Five temporary, light-based art installations come to glowing life each evening through Saturday in downtown Austin along Waller Creek between 5th and 8th Streets. It’s called, simply, Creek Show, with a carnival-esque monster-fish logo (it’s alive!) that I still don’t get, but it’s fun, it’s free, and it’s all part of the effort to revitalize long-neglected Waller Creek through the Waller Creek Conservancy.

This glowing green extinct sea lizard “swims” under the 8th Street bridge. Here’s more info about it:

This part of Waller Creek is currently little more than a concrete-edged drainage channel that often floods. Playing on the watershed theme, this colorful installation represents rainclouds ready to drop a gullywasher into the creek.

The colors change as you stand there looking at it, washing the tunnel wall with light and reflecting in the creek.

Here’s the description:

Walking north to south along the creek we came to the last installation at Easy Tiger Beer Garden, which was packed with mellow patrons at picnic tables along the creek. A rainbow of red light arced up from the creek below…

…over a pedestrian bridge and back down into the creek.

This should be a permanent addition, I think.

Here’s the description:

Waller Creek has been the subject of grand redevelopment visions over the years, like creating Austin’s own San Antonio River Walk. But I think the current vision, which seems to have momentum under the leadership of Peter Mullan of the High Line in NYC, will be a better fit for Austin: part of a chain of parks along Waller Creek, with an emphasis on nature and park-like access.

So go on out and visit Creek Show, Austin, and show your support for Waller Creek’s redevelopment. It’s sure to be a treasured new park in downtown Austin.

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