As experiential fabricators, we see projects start in many different ways. Some start just as jumbled ideas spoken out loud. Some start with sketches. Others begin with community. The Mirage—a vibrant new public art installation at the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center—is one such project.

Created by New Orleans artist Trinity Barriere and brought to life with help from numerous community members and organizations, the sculpture is made up of dozens of brightly painted birdhouses arranged in a flowing, DNA-like formation. Each birdhouse represents a home, a story, and a piece of the layered history of New Orleans East, while also serving a practical purpose as habitat for the birds who call this place home during migration.

For Downtown FabWorks, serving as the fabrication and installation partner meant helping transform Barrier's vision into something permanent that can stand the test of time...and Mother Nature. It's a unique challenge to help an art experience become part of the literal landscape for generations of humans (and birds!) to come.

But before a single post went into the ground, Barriere's community busied themselves with brushes.

It Takes a Village

Community participation isn’t just one element of this project—it’s the foundation.

Earlier this year, friends, neighbors, and young creatives gathered for a Community Paint Day organized by Arts New Orleans at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.

More than 200 community members got to work transforming plain wooden birdhouses into colorful works of art. Some were playful, some abstract, some deeply personal. Together, they form the heart of the installation.

Every birdhouse remains exactly as it was painted that day: after the event, Barriere carefully sealed each one with weather-resistant protection so every unique creation will stay vibrant through season after season of Louisiana sun, rain, and anything in between.

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The Mirage…Made Real

While a handful of the DFW krewe did get to make our own little painted creations, we left the bigger builds to our experts in the shop.

Our team fabricated the twelve largest birdhouses in the sculpture (which were painted by Barriere and a collection of her fellow artists) along with the metal posts that support the entire installation. Each durable steel perch was designed and built to withstand outdoor conditions while still allowing the artwork to feel light, organic, and playful within the landscape.

While we are always exacting when we get to the install phase, we had to be extra meticulous with placing and spacing here. Following Barriere’s layout and directional plan, we mapped each piece to its own unique spot and facing a precise direction, so the birdhouses would form the winding pattern and produce the effect she envisioned.

Then came the heavy lifting.

Using a large auger, we drilled deep holes throughout the site before placing each metal post, securing it with concrete, then attaching the birdhouses to their permanent perches. Our methods during fabrication and install on The Mirage had to strike a delicate balance: ensure that the installation will stand strong for years while still honoring the fluid, lofty movement of the design.

In projects like this, art and engineering go hand in hand, and it’s honestly where our team thrives.

A Shared Creation Unveiled

On a perfect, sunny day in April, our large-scale group project culminated in one last joyful day of togetherness, movement, and celebration on day three of the 11th Annual Dance for Change Festival, presented by Dancing Grounds.

In collaboration with Arts New Orleans and held at the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, this unveiling was a youth-led gathering exploring creativity, mental health, community, and connection to nature.

Alongside The Mirage, another installation shared the spotlight: Pause Here, the Land is Speaking, a mosaic seating installation created by Jamar Pierre in collaboration with talented youth from the Young Artist Movement. Inspired by Louisiana’s wetlands, the piece creates a space for reflection and gathering where visitors can sit, connect, and experience the surrounding landscape.

Together, the installations turn the space into more than a park feature—they create a place for the beauty of art and nature to intersect and coexist.

Where Artists and Institutions Come Together

As we can see from here, projects like this don’t just appear. They’re made possible through the collective effort of many hands and shared commitment.

The Mirage and its companion installation were commissioned through the City of New Orleans’ Percent for Art Program, an initiative that ensures public investment in infrastructure by supporting artists and creative expression across the city. The project was administered by Arts New Orleans and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ultimately, the result is work that centers creativity, environmental awareness, youth leadership, community empowerment, and the stories of neighborhoods like New Orleans East.

A Tribute to Our Home

At Downtown FabWorks, we believe public art works best when it reflects the people and places around it.

As artists ourselves, we’re always excited to collaborate with local dreamers to turn ambitious ideas into tangible, built experiences. There’s something powerful about helping a concept take the journey from idea to installation—especially when the final piece belongs to the community that helped create it.

The Mirage feels unmistakably New Orleans: alive with color and invention, deeply tethered to the land and water around it, and shaped by the easy, nurturing rhythm of its people building something together. Now, these birdhouses painted by individual members of this community stand together in the landscape, each one a small piece of a much larger story.

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What’s the next big story you want to tell? We’re here to help you build it. Reach out today to start your project’s journey!

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