Compositions in Code: MoMI’s New Exhibit Celebrating Processing and p5.js

The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is ready to present its latest installation, Compositions in Code: The Art of Processing and p5.js, from March 6 to August 24 on the Herbert S. Schlosser Media Wall. As the final project in a partnership series with the Tezos Foundation, this exhibition highlights how code-based tools and blockchain technology intersect in today’s art world.

Visitors will get to experience and even collect fragments of the featured artworks as MoMI strives to make digital art and the creative potential of code more accessible.

Artist-Friendly Programming with Processing and p5.js

Processing, first launched in 2001 by Casey Reas and Ben Fry, is celebrated for transforming how people view code as a creative medium. Offering a simplified, sketchbook-like environment that provides immediate visual feedback, Processing lowers the barrier to experimenting with generative and interactive design.

In later years, Lauren Lee McCarthy’s p5.js library took these core principles and adapted them to JavaScript, making it even simpler for artists to produce and share web-based pieces. These open-source tools help to spark new ideas and invite a broader range of creators.

Compositions in Code Exhibit

Organized by MoMI’s Associate Curator of Media Arts, Regina Harsanyi, Compositions in Code features six artists displayed as three diptychs. Early Processing adopters—Marius Watz, LIA, and Robert Hodgin—are paired with p5.js-based practitioners Aleksandra Jovanić, Sarah Ridgley, and Melissa Wiederrecht.

Their contributions showcase how this generation-spanning community has approached code as a medium, each drawing on shared foundations yet offering distinct visual styles. As part of the exhibition, every artist will make a segment of their displayed work available at no cost, either onsite or online via Tezos.

Some examples from Processing

Tezos Blockchain: A Home for Digital Art

The Tezos blockchain has emerged as a popular choice for artists working with Processing and p5.js, thanks to platforms like fxhash, objkt, and EditArt. These marketplaces allow digital creators worldwide to showcase, sell, and collect works in a community-driven environment.

Museums and galleries like Serpentine, Musée d’Orsay, and LAS Art Foundation have also embraced Tezos to expand their Web3 offerings. And, through MoMI’s installation, audiences can witness firsthand how innovative technology and creative coding unite to reshape the future of art.

Opening Reception

Founded in 1985 and located in Astoria, New York, MoMI dedicates itself to exploring the history, technology, and impact of the moving image in all forms. On Thursday, March 6, at 7:00 p.m., MoMI will host an opening reception in partnership with the Tezos Foundation and the Processing Foundation.

The evening will include a panel discussion with artist Marius Watz; Aleksandra Artamonovskaja, Head of Arts at Trilitech (part of the Tezos ecosystem); and Roopa Vasudevan, a mentor from the Processing Foundation.

As the final installation in the series, Compositions in Code showcases the far-reaching impact of creative coding through Processing and p5.js. Both environments empower artists to treat software as a visual experimentation canvas while revealing the unexpected beauty of algorithms at play.