The Old Dominion University Public Arts Festival is known for its annual display of large-scale art, and this year’s inflatable trees and clouds are part of the environment-themed festival, “Pneuhaus.” Friday and Saturday at the Barry Art Museum, it will feature immersive and interactive art displays centered on Earth science.
The event is organized around four exhibition displays called biomes, said Charlotte Potter Kasic, the Barry’s executive director.
Suspended from the balcony in the Barry’s atrium, one of the biomes — “Cloud Lights” — will feature hanging abstract inflatables that look like moving clouds, casting a rainbow.
“It’s sort of the phenomenon of being in a plane and going through clouds,” Kasic said.
Biomes “Canopy” and “Fabric Prism” are interactive and will be outside the museum on West 43rd Street. One block of the roadway, between Hampton Boulevard and Monarch Way, will be closed.
“Canopy” is an internally lighted inflatable designed to resemble tree branches that are mounted off the ground to give viewers the impression of standing beneath a tree canopy. Festivalgoers can ride bicycle-powered generators that will power the installation into opening and closing the trees’ branches.