Giant birds in flight. Trees swaying in a light breeze. A child dancing in a dinosaur costume. A fading mural restored. They’re part of Here’s Another Story, a project that uses a virtual-reality phone app to allow people to walk the streets of Ninth Square and, through their phone screens, watch the public art there bloom into festive, fun, and meaningful animation.
Here’s Another Story, from artist Marc Pettersen, is part of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas as it swings into its second year of Covid-19-era programming with a mix of outdoor and virtual events. Pettersen’s project is, in a sense, a combination of both.
“I’m always looking at new types of art and technology and seeing how it can work it together,” said Pettersen, a digital artist who works with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). He went to school for traditional, hand-drawn…