About US
Imaginal Airlines facilitates departures that go nowhere and everywhere at once.
We reclaim the familiar ritual of flight, transforming the cabin into a space for deep listening and self-encounter. Through live spatialized sound and embodied practice, we guide communal journeys into the inner landscapes of memory, imagination, and the raw subjective texture of experience (qualia)
Based in Vancouver, we are a collective of musicians, artists, and contemplative practitioners dedicated to the art of inner travel.
Our work includes:
Flight A108: Our flagship immersive experience, a complete airport journey that travels inward.
The Gong Library (our curated instrument collection), and ongoing explorations in sound
FLIGHT A108: The Imaginal Realm
Flight A108 is our flagship immersive experience: a complete airport journey that travels inward. From check-in to landing, you'll move through a transformed space while live musicians guide you through sonic landscapes for inward travel.
THE Flight:
Check-In Welcome to Imaginal Airlines. Our staff greets you, books you in, and issues your personalized boarding and baggage documents. The ritual begins.
Security/Customs A reimagined threshold that prepares you to shift attention inward. Gentle prompts invite reflection on consciousness, memory, and perception, not to answer intellectually, but to prime you for the journey ahead.
Boarding Proceed to the gate area and await your flight. When called, you're guided to your seat in the "aircraft", a space transformed for deep listening. Settle in.
Takeoff & Flight (60 minutes) The safety announcement gives way to live music. Gongs, percussion, and strings create evolving sonic landscapes, guided by our custom animated score projected for the musicians. Your task is simple: listen, feel, and let images, felt senses, and memories surface. The frequencies are shared. The journey you take through them is entirely your own.
Landing The sounds resolve. You return. A moment to ground before re-entering the terminal. Each flight is captured in real-time as a unique sonic mandala, yours to take with you.
DETAILS
Location: East Vancouver
Duration: Approximately 2 ½ hr (full experience from check-in to landing)
What to Bring/Wear:
- Comfortable clothing
- An open mind and willingness to turn inward
- Optional: eye mask, journal, water bottle
- Leave phones and devices in airplane mode
What to Expect:
- Immersive live music (gongs, percussion, strings)
- Guided meditation elements
- Dimmed lighting
- A communal experience designed for personal exploration
- Fresh complimentary tea
Accessibility: Your comfort matters. Contact us about any accessibility needs—mobility, sensory, or otherwise—and we'll work with you to ensure a good experience. The venue has medical-grade air filtration, and ear protection is available if you're sensitive to sound levels.
BOOK YOUR FLIGHT
Upcoming Departures:
March 26, Thursday; March 27, Friday
Check-in: 19:00
Tickets include:
- Full airport experience (check-in through landing)
- Personalized boarding pass
- 60 -minutelive sonic journey
- Digital copy of your flight's unique sonic mandala
Capacity: 30 seats per flight
Questions? Contact us.
Gong Library
The Gong Library (Reflection Room): Housing a curated collection of gongs, cymbals, and resonant instruments, the Gong Library is an emergent process, a living laboratory for investigating and sharing practices of deep listening, sound journeys, and the Imaginal arts.
Our Partners & Community
Our work is not created in isolation. It is part of a vibrant ecosystem of artists, thinkers, and organizations dedicated to exploring new ways of being.
Imaginal Airlines is deeply grateful to collaborate with a community of friends and partners who provide the spaces, tools, resources and inspiration.
We are proud to have worked with:
- Hypha Artists Association
- iAMi SoundSystem
- Muro.studio
- Hadden Park Field House
- Modern Biology
- Low Indigo
- Caroline Ballhorn studio
Support by
- Creative BC
- European Union Digi Grant
Related projects
The Journey
Using the journey as a metaphor to create a liminal space—a powerful "in-between" state where transformation is possible (Turner, 1969). As a personal journey shared in a communal way, the experience is designed to be both light and playful while also holding space for profound self-engagement. It meets participants wherever they are, offering a unique group experience.
The Journey
Using the journey as a metaphor to create a liminal space—a powerful "in-between" state where transformation is possible (Turner, 1969). As a personal journey shared in a communal way, the experience is designed to be both light and playful while also holding space for profound self-engagement. It meets participants wherever they are, offering a unique group experience.