If all the shopping, hosting, baking, and ugly sweater-wearing are making your winter break feel more like a sprint, Luminations might be your chance to take five. Going on 19 years, this annual winter light exhibit hosted by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center offers a chill alternative to fast-paced festivities by connecting visitors with nature, light, and art.
Since kicking off in 2005, Luminations now draws over 20,000 visitors annually. Staggered entry times through the event’s seven weekends keep it from feeling too busy. “There’s no long lines to see Santa Claus or anything like that,” said Erika Tucker, director of hospitality. “[Luminations] is about celebrating and taking a moment to enjoy those around you in the space that you’re in at this time of year.”
This winter, the center is also featuring nature-inspired light displays throughout the grounds. Neon native critters, colorfully cast oak trees, and immersive four-season projections are just a few of the custom and locally designed installations visitors can find throughout the mile-long walk. “We’re sort of a homegrown light show,” Tucker said of commissioning only local artists for each display. Those creatives include Cicada Lighting, dadaLab, Art Seen Alliance, Austin Projection Mapping, and Ion Art – each contributing a unique perspective.
In the case of Ion Art, founder Sharon Keshishian aimed to mix neon with nature. “Her vision in all of these sculptures has been to showcase that neon really belongs in any setting and can bring out the best of a space,” said Natasha Keshishian, Ion’s art director (and Sharon’s daughter). Ion’s team contributed over 30 installations to Luminations, ranging from whimsical animals to 15-foot-tall abstract moving structures.
For Austin Projection Mapping, it’s about creating new experiences for attendees. This year, the company is projecting footage of native plants across three-dimensional canvases to produce an immersive effect. “We want [visitors] to be able to walk into a world unknown,” said APM co-owner Chandler Goen.
Mesmerizing displays, however, are only half of the experience: Interaction plays a big part too. For the first time this winter, Luminations mixes with Fortlandia, the center’s temporary exhibit of nature-themed hideouts. Each fort – the life-size ant farm, giant diamondback snake, and pollinator-inspired airplane – is open to explorers of any age. All of that plus the four-seater seesaws, lighted swings, and color-changing trampoline-like jumping dots make this great for kids – or grownup kids-at-heart. But don’t worry, adults: Spiked hot cocoa and marshmallow martinis are on the menu.
While lights, swings, and drinks add holiday flavor, Luminations is ultimately rooted in the center’s mission of inspiring native plant conservation. Since its founding in the early Eighties as a national wildflower research hub by former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, the center has grown to 284 acres housing over 1,000 plants and 70 tree species native to Texas. Today, the nonprofit operates under the University of Texas at Austin and conducts research around seed saving, water conservation, solar power, light pollution, and prescribed fires. Ticket sales directly support this work.
“We get a lot of people who’ve never been to the Wildflower Center,” Tucker said. “Luminations is their first way of experiencing it and learning about the work that we do.”
Luminations
Through January 5, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
This article appears in November 29 • 2024.