of Art is the premier visual arts museum in Orange County, California, serving a population of nearly three million residents in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. The museum's main facility is in Newport Beach with a satellite gallery, the Orange Lounge, Southern California's New Media Space, at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The museum's program of dynamic solo exhibitions and landmark group shows links historical and contemporary art and ideas, bridges local and global perspectives, and embraces a diverse array of cultural activities and media. The museum is dedicated to engaging diverse audiences by providing creative commentary and illuminating dialogue on issues in our society through the arts.