Nancy Baker Cahill: CENTO

A monumental augmented reality creature hovering over the Whitney's Floor 8 terrace, collectively evolved through participatory feather-placement by global viewers.

Why go

CENTO is a participatory AR work that positions interspecies collaboration as a response to climate crisis—viewers worldwide can add feathers to the creature's body via a free app, witnessing its evolution in real time from the museum's terraces or remotely.

What to expect

A 3D hybrid creature (part serpent, cephalopod, manta ray, bird, fungus, and machine) visible on the Whitney's terraces via smartphone AR; an accompanying video showing the creature's three-chambered habitat; interactive feather-selection tied to evolutionary functions like communication and navigation.

Things to know

• Artist Nancy Baker Cahill founded 4th Wall, a free AR public art platform exploring site interventions and inclusive creative expression.
• The creature's twelve selectable feathers each correspond to different survival functions: communication, navigation, energy conversion, mem
• CENTO's name references the classical collage poem form, alluding to both the creature's composite body and audience contributions.
• Viewers unable to visit the museum can participate globally; the creature's evolution is regularly documented and shared online.
• AR production by Shaking Earth Digital; sound design by Caleb Craig.
• Baker Cahill's mid-career retrospective 'Through Lines' traveled to the Georgia Museum of Art in 2023–24.

Plan your visit

View CENTO in person on the Whitney's terraces, with Floor 8 offering the prime vantage point and Floors 5–6 providing alternate angles. Use the QR code on terrace signage to download the free 4th Wall AR app and add a feather to the creature.