July 29, 2026
Imagine being able to visit and even create your own art exhibit wherever you choose. It may sound like a futuristic concept, but as technology continues to advance, that vision has become a reality.
Artist and curator Michael Lewy has made that possible with Alpha 60, a virtual sculpture garden located throughout Jamaica Plain, Boston. Named after the French science-fiction film Alphaville, the project brings together digital artists to explore how augmented reality can transform public spaces and tell compelling stories.
Using the Hoverlay app, visitors can open the Alpha 60 channel to access a map of virtual installations. As users approach each location, they can point their phones at the surrounding landscape to reveal digital sculptures created by participating artists. We interviewed Michael Lewy, the creator and visionary behind Alpha 60.
"I've been trying to experiment for years, trying to figure out augmented reality," Lewy says. "I eventually found Hoverlay, and I really liked how user-friendly it was."
In developing Alpha 60, Lewy focused on preserving and showcasing digital art. As both an artist and curator experienced in a variety of media, including augmented reality, he assembled a diverse group of artists whose work reflects the creative possibilities of AR.
"We had a wide variety of artists," Lewy says. "I wanted to showcase the work of underrepresented artists on the same stage as more established artists."
Several works in the virtual sculpture garden are landmark pieces by pioneering augmented reality artists from Manifest.AR, helping preserve important moments in the history of digital art.
Among the featured artists is American contemporary artist Tony Oursler, whose work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Throughout his career, Oursler has collaborated with influential figures including David Bowie and Mike Kelley on multimedia projects that blend art, music, and technology.
For Alpha 60, Oursler presents Tail, Pudding Stone, Wooden Accountant/Actor and Tail, an installation that explores evolution and the idea that nature is constantly changing. Through augmented reality, its characters appear as spirit-like figures inhabiting the natural landscape, inviting viewers to reflect on the evolving relationship between humanity, technology, and the environment.
Another featured artist is Tamiko Theil, a pioneer in augmented reality whose work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art and MoMA. She is also a co-founder of Manifest.AR, an artist collective established in the early 2010s dedicated to creating and exhibiting art through emerging technologies.
"I was really inspired by both Tamiko Theil and Will Pappenheimer," Lewy says. "Especially with their guerrilla takeover of MoMA by placing their own AR work there without invitation. They were later invited by the museum to formally present their work, but that spirit of guerrilla intervention is what inspired Alpha 60."
Theil's contribution, Water Lily Invasion (2013), was originally exhibited as part of the 2016 Virtuale Switzerland exhibition. The work depicts augmented reality water lilies spreading across Switzerland's Lake Lugano, creating a dreamlike, science-fiction atmosphere while exploring the intersection of digital and physical environments.
Its inclusion in Alpha 60 is especially fitting. The artwork examines how invasive species spread into new ecosystems, mirroring the way digital artworks can inhabit and reshape physical spaces. That relationship between technology, place, and public art lies at the heart of Alpha 60's mission.
By transforming everyday landscapes into immersive galleries, Alpha 60 demonstrates how augmented reality can expand the possibilities of public art while preserving important works of digital culture. For visitors interested in experiencing an art exhibit without walls, the virtual sculpture garden offers a glimpse into the future of artistic exhibition, one that exists simultaneously in both the physical and digital worlds.
Commonly Asked Questions:
“How many artists are currently featured?”
25 artists are presented through Alpha 60 across Emerald Necklace park in Boston, Massachusetts.
“What AR platform did Michael Lewy use to create Alpha 60?”
Michael Lewy used Hoverlay’s spatial publishing platform to host his AR sculpture garden.
“Which artists are featured in Alpha 60’s exhibit?”
As of July 2026 these are the artists featured: Lani Asuncion, Matthew Battles, Michael Lewy, Heather Beardsley, Tom Buckland, Chris Faust, Judy Haberl, Carol Hayes, David Herbert, Heather Kapplow, Nicholas Kahn, Richard Selesnick, Alessandro Keegan, Jennifer McCoy, Kevin McCoy, Lauren Moffatt, Liz Nofziger, Tony Oursler, Will Pappenheimer, Eric Sutton, Richard Saja, Tamiko Thiel, Chris Rackley, Lina Ramona Vitkauskas, Ashley Eliza Williams.
“Is Alpha 60 free to use for the public?”
Yes! People can use Alpha 60 through the app Hoverlay which is free on the appstore.
To learn more about Alpha 60 click the link here.