Announcing the 2023-2024 Beam Project New Hampshire
We're excited to announce that we have selected our 2023-2024 Beam Project New Hampshire: Welcome Beacon, to be built at Beam Camp during summer 2023. As part of our Big Projects initiative, Beam Center builds large-scale public artworks through collaborations with youth. These projects are displayed across three locations: Beam Camp City on Governors Island, in a local NYC community, and - in the case of this project - Beam Camp in Strafford, NH.
Welcome Beacon is a twelve feet tall structure that will be covered in colorful translucent modular tiles and internally divided into eight zones using proximity sensors. The piece will react differently to the sun than when it is night time, giving those interacting with it different experiences. During the day, for instance, sunshine will stream through the tiles creating a prismatic stained glass effect which will change with the sun.
After dark, the structure comes alive to reveal a dazzling interactive LED light show that will respond to the interactor's movement within Welcome Beacon. To encourage collaborative play, the light show plays a special easter egg “Welcome Beacon” animation when all zones are activated simultaneously.
The project draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including the structure of Ellis Island, Gothic Cathedrals, the Voyager Golden Record, and the film The Fifth Element.
Welcome Beacon was designed by Mayowa Tomori and Michael Runge of AMPL. Founded in 2019, AMPL is a creative studio that builds playful installations and inclusive audience experiences using art, storytelling, and technology. Past clients include the Indiana State Museum, Mozilla Foundation, Smithsonian Museum, Zoo Labs, and others. According to the designers, AMPL's "ultimate goal is to build experiences and games that allow players to come together to participate in a collective experience - so that every interaction is novel, unique, and never passive."
Mayowa Tomori
Michael Runge
Michael Runge is an artist and experienced fabricator who loves creating playful connections for all. Michael is a former camp counselor and he recently graduated with an MS in Architecture. Explore more of Michael's work.
Mayowa Tomori is a multidisciplinary artist from Nigeria with a Masters in Music and Art Technology. He loves building interactive installations, hardware, and things that don’t exist yet. Explore more of Mayowa's work.
Tomori and Runge created Welcome Beacon for Beam Camp because they believe there’s a need for people to come together and play. They stated, “Driven by today's heightened need for community, AMPL creates participatory, inclusive experiences that use art, technology, and media to put people in a state of playful wonder and curiosity. We believe that when people play together, walls come down, strangers find common ground, and create connection - because it’s hard to feel excluded when you’re having a good time.”
