BRIGHT MOVES: Digital Art in Motion

The Paramount Center will once again become a large-scale live digital canvas with the return of public contemporary art in Downtown Crossing. The presentation, BRIGHT MOVES: Digital Art in Motion, features digital artwork by three Boston-area artists who are pushing the boundaries of the medium in experimental, unexpected, and distinctly personal ways. Beginning September 23, 2026, Emerson Contemporary will showcase newly commissioned works by Yue Hua, Jeffu Warmouth, and Allison Tanenhaus. The works will animate the façade of the iconic Paramount Center on Washington Street, transforming a prominent architectural surface in the heart of Boston's Theater District into a dynamic platform for contemporary art. The last time the Paramount was used as a digital canvas was in 2019. The canvas was restored this February with donor funding. Curated by James Manning, Exhibitions Manager at Emerson Contemporary, BRIGHT MOVES brings together three artists whose practices demonstrate the extraordinary range and creative potential of digital art. While each artist approaches technology and moving image differently, all three share an interest in experimentation and in using digital tools to create experiences that challenge expectations about what art can be and where it can be encountered. "This project is about recognizing the artists who are doing some of the most interesting and inventive work with digital media right here in Boston," says Manning. "Yue Hua, Jeffu Warmouth, and Allison Tanenhaus each have very different practices, but they share a willingness to experiment and to take digital art in unexpected directions. The Paramount canvas gives us an opportunity to bring that work into the public realm at a scale that is impossible to experience in a traditional gallery." Together, the artists create a vibrant and eclectic encounter with digital art, one that embraces movement, color, light, humor, experimentation, and surprise. The presentation also extends Emerson Contemporary's mission to bring contemporary art beyond the traditional gallery and into direct conversation with the public. As a teaching gallery at Emerson College, Emerson Contemporary explores emerging forms of artistic practice while creating opportunities for students, faculty, and the wider community to encounter artists working at the forefront of contemporary culture.