Our Sky
Digital–Spatial Interactive Experience Design | WashU Sam Fox School Gallery
Our Sky is a participatory, immersive installation linking a crowdsourced web archive with spatial projection, bringing people across geographic and cultural distances together through shared sky images, live submissions, and real-time visualization.
Share a photo of your sky and become part of Our Sky.
https://oursky.vercel.app/
Share a photo of your sky and become part of Our Sky.
https://oursky.vercel.app/
Timeline
6months
(Sep 25 - Jan 26)
6months
(Sep 25 - Jan 26)
Type
Self-initiated socially engaged project, created for display at Sam Fox School Gallery, Washington University in St. Louis
Self-initiated socially engaged project, created for display at Sam Fox School Gallery, Washington University in St. Louis
My Role
Creator & Art Director
Medium
Spatial Projection, Web Design, Time-Based Media, Generative Moving Images, Web Development
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Project Brief
Context
In an era when digital technologies connect us more than ever, we are not necessarily more present or meaningfully connected. As digital and physical spaces become increasingly intertwined, Our Sky explores how interactive technologies can move beyond individual screens to foster shared experiences, emotional connections, and a sense of belonging across geographic and cultural boundaries.
In an era when digital technologies connect us more than ever, we are not necessarily more present or meaningfully connected. As digital and physical spaces become increasingly intertwined, Our Sky explores how interactive technologies can move beyond individual screens to foster shared experiences, emotional connections, and a sense of belonging across geographic and cultural boundaries.
Work Description
Our Sky is a participatory, immersive installation that connects a crowdsourced web archive with a spatial projection environment. Participants from around the world are invited to submit photographs of the sky, each capturing a unique place, moment, and perspective. Through a custom-developed web platform, these contributions are transformed into generative moving images and visualized within a shared physical space. By bringing individual perspectives together into an evolving collective experience, Our Sky explores how participatory storytelling and digital–spatial interaction can foster moments of co-presence and human connection.
Our Sky is a participatory, immersive installation that connects a crowdsourced web archive with a spatial projection environment. Participants from around the world are invited to submit photographs of the sky, each capturing a unique place, moment, and perspective. Through a custom-developed web platform, these contributions are transformed into generative moving images and visualized within a shared physical space. By bringing individual perspectives together into an evolving collective experience, Our Sky explores how participatory storytelling and digital–spatial interaction can foster moments of co-presence and human connection.
Interactive Experience
WashU Sam Fox School Gallery, 2026
Credits:
Bei Hu, Creator, Principal Investigator & Art Director
Project Team
Ramya Samudrala, Research Assistant, Full-Stack Developer
Sophie Tao, Research Assistant, Visual & UI/UX Designer
Miao Hu, Research Assistant, 3D Rendering
Additional Credits
Jeff Robinson, 3D Design & Fabrication
Kevin Miranda, Videographer
Bei Hu, Creator, Principal Investigator & Art Director
Project Team
Ramya Samudrala, Research Assistant, Full-Stack Developer
Sophie Tao, Research Assistant, Visual & UI/UX Designer
Miao Hu, Research Assistant, 3D Rendering
Additional Credits
Jeff Robinson, 3D Design & Fabrication
Kevin Miranda, Videographer
Reflection
Our Sky reflects my ongoing exploration of how emerging technologies can foster meaningful human connections beyond the screen. Through digital–physical placemaking, the project explores how interactive environments can transform individual contributions into collective experiences, creating opportunities for mediated social encounters across geographic and cultural boundaries.
This project reinforced my belief that technology can do more than facilitate communication or deliver information. It can create experiences that are grounding, poetic, and emotionally resonant, inviting people to slow down, become more present, and rediscover a sense of connection with others and the world around them.
This project reinforced my belief that technology can do more than facilitate communication or deliver information. It can create experiences that are grounding, poetic, and emotionally resonant, inviting people to slow down, become more present, and rediscover a sense of connection with others and the world around them.