Art & Tech @NYC Google Hackathon
On friction, attention, and why museums need quieter technology
We presented a simple question: Why, in large museums and exhibitions, does accessing interpretation still feel like searching through menus and numbers?
Last week, our team was a finalist at the Google Hackathon.
You stand in front of a painting. You feel something. Then you look down at a device and begin scrolling.
We asked: what if interpretation could unfold simply by proximity? What if standing near a work was enough for its context to emerge quietly, without interrupting presence?
As an artist working across installation and public pedagogy, I think a lot about infrastructure. Museums are not neutral containers. They shape how we look, how long we stay, and how deeply we engage. When interpretation is friction-heavy, people disengage. When it is intuitive, people linger.
This project is still evolving, but the conversations it opened were meaningful. It reminded me that the future of cultural institutions will be shaped not only by artists and curators, but also by technologists and audience strategists.
The real question is not whether technology belongs in museums. It is how thoughtfully it can serve attention.
Back to the studio. And back to building.