Client: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Overview

An outdoor digital art exhibit for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

When Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art wanted to bring a nighttime attraction to their mile-long North Forest trail, they asked Moment Factory to develop a concept that would highlight their unique surroundings. The resulting project, North Forest Lights, is an outdoor digital art exhibit composed of five installations grounded in the human relationship to nature.

Each piece is driven by locally inspired music and a rich colour palette that bring to light both the human and natural past of this site. Interactive technology lets visitors sing to a great red oak, while illuminated trees and a custom soundtrack invite everyone to tune in to the hidden wavelengths of the woods. From nature-inspired sculptural elements to immersive soundscapes and lighting design, each step of the experience allows people to deeply reconnect with the environment.

Goals

This project was conceived in close collaboration with the museum’s team, who provided the guidance that inspired our collective of artists, and we were thrilled to bring our technical expertise and creative vision to this celebrated cultural institution.

The goals of the project are to :
- Highlight the museum's unique surroundings as well as speak and connect to new audiences
- Reimagine the way that people interact with natural settings within a museum context
- Offer a photogenic and shareable experience that’s family-friendly, but also appeals to sophisticated adult audiences
- Allow the visitors to connect differently with nature, as well as (re) discover the North Forest trail

Additional Information

This project drew on our existing toolkit of digital and interactive media to create a new kind of experience that combines a highly artistic approach with an all-ages, entertainment-driven production. In creating the experience, our goal was to reimagine the way that people interact with natural settings, while working within a museum context. The five installations were designed to create different levels of engagement. For example, the immersive and otherworldly “Forest Frequencies” surrounds everyone in an orchestra of locally inspired harmonies and dynamic LED, while the interactive and fun, “Whispering Tree” invites visitors to sing to a great oak, who shows them the unique colour of their voices. We were proud to align with Crystal Bridges’ mission of bringing art to diverse audiences while highlighting the museum’s unique Ozark landscape, and we have relished the opportunity to bring Moment Factory’s vision of meaningful collective amazement to this cultural institution.