Creek Show 2026
Please carefully review the information below before submitting your ideas.
Overview
Creek Show
November 13-21, 2026
Waterloo Greenway’s Creek Show invites architects, landscape architects, artists, and designers to submit ideas for light-based, site-specific installations along Waller Creek. Submitted ideas will be selected by a committee of local leaders from the design and art community and will then be constructed by the selected teams. Creek Show 2026 will continue to delight and inspire the community by activating Waller Creek at Phase II of Waterloo Greenway, between 4th St and Lady Bird Lake, opening to the public on June 6. The completed installations will be open to the public from November 13-21, 2026. Click here to learn more about the future of Waterloo Greenway.
Concept Brief
This competition seeks to support and celebrate outstanding design while sparking conversation about the transformation of Waterloo Greenway into a series of urban parks, trails, and a restored Waller Creek. Each year, Creek Show features light-based installations that inspire, delight, and engage the public along Waller Creek. Creek Show will continue to highlight the potential of innovative, temporary, small-scale installations to bring attention to Waterloo Greenway’s mission. Designers from a variety of disciplines are encouraged to submit ideas, as each year’s mix of talent will include architects, landscape architects, and visual artists. This is not solely a design exercise. Teams must demonstrate that they can complete the installation from conception to realization.
Goals of Creek Show
- Engage the public through architecture, landscape architecture, art, and design.
- Raise awareness of the work and mission of Waterloo Greenway.
- Highlight talent of Austin-based designers.
- Activate Waller Creek for 10 nights by commissioning innovative, temporary installations and providing free programming for the entire community to enjoy.
Site
Waller Creek in the downtown area is truly different from one block to the next. Some sections are channelized while others are in a more natural state; both the vegetation and the built environment varies as you walk the length of the creek.
Creek Show 2026 challenges artists by focusing on the section of Waller Creek between 4th Street and Lady Bird Lake, the area that makes up Waterloo Greenway’s Phase II: the Confluence — a dynamic urban greenspace where the creek meanders through the heart of the city and meets the lake, offering a rich mix of riparian landscape, public plazas, and the dramatic threshold between flowing water and open shoreline. Submissions should include a preferred site but placement is not guaranteed, as all selected installations must be considered and curated as a comprehensive exhibition.
Explore the Creek Show site HERE.
Click HERE for a map of the Creek Show 2026 route from 4th St to Lady Bird Lake along Waller Creek.
Discover more about Waterloo Greenway, Phase II: The Confluence in a video tour HERE.
Site Tour
Interested applicants are invited to tour the site of Creek Show. Space is limited and advanced registration is required, as well as specific attire since the area is still under construction.
Monday, March 30, 6:30pm
Virtual Information Sessions
Waterloo Greenway will host information sessions to walk through project goals, the submission process, and provide tips on preparing a successful application and installation. There will also be a best-practices Q&A with former Creek Show artists, designers, and fabricators.
Tuesday, March 24, 1:00pm
Virtual
Tuesday, March 31, 1:00pm
In person at AIA Austin, 801 W 12th St
Design Considerations
Requirements
All installations must be:
- Original.
- Site-specific.
- Inspired by some specific aspect of Waller Creek and/or Waterloo Greenway.
- Designed to sustain the outdoors over the course of the event; this includes wind, rain, and changing creek levels.
- Temporary – Attachments should be removable and leave no impact; drilling into the creek bed is prohibited.
- Environmentally friendly – No toxic materials; no damage or disruption allowed to the creek and surrounding flora and fauna.
- Durable – Several thousand people walk through the event and will “interact” with anything in arms’ length.
Selection Process
A selection committee will evaluate the ideas based on their individual merit as well as how they work with other proposed ideas to create a comprehensive exhibition. Some teams may be asked to provide additional information or details before a final determination is reached.
Selection Criteria
The most successful concepts will:
- Tell a compelling story about Waller Creek and/or Waterloo Greenway
- Engage attendees
- Be high-spectacle
- Use common materials in uncommon ways
- Employ light as an integral element of the design
Submission Requirements and Instructions
Submissions will be accepted until midnight on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Your submission must include the following:
- Team Name
- Title of Proposed Installation
- Statement of Intent – Describe the inspiration for this piece and what story it tells about Waller Creek. Explain the project, identify how light will be used, and describe the installation’s form, material, structural, and interactive features. Articulate the design’s relationship to the site and, if desired, identify potential site(s).
- Team Listing & Biographies – Individuals, collaborations, and organizations are all welcome. Provide a brief biography of each team member, including academic background, professional affiliations, recent projects, and any other relevant info.
- Visuals – Include up to five images such as renderings, drawings, diagrams, or any image that visually conveys the concept.
The above items must be submitted in a single PDF file, sized to 8.5” x 11”. There is no page limit but teams are encouraged to be as concise as possible.
Eligibility
The Call for Ideas is open to anyone based in Austin, TX. Collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged. Artist teams are only allowed one design submission per year. No individual may be on more than one team per year. Design teams must be in Austin for the duration of Creek Show to perform regular maintenance to the installation and attend events such as opening night and the Artist Talk.
Design leads may not participate in Creek Show in consecutive years. Individuals and organizations who have participated in a support role such as fabrication may be part of a team in consecutive years but the individual, firm, or group that created the concept must wait at least one year before entering a new submission.
Student teams are encouraged to apply. The competition brief may be suitable for adoption as part of coursework by architecture, landscape architecture, design, or art instructors.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Waterloo Greenway acknowledges its role in and responsibility for building equity. As a community-based organization, we are committed to intentional policies and practices that further justice and fairness and ensure all communities have meaningful access to all we do within our park including workforce opportunities, programmatic engagement, and community & corporate partnerships.
We strongly encourage teams to embrace a shared commitment to equity as they build both their teams and submit ideas for Creek Show. Our Call for Ideas is open to all persons regardless of age, color, disability, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. All are welcome at Creek Show — your installations and teams are a huge part of making that happen!
Timeline
March 19 – Call for Ideas opens
April 17 – Call for Ideas Closes at 11:59 PM
May – Finalists Notified. Artist Orientation & Concepts Presentations, Creek Show Site Tours
June, July, August, September, October – Monthly Planning Meetings
Early November – Installation Period
November 13-21 – Creek Show 2026
November 22-23 – De-installation
Budget
$20K total per installation = $5K honorarium + $15K labor & material
A draft budget is not due with the submission but teams are encouraged to research costs in advance to ensure that the concept can be successfully executed for $15K or less.
Inquiries
For more information, please contact Waterloo Greenway’s Director of Programming Stephanie Bergara at [email protected].