The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a 17-acre botanical garden and interactive urban park located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Myriad’s central feature is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory — a 224-foot enclosed glass plant museum featuring towering palm trees, tropical plants and flowers, waterfalls, and exotic animals. In 2019, Lightswitch worked with the Gardens to create a light show full of magic and wonder.
Returning to work with Myriad Gardens for the second year, the Lightswitch creative team took an artistic approach, drawing inspiration from the Vincent Van Gogh painting The Starry Night. Inviting visitors inside for a curated, immersive light experience, our Illuminations show encompassed the entire Crystal Bridge, which served as a canvas for moving lights choreographed to music. The show was designed to capture the unique character of a winter sky, and featured a lighted tunnel along the upper walkway of the bridge, as well as a separate special display area called the Oculus Room.
For the second year, we collaborated with our friends at HYBYCOZO, the immersive Los Angeles based sculptural art collective. Their geometric, iridescent sculptural lights created intricate shapes and shadows, and delighted guests of all ages. Finally, a giant, internally-lit moon anchored the experience, casting a beautiful night glow over the entire space.
ILLUMINATIONS at Myriad Gardens was a very different challenge than our previous projects Illumination – Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum or Enchanted – Forest of Light. Rather than using a “something-for-everyone” approach to transform multiple acres of gardens, Lightswitch tackled the limited space afforded by the Crystal Bridge Conservatory with design rigor and conscious decision making. The end result successfully paid homage to a beloved work of art, immersing guests in a thematic celebration of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Illuminations will return in 2022, but the seasonal installation was so popular that Lightswitch has been asked to bring our transformative lighting to guests year-round — our team is currently working with Myriad Gardens on the permanent architectural lighting design for their redevelopment of the Crystal Bridge.
