Eyebeam

🎤Today, Umber’s feature continues.
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The second case study I researched extensively was the Pakistan Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. At the New York Public Library, I reviewed archival materials from the World Fair special collections, including photographs, brochures, ephemera, and visitor information records. But there were many gaps in these archives around the international pavilions. I was also interested in examining the idealism of new republics developed by post-colonial nation-states at the time, and the implications of such convictions in our contemporary context.

The installation presented at the Queens Museum, ‘J😊Y TECH,’ for the QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship showcase, is a speculative counter-archive that offers alternative sources to fill the gaps in institutional archives. Drawing inspiration from the dynamic storefronts and merchandise found in phone repair shops across Queens, static web 1.0 interfaces, and the aesthetics of WhatsApp memes, the project re-creates the Pakistan Pavilion's fictional promotional campaigns and reimagined artifacts. A pivotal aspect of this exhibition that ties everything together through narration is the digital character (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ i@ppLe♥, a tour guide of Trans-Pakistan Adventure Services. Her voice represents History (with a capital h), and her character politely interrupts and negates South Asian histories with a Western, white-washed narrative.

I am currently expanding ‘Trans-Pakistan’ into a Lecture performance featuring the tour guide, where I will take on a live conversation with a (pre-recorded) animated avatar of (apple), in front of an audience and viewers using their own smartphone to view a collective AR experience. During the residency, I am taking green-screen footage with the actor for the tour guide, editing a bunch of 3D animations, and conducting 3D printing experiments that will lay the foundation for this performance.
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Slide 1: Close-up installation shot, Umber Majeed: ‘J😊Y TECH’ (March 16, 2025 - October 5, 2025). Photo courtesy Queens Museum, credit Hai Zhang.

Slide 4: Video documentation. Umber Majeed, Zoom In, 2024, mixed media on paper and web-based AR animation. Showcased at the ‘J😊Y TECH’ installation, Queens Museum, QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship showcase.

Slide 5: Video Documentation. Umber Majeed, Saath Haath, 2024, mixed media on paper and web-based augmented reality animation. Showcased at the J😊Y TECH installation, Queens Museum, QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship showcase.

Slide 7: Pavilion Map Decal, Umber Majeed in Collaboration with Maureen Catbagan, , 2025, exhibited at the ‘J😊Y TECH’ installation, Queens Museum. Courtesy the artist and Queens Museum, New York, Photo Credit: Hai Zhang.

Slide 9: Umber Majeed, ‘Welcome to the Trans-Pakistan Pavilion!,’ 2025, single-channel animation, 7 minutes and 35 seconds. Featuring: Clara Francesca, Lubna Majeed, Umber Majeed, and Pratt Institute students Valeria Barajas, Anya Gupta, and Shazia Reza. Presented at ‘Joytech’, an installation in the QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship showcase, organized by Lindsey Berfond, the Assistant Curator and Studio Program Manager at QM. AR production support was provided by Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, through the Technology Immersion program. Image Courtesy of the artist and Queens Museum, New York; Photo credit: Hai Zhang.

🎉Introducing Eyebeam's 2026 residents: Speculating on Plurality

What would it take to build technology that holds our multitudes rather than flattening them? That's the question at the heart of Speculating on Plurality, Eyebeam's 2026 artist residency. This year's cohort—6 NYC–based emerging artists working across disciplines from experimental theater to spatial audio to AI agents—begins their 12-week residency this month.

“We're living in a moment where technology is flattening difference at an extraordinary scale. The six artists we selected bring deep curiosity and real range to how they address [hyper-contemporary] issues—from land-based practices to algorithmic composition to experimental theater. Each of them is modeling what it looks like to insist on plurality in how we design, build, and live with technology.” —Julia Kaganskiy, Executive Director

The artists join Eyebeam’s residency to imagine plural technological futures at NYU Tandon at The Yard, a partner facility for integrative research in AR/VR/XR, virtual production, and experiential computing.
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🔗 Read more about the artists at eyebeam.org/2026-residents

✨the 2026 residents ✨
Aurora Mititelu
Avery Alex Beige
Chloe Alexandra Thompson
dre r. Jácome
Kira Xonorika
Umber Majeed
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Eyebeam worked with a diverse jury panel representing the fields of art and technology that helped us select artists who demonstrate a purposeful relationship to technology, social urgency, and impact. We send our thanks to:

✨the 2026 Jury ✨
Bahareh Khoshooee
Mark Ramos
Paul John
Stephanie Dinkins
Julia Kaganskiy

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🖼️Image Description in alt-text.

Photo Captions: Slide 4 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, Avery Alex Beige. Image Credit: The Nonbinary Research Facility; Slide 5 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, Aurora Mititelu. IPhoto credit: Garrett Alvarado; Slide 6 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, Chloe Alexandra Thompson. Photo credit: Amelie Jackie; Slide 7 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, dre jácome. Image Credit: Belen Marco-Crespo; Slide 8 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, Kira Xonorika. Image Credit: Katarzyna Marszałek; Slide 9 - Portrait of Eyebeam Speculating on Plurality Resident 2026, Umber Majeed. Image Credit: Adeliia Ishmuratova.