Portal will be kept at LOVE Park or moved to City Hall courtyard. You will be able to choose with an online vote

The permanent location for the Portal video art installation will be decided by an online vote between LOVE Park, where it debuted in October, or the City Hall courtyard.

The announcement of the vote and the two locations was made by Portals project director Joe Callahan during a brief livestream Thursday afternoon.

People can visit voteportals.org to choose.

The Portal was turned back on last week after having been disconnected and covered with a tarp since early February following at least two vandalism incidents.

Callahan said Thursday that universities, private organizations, and city government departments had expressed interest in hosting the permanent location.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker “stated that the Portal is to stay on Philadelphia property,” Callahan said Thursday. “So, therefore, the city properties are the limited locations for which the portal will find its next resting place.”

The City Hall courtyard is the central area surrounded by the City Hall building and is accessible from four entrances. Callahan said the other choice is the “original LOVE Park location,” which would be closer to the LOVE sculpture. The Portal is currently located near the southwest corner of LOVE Park.

Callahan has said the installation will remain at least through America’s 250th birthday in 2026.

Nicolas Klaus, a spokesperson for Portals.org, which represents the artist who created the Portals concept, has said the “artistic intent” is for the Portal to remain in Philadelphia beyond that as a “permanent landmark.”

The Portal debuted in October at LOVE Park with live images from Dublin, Ireland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland.

The Portals project was created by Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys, and the inaugural installation was set up in 2021, connecting Lithuania to Poland.