The MIT campus came alive with artistic energy on March 13 as Artfinity — the Institute’s new festival celebrating creativity and community — took over multiple venues with interactive experiences, exhibitions, and performances.
Artfinity participants created their own paths through interconnected artistic encounters across campus, exploring everything from augmented reality (AR) experiences in the Infinite Corridor to innovative musical performances at the Media Lab. The events were designed to build upon each other, allowing visitors to flow naturally between locations while experiencing a range of creative expressions.
Daytime offerings included several exhibitions: Coloring with Wide Tim at the Welcome Center; “Golden Cargo: Conquest of the Tropics” at the ACT Gallery, examining the complex history of the United Fruit Company; two exhibitions at the List Visual Arts Center — “List Projects 31: Kite” and “Pedro Gómez-Egaña: The Great Learning”; and “Mission Control” at the Media Lab. Throughout the day, the “Layers of Place” AR experience revealed hidden histories and perspectives on the pillars of Building 7, “The Alchemist” sculpture, and the Infinite Corridor.
The MIT Museum served as the hub for the evening with its After Dark series, featuring a talk on technology in art by the Media Lab’s Critical Matter group director and award-winning designer Behnaz Farahi (whose large projection on MIT’s dome, “Gaze to the Stars,” was on view later that evening), alongside galleries showcasing faculty works, including Rania Ghosn’s “Cosmograph,” Azra Akšamija’s “Hallucinating Traditions,” and other new exhibitions featuring work from the Media Lab. Throughout the museum, visitors engaged with interactive activities ranging from flash portrait sessions to textile design.
As evening progressed, the campus transformed with performances and installations. The Media Lab hosted Moving Music, premiering two unusual works: “Here…NOW” by Ana Schon and “MAICE” by Tod Machover, a new piece for renowned marimba player Ji Hye Jung. Large-scale projections also illuminated campus buildings, including “Creative Lumens,“ where students transformed the exteriors of the new Linde Music Building, the MIT Chapel, and Zesiger Center with vibrant projections.
Additional events that evening included Argus Installation, exploring the interplay of light and hand-blown glass at the MIT Museum Studio; the Welcome Center’s speed networking for artists and creatives followed by All Our Relations, where MIT’s Indigenous community brought native and non-native people together for song, dance, and story; and a film screening at the Open Space Screen, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Laura Anderson Barbata’s “Intervention: Ocean Blues.”
Attendance topped 1,000 on campus that evening, with many more viewing the large-scale art projections as passersby. Artfinity continues through May 2 and will have featured more than 80 free performing and visual arts events celebrating creativity and community at MIT.