Vivid Creatures

An exhibition of giant, colorful sculptures as tall as trees is opening soon at The Morton Arboretum.

Vivid Creatures, a new outdoor art exhibition at The Morton Arboretum, is an invitation to explore our connections with the natural world through giant, colorful, playful animal sculptures placed outdoors amid towering trees and sweeping green vistas. Each artwork tells a story about the relationships between creatures and the ecosystems where they live.

Guests of all ages can delight in an oversized deer, snail, squirrel, dragonfly, and sandhill crane—all animals native to northern Illinois—depicted in brightly decorated larger-than-life artworks up to 24 feet tall.

The sculptures will be placed among the tree collections and natural areas of The Morton Arboretum, the Chicago area’s largest public garden, where some of these creatures live.

The five sculptures were created exclusively for The Morton Arboretum by Fez BeGaetz and Heather BeGaetz of Portland, Oregon. Go behind the build and read about the inspiration and creative process behind the sculptures.

Exhibition Details

Vivid Creatures is free and is included with general admission to the Arboretum.

Buy general admission tickets in advance to be among the first to see Vivid Creatures when it opens on Saturday, May 17. Buying your general admission tickets early is the best value, and you always save $2 per ticket when you buy online. General admission tickets are now on sale through June.

Members always get in free and can visit any time without purchasing general admission. Become an Arboretum member to enjoy this wonderful exhibition of whimsical wildlife all year long.

On Friday, May 16, Arboretum members will get to see the sculptures the day before they are officially on display for the public. Become a member to get a first look.

Events and Programs

Throughout the summer, there are exciting, family-friendly events and programs to enjoy alongside the Vivid Creatures exhibition.

Guests can get a chance to hear from the artists during a walking tour scheduled both in the morning and the afternoon of the exhibition’s debut on Saturday, May 17. Register for the Vivid Creatures Walking Tour to hear about their creative process and the stories that inspired the sculptures.

On Saturdays and Sundays starting May 24, children and families can create their own works of art inspired by Vivid Creatures in the free, drop-in Vivid Creations Art Workshop hosted in the Arboretum’s Children’s Garden. The workshop will include materials inspired by different Vivid Creatures sculptures, from the wide, feathery wings of Cadence, the sandhill crane, to the shiny, colorful shell of Spectra, the brittle button snail. Vivid Creations Art Workshop will be open 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

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Events and Programs

Make the most of your visit to The Morton Arboretum by enjoying events and programs offered this summer. From nature-inspired art programs and family-friendly activities, there’s something for everyone to enjoy during a day at the Arboretum.

Vivid Creatures Walking Tour with the Artists

Get a special view behind the scenes of The Morton Arboretum’s new art exhibition Vivid Creatures by registering for the Vivid Creatures Walking Tour with the Artists on Saturday, May 17. See the sculptures, hear about the concepts behind the exhibition, and learn about the process of creating these awe-inspiring artworks.

Vivid Creations Workshop

Children and families can create their own works of art inspired by Vivid Creatures in the free drop-in, Vivid Creations Art Workshop hosted in the Arboretum’s Children’s Garden. Open on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer, the workshop will include materials inspired by different Vivid Creatures sculptures, from the wide, feathery wings of Cadence, the sandhill crane, to the shiny, colorful shell of Spectra, the brittle button snail.

Wonder Woods Mini Golf

Wonder Woods Mini Golf returns to The Morton Arboretum starting Friday, May 23! From giant mushrooms to larger-than-life bugs and acorns, Wonder Woods brings the Arboretum’s tree science to life in fun and unexpected ways. Mini golf tickets must be purchased in advance in addition to Arboretum general admission. Tickets for time slots through September 1 will be available to Arboretum members on Thursday, May 1, and on sale to all on Thursday, May 15.

Nature Play for All

On Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, children of all abilities can play and explore nature through accessible activities in The Morton Arboretum’s Children’s Garden during the special Nature Play for All weekend event. Activities include creative nature art, seed planting, bilingual storytimes, pond exploration, and sensory hikes. Nature Play for All is included in Arboretum general admission.

The Children’s Garden

Near the Visitor Center and the Vivid Creatures loop is The Morton Arboretum’s Children’s Garden. Open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, this 4-acre playground and nature play space has activities and features to delight children and families of all ages. New interactive features and exciting, fun events make the Children’s Garden worth visiting again and again. Entrance to the Children’s Garden is free and included with Arboretum general admission.

Special Events

Throughout the summer, the Arboretum hosts family-friendly events from concerts to cultural festivals. Vivid Creatures will be open and viewable during each event. Plan a visit to experience these fun, upcoming activities:

Arbor Evenings, Wednesdays throughout the summer starting May 28
Pizza Party with Jules, Thursday, June 26
Noche de Familia, Thursday, July 13
Destination Asia, Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3
Celebración de los Árboles, Saturday, September 27, and Sunday, September 28

Heather BeGaetz and Fez BeGaetz are partners in life and art. The duo creates large-scale sculptures and environments that have been exhibited internationally at numerous immersive art destinations, art and music festivals, conferences, and urban spaces. They live and work near the shores of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, on the unceded lands of Chinook and Kalapuya people. They have a daughter, Calliope.

Together, Fez and Heather love to make works that people can experience from afar, up close, or underneath.

In her sculptural works, Heather BeGaetz creates enormous art beings that invite people to take sanctuary in wonder and enter worlds of imagination. Her creative roots in the performing arts as a theatrical writer, director, performer, and mask-maker inform her large-scale sculptures and immersive art environments.

Fez BeGaetz integrates a lifetime of building skills with explorations at the edge of his imagination into fantastical large-scale art. He is skilled at designing for modularity in large-scale works while bringing a maverick creative agility to engineering, fabrication, and installation challenges. Honed by over a decade of experience as an Antarctica expedition guide, his creative intelligence is shaped by the artful forces of ice, wind, and the sea.

Behind the Build

How are these large-scale sculptures made? Working with a small team at their studio in Portland, Oregon, artists Fez BeGaetz and Heather BeGaetz spent many months designing, planning, and fabricating the monumental sculptures in Vivid Creatures, the new art exhibition at The Morton Arboretum.

The sculptures began in the imagination of the artists, inspired by wildlife they encountered on a visit to The Morton Arboretum. They used digital design software to analyze their detailed drawings and determine the underlying structure and materials needed to fabricate the sculptures. Because the artworks have to be transported from the artists’ studio in Portland, Oregon, they were designed in modules that would fit on a truck and could be assembled at the Arboretum.

Inside each sculpture is a supporting armature made of sheet metal and connecting rods that you might think of as a skeleton. The steel used in the sculptures is 80 percent recycled. To make the armatures, steel sheets were cut to a precise shape, held in position by a wooden scaffold, and then welded in place.

Once at the Arboretum, the artists and their team will assemble the pieces together and paint them to imaginatively evoke characteristics of the animals: the vivid colors of a snail’s iridescent shell, feathers reflected in the surface of water, or the playfulness of creatures scattering acorns through the forest. The painted surfaces will then be then sealed for durability and be ready for their debut.

See the sculptures yourself when Vivid Creatures opens on Saturday, May 17.

Register for the Vivid Creatures Walking Tour to learn more about the creative process and the inspiration behind the exhibition.

Accessibility

Four of the five sculptures will be within walking distance of the Arboretum’s central Visitor Center, and guests will be able to view several of the sculptures from Meadow Lake Trail, which loops around a manmade lake located directly outside the Visitor Center. The 0.6-mile paved asphalt loop has a typical grade of 3% and a maximum grade of 8%. The fifth sculpture is not accessible by wheelchair as it will be installed on the berm that separates the Arboretum from Interstate Highway 88 and will require a drive and a steeper climb to visit.

Parking Lot 1 has accessible parking spaces and is close to the Visitor Center and Meadow Lake Trail. The distance from the furthest parking spot to the main entrance of the Visitor Center is one-quarter of a mile. The accessible parking spaces and pathways from Parking Lot 1 to the Visitor Center feature smooth pavers.

Accessible restrooms are available in the Visitor Center, at the beginning and end of the main Vivid Creatures loop.

Learn more about Accessibility at The Morton Arboretum.