Moody’s Tent Series returns to examine cultural memory and technology

September 16, 2026 - 11:33

When viewed from the side, the Provisional Campus Facility tents across from Herring Hall still look like COVID-19 testing facilities, part of their initial purpose when they opened in 2020. From the front, however, three new murals revitalize their identity as sites for public art.

The Moody's Tent Series has returned for a new season, shifting its attention to the intersection of cultural memory and technology. The project, which transforms temporary structures into exhibition spaces, invites artists to respond to the rapidly changing ways people store, share, and lose collective histories.

This year's installations explore how digital tools shape remembrance. One mural draws on archived family photographs, another layers machine-generated imagery over hand-painted scenes, and a third uses QR codes to link physical space with recorded oral histories. Together they ask what remains when memory moves online.

Organizers say the tents, originally built for health screening, now serve as a reminder that public space can adapt. The series runs through the spring and includes artist talks and open viewing hours. Visitors are encouraged to walk the perimeter and consider how technology mediates what communities choose to keep.