Cover image for 'Layers of Place' documentary featuring Austin cityscape with overlay of colorful, distorted layers of buildings. The title 'Layers of Place Austin' is prominently displayed. A hand holding a phone with a similar layered, black-and-white cityscape and green leaf graphic. Logo for SXSW Film & TV Festival 2026 at the bottom.
Logo of MacArthur Foundation with the words 'MacArthur Foundation' in blue and green text.
Hoverlay logo with a stylized orange flower and the word 'hoverlay' in gray text.
Ford Foundation and JustFilms logos
Three colorful, stylized number 9s with a yellow, blue, and red color scheme.
The image contains a dark gray rectangular bar on a brown background.
Close-up of a coffee cup with a latte art in the shape of a heart.

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.

MIT Open Documentary Lab logo with text and play button design.
Silhouette of a woman with long hair standing in front of a sunset over mountains.

MIT OPEN DOCUMENTARY LAB PRESENTS

Layers of Place: Austin

A civic AR exhibition transforming Austin’s public spaces into portals for memory, dialogue, and imagination—bringing Austin communities into relationship with six site-specific artworks through commissioned poetry, participatory workshops, and collective engagement.

Explore the Experience ↓

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.

What

These experiences are found across various public spaces in Austin. Scroll and read more for more information.

Where

A close-up view of a large, pale yellowish-green ball with a smooth surface, positioned in the bottom left corner of the image against a black background.

Layers of Place: Austin explores Austin as a cultural and creative destination rooted in local culture, rather than imported narratives. Each site-specific AR installation acts as a portal into Austin’s layered pasts and presents while offering visitors a chance to participate and contribute.

Why

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO EXPLORE ON YOUR OWN

Learn more about the projects, their locations, and how to experience them by clicking the buttons below.

Experience

Projects & Locations Know Before You Go

Explore six location-based augmented reality artworks situated across Austin’s public spaces. Each project invites a different encounter with place—bringing overlooked histories, lived experiences, and possible futures into view. Select a project to learn more about the artists, artwork, its location, and the local engagement surrounding it. Click on each card to learn more.

A beige or light brown rectangular object with a raised button or lid on top.

Projects & Locations

Encountering Past, Present, and Possibility

SEAHOLM LAWN

Humble Monuments

By: Nadav Assor, Rashin Fahandej, Joanna Wright

Inspired by Kate Brown’s Tiny Gardens Everywhere, this experience reimagines overlooked patches of urban ecology as living monuments to coexistence, resilience, and climate futures. 

Read more

A garden with green plants, yellow flowers, and white daisies, with a house and trees in the background, and the text 'humble monuments' overlayed.

400 SAN ANTONIO ST

Open Access Memorial

By: Yucef Merhi

An AR memorial experience honoring Aaron Swartz, internet pioneer, activist, and advocate for open access.

Read more

A computer-generated image of a building with a door, a sink, and a large pipe overhead, resembling a restroom or utility room. The image has a 'Open Access Memorial' stamp across the bottom.

REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK

ORYZA: Healing Ground

By: Tamara Shogaolu

An AR artwork using a custom-built AI archival system, sound, and quilt-inspired visuals to explore Black land stewardship, agricultural knowledge, and the global erasure of Black histories.

Read more

A colorful person's face partially hidden among vibrant, lush plants and flowers.

600 W 2ND ST

Moving Memory

By: Lori Landay

Using AR to extend the world of New Public Art’s interactive artwork Kempelen’s Owls, Moving Memory bridges nature and technology, the geometric and the organic, the seen and the hidden.

Read more

A large artistic sculpture of a cat with glowing eyes and the words "Moving Memory" on it, with colorful animated figure sculptures around it in an urban setting.

TEX STATE CAPITOL, N ENTRENCE

The Founder’s Pillars

By: Meghna Singh, Simon Wood

A site-responsive AR memorial that transforms neoclassical pillars into living canvases overlaid with African textile patterns.

Read more

The Texas State Capitol building with a Texas flag on top, columns, and a rounded dome with a statue on top, under a blue sky with a few clouds.

SEAHOLM LAWN

Paper Boat

By: Mathieu Pradat, Sahar Sajadieh

A site-specific, interactive AR game and art work that stages the climate crisis as an embodied, playable experience.

Read more

A simple illustration of a small paper boat floating on water with the words "Paper Boat" written above.
A beige-colored background with a large beige circle inside a white square in the foreground.

Know Before You Go

Hoverlay How-To

New to Hoverlay? Click below and scan the code to download the app and experience the art works. 

Download App ↓

  • Bring a fully charged phone (or power bank)

  • Go early morning or evening (light is best then)

  • Download Hoverlay app before venturing out

Tips

Six Austin poets were commissioned to spend deep time with the artworks, creating an original poem in response to each project. Follow their poetic traces through memory, history, and the living present.

Abstract geometric shapes, including a large cream circle and black shapes on a black background.

CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT

Traces

Poets & Poems Events & Workshops Press & Media Coverage

Poets & Poems

  • Nighttime scene of a woman in a brown jacket standing next to a red and white barricade with an illuminated lush green foliage background.

    C. Rees

    Poet, Paper Boat

    Bio
    Poem

  • A young man with curly hair, glasses, and a black baseball cap, sitting at a carnival at night. Bright, colorful games and tents are visible in the background.

    August Smith

    Poet, Open Access Memorial

    Bio
    Poem

  • A woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes standing in a cluttered room, wearing a blue jacket and a silver chain necklace. The room has bookshelves, a heart-shaped mosaic art piece, and various decorative items.

    Sara Roma

    Poet, Moving Memory

    Bio
    Poem

  • A woman with curly hair looking at the camera with a slight smile, wearing a black sleeveless top.

    Prudence Arceneaux

    Poet, ORYZA

    Bio
    Poem

  • A person with short hair and glasses sitting in front of a bookshelf filled with colorful books, resting their head on their hand, wearing a yellow shirt and bracelets.

    drea brown

    Poet, Founders Pillars

    Bio
    Poem

  • Young woman with curly red hair and tattoos on her arms, sitting against a blue curtain background, looking upward with an expressive face.

    Sarah Matthes

    Poet, Humble Monuments

    Bio
    Poem

Events & Workshops

coming soon


Layers of Place: Austin | Press Kit

Variety | SXSW 2026 Lineup Includes ‘Ready or Not 2,’ David E. Kelley’s ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ | By Brent Lang

Do512 | Layers of Place: Austin (OFFICIAL) | By Do512

Agog Newsletter | XR for Good at SXSW: Projects, Panels, and What We’re Watching | By Agog Newsletter

Voices of VR | Preview of SXSW XR Experience 2026 with Blake Kammerdiener | By Kent Bye

Glasstire | AR as Accessible Storytelling: “Layers of Place: Austin” | By Sarah Vazquez

Press & Media Coverage

Circle diagram showing three segments labeled 'Type', 'Category', and 'Different' with an arrow pointing to 'Different'.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT

Artists & Collaborators

Learn more about the artists co-creating Layers of Place, Austin

MIT Artists Collaborators Production Team
A black desk lamp with a beige lampshade on a wooden desk, with a laptop, a potted plant, and a mug nearby.

MIT Artists

  • A middle-aged man with short dark hair, some gray, and a light beard, wearing a beige jacket over a white T-shirt, standing against a plain gray background.

    Simon Wood

    The Founder’s Pillars

    Bio

  • A woman with long dark hair and fair skin, wearing a black sweater and standing outdoors with a blurred background of trees.

    Meghna Singh, PhD

    The Founder’s Pillars

    Bio

  • A woman with curly blonde hair looking at the camera with projected light patterns on her face and chest, wearing a black top.

    Rashin Fahandej

    Humble Monuments

    Bio

  • A man with glasses and a beard standing outdoors, surrounded by vibrant pink bougainvillea flowers on a sunny day.

    Nadav Assor

    Humble Monuments

    Bio

  • A woman with shoulder-length curly gray hair looking directly at the camera, wearing a black top with a colorful pattern, in a room with framed pictures on the wall.

    Joanna Wright

    Humble Monuments

    Bio

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown and gray hair, smiling, wearing a blue top, against a neutral background.

    Lori Landay

    Moving Memory

    Bio

  • Portrait of a man with a beard and mustache wearing a black collared shirt against a light gray background.

    Yucef Murhi

    Open Access Memorial

    Bio

  • A woman with braided hair, wearing a headband, earrings, a nose ring, and layered necklaces, smiling outdoors.

    Tamara Shogaolu

    ORYZA: Healing Ground

    Bio

  • Man with gray hair, beard, and glasses standing with arms crossed in front of a red background and a lion logo.

    Mathieu Pradat

    Paper Boat

    Bio

  • Close-up of a young woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes, smiling softly, against a plain background.

    Sahar Sajadieh

    Paper Boat

    Bio

Gary Watkins | "Do the Owls Still Spin" & Moving Memory Collaborator
Danielle Ndubisi | ORYZA: Healing Ground Collaborator
Iona Minshew | Open Access Memorial Collaborator
Juan Andres Cisneros | Open Access Memorial Collaborator
Paarth Dewan | Open Access Memorial Collaborator
Leo Briggs | Moving Memory Collaborator
Adrian Aguilera | Founders Pillars Collaborator
Cash Kelly | Moving Memory & Humble Monuments Collaborator
Festival Beach Food Forest | Humble Monuments Collaborator
Meg Wood | Humble Monuments Collaborator

Special Thanks to Our Collaborators

Production Team

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with short, curly gray hair outdoors.

    Sarah Wolozin

    Executive Producer

    Bio

  • A woman with short brown hair wearing glasses and a blue denim shirt thoughtfully looking at the camera.

    Courtney B. Cook

    Creative Director & Producer

    Bio

  • Portrait of a young man with short dark hair, wearing a light-colored blazer and a white shirt, against a dark background.

    Akmyrat Tuyliev

    Producer

    Bio

  • A young man with dark hair, wearing a red t-shirt, sitting outside against a wooden fence and smiling at the camera.

    Cassius Kelly

    Project Producer

    Bio

  • A woman with dark brown hair, wearing a black t-shirt and gold hoop earrings, smiling while sitting at a table by a window with a potted plant and dried flowers in the background.

    Anna Graizbord

    Marketing, Communications & Community Engagement Specialist

    Bio

OVERVIEW

Learn More

A black background with a large, partially visible beige circle in the lower right corner.

Dive deeper into Layers of Place: Austin

Story of the Project

Read more about the origin and launch of the project here.

Contact

For all press inquiries, please contact Anna Graizbord | agraizbord@gmail.com.