Sleepers was installed at the entrance of the 21c Museum/Hotel in spring 2005 as a permanent installation. When deciding on the name of the hotel, the title Sleepers was considered before landing on the name "21c."

Produced by Galerie de France and MK2, Sleepers is Abbas Kiarostami’s first video installation, and it was first shown on the occasion of the 2001 Venice Biennale. Running 1 hour 34 minutes, the video depicts a man and woman in bed, asleep in the early hours of the morning. As time passes, the city life begins to stir, and the ambient sound of traffic and noise on the street gradually increases. The couple’s movements are minimal. The observer is left as a voyeur yet remains neutral. From the Kiarostami Foundation https://www.kiarostami.org/installations