Opening December 12, Ray’s first major animation features an original score by Grammy-winning artist Arooj Aftab and unfolds across 30 feet of immersive, three-channel projection.
Professor Sharmistha Ray is set to debut Emergent Realities, a newly commissioned three-channel animation opening December 12 at Wood Street Galleries and on view through July 5, 2026. Spanning 30 feet in the Downtown Pittsburgh space, the nine-minute installation marks Ray’s first major work in animation and features an original score, Kinship, by Grammy-winning musician Arooj Aftab.
Curated by Anastasia James for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Emergent Realities extends Ray’s ongoing exploration of cosmology, consciousness, and queer identity. Collaging painting, cosmic imagery, found and original footage, and sacred geometries, the installation creates a layered visual and sonic environment where past, present, and future operate simultaneously. Each channel explores a different realm — terrestrial, solar, and cosmic — that Ray first explored for their permanent public glass murals recently installed at the new Pittsburgh International Airport.
The opening reception will be held on Friday, December 12, from 5–7pm at Wood Street Galleries, 601 Wood Street, in downtown Pittsburgh.
Image: Still from Sharmistha Ray, Emergent Realities, digital animation with an original score by Arooj Aftab, Duration: 9 minutes, 2025. Commissioned by Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Image courtesy: the artist. ©Sharmistha Ray