Fourth-Year Sam Webb Illuminates Collaboration Between MassArt and Boston Symphony Orchestra

Fourth-Year Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) major Sam Webb has always felt a profound connection to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Growing up in a family of musical instrument makers in the Berkshires, Webb spent his childhood immersed in the sounds of Tanglewood, the BSO’s summer home. Now, that lifelong love of music and nature has culminated in an extraordinary opportunity: transforming an often-overlooked staircase at the historic BSO into a canvas for immersive light and sculpture.

The installation, Ghosts of the Future, is part of a groundbreaking collaboration between the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), BSO, and MIT’s Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) program. This partnership breathes new life into underutilized spaces, giving emerging artists the chance to merge their visions with Symphony Hall’s storied architecture.

“I’ve seen Sam in action as a BSO volunteer over the past six years, and he clearly has a wonderful eye for design and is very artistic,” said Erin Asbury, BSO’s director of volunteer services. “The three-story staircase he’s transforming is normally a quiet, transitional space—a place people pass through without a second glance. Now, it’s a site of wonder and reflection, bringing his work to an entirely new audience.”

Webb’s installation features seven wire mesh sculptures suspended in space, their forms inspired by rocks from the Berkshire bioregion and Tanglewood grounds. These delicate structures, shaped by folds that mimic the surfaces of stone, evoke both permanence and fragility. Shadows ripple across the walls, suggesting fleeting moments of light and loss, while projections of glacial and rocky textures—created in collaboration with Haozhen Feng of MIT’s ACT program and Zairan Yu, a graduate of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program—add layers of movement and depth. The installation captures nature’s rhythms and warns of what might be lost if we fail to address the climate crisis.

“This project brings together so many of the things I care about—art, music, nature, and community,” Webb said. “MassArt gave me the foundation to see this vision through, and it’s a dream come true to present it in such an iconic space.”

Webb’s practice reflects his upbringing in rural New England and his perspective as an artist shaped by the realities of climate change. Working with recycled and found objects, he uses light and shadow to explore how material and space can shift our perceptions. Ghosts of the Future invites viewers to pause in a space they might otherwise rush past, challenging them to consider how the past and present intertwine with our responsibility for the future.

“My mentors at MassArt—Max Azanow, Elaine Buckholtz, and Anjali Srinivasan—have shown me how to translate vision into reality,” Webb shared. “Whether it’s a poem in a box or a 13-foot installation, MassArt teaches you to trust your ideas and execute them with confidence.”

Through partnerships like this one, MassArt fosters an uncommon community of creative leaders, shaping the future of art, design, and innovation for the common good. 

Webb’s installation will be on view during all BSO ticketed events through the first week of January 2025. Explore more at https://www.bso.org/visit.