A new interactive art installation officially opened to the public Friday with kids getting a free run of the temporary exhibit on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail.
The display, "Territories," is a series of pipes, drums and tubes draped with climbing rope and spray-painted. The objects are spread out over a section of the southeastern corner of the trail near Lakeshore Boulevard and Pleasant Valley Road.
Children ran through, around and on top of the installation on Friday while Leslie Lilly, the conservation director for the The Trail Foundation, coerced the kids' parents into shoveling mulch around the tubes and pipes that were installed last week.
“This is a new kind of installation for the trail and we’re really excited to see how the public responds to it," said Lilly, adding that people's pets have also enjoyed playing in the space. “It brings folks out to have a great nature experience, and to be able to have a unique time while getting to enjoy the trail."
Territories was first featured during Fortlandia, an annual exhibit from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The series installation is a partnership between the Wildflower Center, Austin Parks and Recreation and The Trail Foundation, and the work is a collaboration between local architects, designers and artists.
“The second life of Territories allows even more people the chance to engage and perhaps stay a little longer out in nature,” said Mark Odom, one of the architects who worked on the project.
The installation will be on the Butler Trail for at least six months, Lilly said.
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