This year, students from the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Applied Arts partnered with Waterloo Conservancy to create an interactive and “multisensory experience” for Austin’s light installation show at Waller Creek. The Creek Monster Habitat was the last stop for Austinites walking through Waterloo Greenways’s 6th Annual Creek Show in Downtown Austin, which ran from Nov. 7 to Nov. 17.

Story by Sarah Ponder

Photos by Sabrina Zahir

The installation featured a monster habitat nest, that served as an archway for visitors to walk through. The structure, made from a bamboo base was covered in plants, netting and rope to resemble a nest in which a monster was hiding. Theatrical lights revealed large eyes on both sides of the nest, peeking out at bystanders who passed by. The sound of crickets chirping, wind whistling and water flowing from speakers disguised as rocks were combined to create an ambient feel. Glowing leaves formed a path for patrons to follow as they walked around all sides of the nest.

“I was really blown away by what we’d accomplished in such a short period of time,” said Lina Breining, an arts and entertainment technologies junior who helped build the habitat. “People seemed really taken with the exhibit, especially little kids. I saw multiple kids throwing the luminescent UV leaves up in the air and laughing or pointing excitedly at the nest with awed expressions”

For the past few years, Waterloo Greenway Conservancy hosts the Creek Show, in collaboration with the city of Austin, in an attempt to restore Waller Creek while gathering and connecting the Austin community. The organization is part of a project that is set to be completed by 2026 to completely restore the creek by creating environmental spaces for the community. Every year, Waterloo invites teams of local artists and designers to create and showcase illuminating art exhibits for a free show to the public. This year, for the first time ever, UT students were invited to participate in the show.

As part of the Texas Applied Arts fall 2019 course list, the course Special Projects in Design and Fabrication: Creek Monster Habitat was added for students interested in the semester-long project. The course consisted of undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of majors ranging from electrical engineering, arts and entertainment technology, theatre and dance, radio-television-film, and art. While helping to bring awareness to the ecosystem within Waller Creek, the Creek Monster Habitat installation gave students a chance to build a physical portfolio that demonstrated their talents.

Breining, who’s also a member of the music team within the course, said participating in the project was helpful in forging her skills for her future.

“I’m studying to become a music composer, and getting the chance to work on such an immersive and collaborative project with people from so many different concentrations was really exciting to me,” she said.

Theatre and dance professor Karen Maness, who instructed the course, said she believes hands-on experience through collective work is one of the numerous benefits that the interactive installation provided.

“It exemplifies what’s possible when our students are given this canvas and structure of classroom support to dream their dreams into a reality,” Maness told UT News. “This project has been an excellent opportunity for students to push themselves beyond what they could have imagined for themselves. I’m delighted that they’re moving through their own fears to do it.”

While the Waller Creek Conservancy Show may now be over, the public will still be able to seethe Creek Monster Habitat once more. Students will rebuild and display the interactive installation for UT Austin’s Earth Day Celebration. You can visit the Texas Applied Arts blog site to learn more about the process of making the Creek Monster Habitat.