Layers of Place is an augmented reality (AR) exhibition that reimagines MIT’s campus as a tapestry of dialogues across time and space, where physical sites and digital spaces reveal hidden histories, stories, and perspectives.
Created by the MIT Open Documentary Lab’s AR and Public Space Artist Collective, this multiyear inquiry explores how digital augmentation can reshape our spatial perceptions, our understanding of place, and our shared histories. This curated collection of location-based AR experiences encourages exploration of often unseen dimensions of MIT’s public spaces—uncovering layers of history from forgotten pasts to overlooked presents and speculative futures. Using Hoverlay, a location-based mobile AR app, MIT’s landscape is transformed into a space for urban annotation—an evolving site of discovery,
reflection, and interaction that bridges personal, communal, historical and a multiplicity of experiences.
Collective Journeys
Visitors can begin their journey at any location, moving freely across MIT’s iconic sites, where geo-located markers and digital overlays activate each experience. Every project is a distinct portal, guiding participants through unique concepts and stories. Yet the true essence of the exhibition emerges from the culmination of these collective journeys. The layers of encounters yield a multifaceted, prismatic viewpoint—capturing diverse perspectives and narratives, and revealing nuanced dimensions of place. Through this collective exploration, the campus transforms into a multidimensional, pluralistic inquiry, delving into themes such as racial justice, historical memory, monuments, environmental stewardship, and the impact of technology on civic life. The importance of plurality is central, presenting eight perspectives on different concepts and viewpoints. In a world that is increasingly polarized and lacking in nuanced perspectives, Layers of Place emphasizes the communal experience. By expanding “public space” to include both the tangible campus environment and the virtual layers accessible through AR, we create a new form of communal experience.
MIT Artfinity Festival: Layers of Place
Feb 28 – Mar 16, 2025
Location: Building 7 Portico
About the Project: The Fovnder’s Pillars is an AR memorial honoring the six enslaved individuals once owned by MIT founder William Barton Rogers. Drawing from six African regions, each represented by a distinct textile and its associated myth, the project weaves decolonial tropes and tales of freedom-making into six videos that fuse classical architecture with African artistry. Activating the pillars, it reclaims space, transforming the façade into a living tribute to the African diaspora’s ancestral roots and confronting the Institute’s legacy of historical injustice.
About the Artists: Meghna Singh and Simon Wood, Cape Town-based artists, investigate colonial and capitalist legacies through decolonial approaches. Their collaborations blend XR, video, and public art. Lesiba Mabitsela, a South African interdisciplinary artist and fashion practitioner, is a founding member of the African Fashion Research Institute.
Location: Infinite Corridor, begin the experience in Lobby 7
About the Project: 1 to Infinity, MIT is a portrait photography series where the goal is to feature one person from the MIT community that is each age—a 1-year-old, 2-year-old, 3, 4, and continuing sequentially. The project began on the first day of the spring semester 2025, and with your help, we can include someone from every age. More information at 1toinfinity.com.
About the Artist: Danny Goldfield’s photography projects use numbers as a way to meet new people and portray a moment in their lives. To Live 10,000 Years portrays two people—both at least 100 years old—from each of the 50 United States, while NYChildren portrays one child from every country on Earth, all living in New York City. He holds an MFA from the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory and works with MIT Mechanical Engineering.
Location: Lawn in front of MIT Stratton Student Center, Building W20
About the Project: Move inside your mind. Moving Memory uses motion capture of dancers, animated objects, and music to invite you to move and play around Jaume Plensa’s sculpture Alchemist. Move to the music, maybe mimicking the animated figures. Take some pictures to keep private or post if you choose using the hashtag #movingmemoryar and #artfinity. Consider what it means to be you, in an enclosure that is both interior and exterior, public and private. What do you intend to remember about this moment? What does a photo capture?
About the Artist: Lori Landay is professor of cultural studies, new media, and visual culture at Berklee College of Music. An interdisciplinary artist-scholar, she explores image, movement, and sound through live performance, video, and extended reality (XR).
Additional Credits: Kanella Benavides, dancer; Kate Warner, dancer; Alissa Cardone, choreography; MIT nano.Immersion Lab, motion capture
