10TH ANNIVERSARY CREEK SHOW EXHIBITION NOVEMBER 8-16
Tickets on sale Sep. 19 – All proceeds benefitting Waterloo Greenway
Today, Waterloo Greenway announced the 10th anniversary celebration of their annual light-based art exhibition, Creek Show. This November, Waterloo Greenway is reimagining the format of Creek Show to honor a decade of high spectacle creativity, innovation, and community. As part of the highly-anticipated 10th anniversary celebration, an all-star team of Creek Show alumni artists and designers have been invited to create a new series of light-based immersive spectacles along Waller Creek.
Creek Show will open nightly November 8-16 from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. and will require an online reservation to attend. Visit creekshow.com to see which nights offer free entry and which carry a low-cost entry fee. Tickets go on sale September 19 at 10:00 a.m. All proceeds from Creek Show benefit Waterloo Greenway, whose mission is to create and maintain a new 35-acre urban park system in partnership with the City of Austin.
Creek Show is Waterloo Greenway’s most defining signature program and aims to raise awareness and public support for the transformation of Waller Creek into a series of restored urban parks and trails. Since 2014, Waterloo Greenway and AIA Austin have commissioned site-specific work by Austin-based architects, landscape architects, artists, and designers that explore different themes related to Waterloo Greenway that range from history to hydrology and beyond.
“Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Creek Show is a testament to the power of light, creativity, and community,” says AIA Austin Executive Director and Creek Show Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Ingrid Spencer. “Over the past decade, this unique installation series has captivated the imaginations of architects, landscape architects, and artists, drawing hundreds of thousands of Austinites and visitors to experience the magic of Waterloo Greenway. Creek Show has not only illuminated our cityscape but has also shone a spotlight on the vital restoration and revitalization efforts of Waller Creek, fostering a deeper connection to our urban parks and their ecological importance.”
CREEK SHOW 2024 INSTALLATIONS & DESIGN TEAMS
Installation Name: Alluvial
Design Team Leads: Plume Design Lab – Clay Odom & Kory Bieg
Fabricator: Andalusia Design
Artist Statement: ‘Alluvial’ references water flowing over land and registers the impacts generated by a confluence of layers, surfaces, and finishes engaging in the physical, cultural, and environmental contexts around it. It is a line transformed by its surroundings. These influences add definition to the line by introducing spatial and formal eddies, ripples, and surface graphics. To realize ‘Alluvial’, we are creating a network of 3D tiles made of laser-cut, light gauge folded steel. The tiles are assembled into a perforated 3D surface that responds to and challenges the simplicity of the overall form. Lighting is integrated behind the perforated surface causing a diffuse and veiled effect, countering the sharp lines of the metal form.
Installation Name: The Ghost Boat: Through the Looking Glass
Design Team Leads: Daniela Valle, Lindsay Abati, AIA, Johanna Spencer, AIA
Fabricator: Weston Montgomery
Artist Statement: Once Upon a Time….an Austinite, traveler of waters, got lost in the beauty of the creek and went missing. To this day, nobody knows their whereabouts, but on a quiet misty morning, you can hear the sound of paddles dipping into the water and a ghostly glow in the distance. Five years have passed and The Ghost Boat has reached her final resting place. She has crossed the threshold of space and time and exists in a realm of infinite dimension.
Installation Name: Night Watch
Design Team Lead: Legge Lewis Legge, Britt Moseley & Level on the Level
Artist Statement: Oversized eyes float in the darkness beneath the 12th Street Bridge. The eyes move, scanning their surroundings, and at times, they stare directly at you. Whose eyes are they? As visitors approach the Creek Show, they will see these monstrous eyes watching from under the bridge. Walking between them, the eyes become a threshold, guiding you into the rest of the Creek Show experience.
Installation Name: Shadows of Former Self
Design Team Lead: Jules Buck Jones
Artist Statement: Millions of years ago, Central Texas was a shallow sea and it’s evident in the fossil-stippled-limestone all around the city. Extinct animals and plants are endowed with a unique presence. They were alive once. They are now gone forever, but they still exist in the form of fossils, a cast of their former self. Originally titled, Invisible and Absolute; the updated title plays on this dichotomy of legacy and impermanence.
Installation Name: Waller Creek High, A School for Extraordinary Fish
Design Team Leads: Polis – Daniel Goodwin & Bruce Wilcoxon
Artist Statement: ‘Waller Creek High, A School for Extraordinary Fish’, plays on the lore started by Ambedo Beta in Creek Show 2018, where Creek Monster scientists found a way to convert human speech to the language of light. The installation is composed of injection molded fish sculptures made of recycled materials that swoop over the creek to mimic the form of a school. Vibrant, touch-activated fish act as interactive nodes that send pulses of color through the school. To avoid waste, the individual luminaries will be available for purchase during and after the Creek Show, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy.
Creek Show is more than a celebration of art; it’s also an opportunity to raise awareness and engage the public in the Waterloo Greenway project. By showcasing the potential of this natural space, Waterloo Greenway Conservancy hopes to inspire others to join us in our mission to create a restored Waller Creek and brighter future for Austin’s social, cultural, and ecological landscape.The first phase of the Waterloo Greenway park system, Waterloo Park, opened in August 2021 and is now open daily to the public, featuring year-round cultural, educational, and environmental programs. The second phase of Waterloo Greenway, The Confluence, is now under construction.
“Arts are an important economic engine for all communities and this is especially true in Austin,” said PNC Regional President for Austin, Steven González. “The vitality and beauty the Creek Show brings to the waterways through the downtown creek system is a significant part of that and our whole PNC team in Austin couldn’t be more excited to support it.”
Creek Show is sponsored by Downtown Austin Alliance, PNC Bank, Susan Vaughan Foundation and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, with additional support from 3M, Applied Materials Foundation, Austin Community Foundation, Austin Energy, Austin Subaru, Austin Water, BCL of Texas, CapMetro, Delta Air Lines, ECG Foundation, Jackson Walker, LALO Tequila, Liquid Death Mountain Water, Powell Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, Tapestry Foundation, The Waller, and Waterloo Sparkling Water. For more information on Creek Show sponsorship opportunities and other ways to support Waterloo Greenway, please contact development@waterloogreenway.org.
For more information on Creek Show, please visit creekshow.com or follow Waterloo Greenway on Facebook/Instagram @WaterlooGreenway and Twitter @WaterlooGW.
ABOUT WATERLOO GREENWAY
Waterloo Greenway Conservancy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create and maintain an extraordinary urban park system and a restored Waller Creek, in partnership with the City of Austin, for the benefit of all. The Conservancy renews the natural environment, promotes play, health and wellness, economic vitality and mobility, and engages the community through outreach, education, cultural events, and the arts.
ABOUT AIA AUSTIN
AIA Austin is a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. We are the voice for our region’s architecture community and advocate for more than 1,200 members, the profession, career development, and design excellence. Since 1913, AIA Austin has shaped our city, supported by countless volunteers, member-led committees, and myriad community partners.