Newest Downtown Dallas Park Gets Ready to Open With Techie Public Artwork

The West End Square park has been in the works for almost two years now. In 2019, in an attempt to reinvigorate Dallas’ historic West End, the iconic lighted arches were relit, and a new .78-acre park was announced to take over the former parking lot next to the (now shuttered) Spaghetti Warehouse building. Now, the park is gearing up to welcome visitors on March 26 and Dallas-based public arts organization AURORA is presenting its inaugural public artwork.

“ANTIBODIES,” a project by Montreal-based new media artist Daniel Iregui, will be a larger-than-life, interactive LED wall installation that uses motion capture technology to capture the movement and even facial expressions of park visitor. The piece “reflects on the monotony of video calls,” a theme that has felt particularly relevant throughout the pandemic.

Of course, masks and social distancing protocols will need to be followed when experiencing the piece. And there will also be an online version you can check out comfortably from home.

Along with the inaugural artwork, which will be on view until April 4, West End Square will later feature several rotating temporary digital installations in its Innovation Arcade — a “Frame” along the park’s Market Street side which will host performances and community programming opportunities.

Designed by landscape architect James Corner Field Operations, the innovative park includes three “Frames,” or three sides of the park embodied by a steel trellis structure. Another “Frame” is The Porch, which features porch swings hung along North Record Street. And the third is the Outdoor Workroom, created by the “Frame’s” northern edge and includes a 50-foot-long table with charging stations and Wi-Fi for outdoor working options.

Sounds pretty darn cool.