As we get ready for our upcoming Agog Community Meetup on December 15—featuring members of the creative team behind ENCODED: Change the Story, Change the Future, the groundbreaking AR takeover of the Met’s American Wing—we invite you to explore the project for yourself. Whether you check it out beforehand to fuel your questions or dive in afterward to continue the conversation, ENCODED offers a powerful window into what Indigenous-made immersive storytelling can do.

Watch the trailer

ENCODED, created by Amplifier, co-curated by Tracy Renée Rector, and in partnership with a cohort of Indigenous artists, overlays 26 iconic American artworks with augmented reality interventions that challenge, transform, and expand the stories these paintings have long told. Using your smartphone or tablet, you can see these artworks shift as contemporary Indigenous creatives reclaim space inside one of America’s most storied museum wings.

And the best part?
You can experience parts of the exhibit remotely.
Just download the Amplifier AR app and activate select artworks right from this blog. (Availability of the Amplifier AR app may vary by Android device and operating system. Some users on newer Android versions may see limited access at this time.)

📱 Download Amplifier AR app

Try these ENCODED works from anywhere

Open this blog on a desktop, then point your phone or tablet at the images below, using the Amplifier app to bring these reimagined works to life:

Cannupa Hanska Luger, Midéegaadi: Fire, 2021-ongoing

Overlaid on Albert Bierstadt’s Merced River, Yosemite Valley, 1866, a figure with horns and beaded garb enters the landscape, calling the bison back through dance.

Nicholas Galanin, Tsu Héidei Shugaxtutaan I, 2006

A figure dancing to a Tlingit song joins the drifting sailor in Winslow Homer’s The Gulf Stream, 1899, transforming isolation into movement, rhythm, and cultural memory.

Flechas, LANDBACK, 2025

In Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851, lush vegetation engulfs the soldiers, reminding viewers that the land itself holds history, power, and agency.

Amelia Winger-Bearskin, I Would Like to Be Midnight / I Would Like to Be Sky, 2023

A portal to a borderless view of the land and sky opens up across Lake George, 1869, by John Frederick Kensett.

Josué Rivas, Standing Strong featuring Acosia Red Elk, 2021

Merging with Thomas Sully’s Queen Victoria, 1938, Red Elk’s portrait reframes sovereignty and asks a guiding question: How will you be a good ancestor?

Cass Gardiner and Bird x Bird, Skoden Warriors, 2025

8-bit Native Americans mock the subjects of Jerome B. Thompson’s The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain, 1858. Dialogue bubbles read “Look at these guys, acting like they discovered the place.”

These layered, living artworks offer the perfect primer—or follow-up—for our conversation about immersive storytelling, cultural memory, and the future of AR.

Join the Meetup

Want to hear directly from the creators reimagining these museum spaces?

📅 Monday, December 15
 🕐 1–2 PM PT
 📍 Agog House in VRChat, with livestream available
 🎟️ RSVP now

Experience ENCODED in person

If you’re local to New York City or visiting soon, don’t miss seeing ENCODED throughout the American Wing at the Met through December 31, 2025. Be sure to get the full experience by accessing the exhibit via http://www.changethestorychangethefuture.com/.

Featured artists

Amelia Winger-Bearskin
Bear Fox
Bird x Bird
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Cass Gardiner
Demian DinéYazhi´ x Lite Brite Neon
Flechas
Jarrette Werk
Jeremy Dennis
Josué Rivas
Katsitsionni Fox
Lokotah Sanborn
Mali Obomsawin
Mer Young
Nicholas Galanin
Priscilla Dobler Dzul
Skawennati

AND CO-CURATED BY

Tracy Reneé Rector

By Team Agog
Dec 12, 2025