Sanctuary: An Immersive Outdoor Art Experience
Step into a landscape where flowers move, birds sing, peacocks come to life, and thousands of illuminated forms transform the familiar surroundings of Mount Trashmore Park.
Where Wonder Grows: an art experience by Skunk Control
Sanctuary, created by Australian art collective Skunk Control, is a large-scale outdoor art experience inspired by the wonder and complexity of the natural world. More than 4,000 individual elements come together to create an environment filled with movement, light, color, and sound.
Located beyond Shelter 3 at Mount Trashmore Park, Sanctuary invites visitors to wander through the installation, look closely, listen, and experience the artwork from different perspectives. The experience changes throughout the day as sunlight, movement, and eventually illumination transform the artwork.
Plan Your Visit
Installation on view October 17 through December 16, 2026.
Location: Mount Trashmore Park, beyond Shelter 3
Address: 310 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach
Admission: Free
Visitors can experience Sanctuary during regular park hours.
Special evening access to Sanctuary will be available until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the installation, excluding Halloween, allowing visitors to experience the installation illuminated after dark.
Because Sanctuary changes with the light and time of day, visitors may want to experience it once during daylight and return in the evening for a different view.
Opening Celebration
Saturday, October 17 | 4 to 8 p.m.
Mount Trashmore Park | Free and open to the public
Join Virginia Beach Public Art for the opening celebration of Sanctuary.
The celebration is timed so visitors can experience the installation in daylight and stay as the illuminated elements come to life after dark.
Additional event details will be announced soon.
What You’ll Discover
Throughout Sanctuary, oversized flowers, birds, butterflies, and other imaginative forms create a landscape that feels both familiar and unexpected.
Guardian Flowers
Some of the largest pieces in Sanctuary are towering kinetic flowers that stand more than 17 feet high. The flowers slowly open and close, bringing movement and changing forms to the landscape.
A Field of Illuminated Flowers
Approximately 3,000 flowers, ranging from three to five feet tall, fill the installation. During the day, sunlight interacts with their colors, reflective surfaces, and optical effects. After dark, the flowers illuminate, transforming the field into a nighttime landscape.
Kinetic Birdhouses
55 birdhouses are located throughout Sanctuary. Moving birds and birdsong add sound and unexpected activity to the experience.
Peacocks
Eight kinetic peacocks are incorporated into the installation, adding another element of movement and surprise.
Bulbous Plants
Over 1,000 sculptural plants, standing six to eight feet tall, are located throughout Sanctuary. Their unusual forms add another layer to the garden setting and illuminate after dark.
Butterflies
Over 1,300 butterflies can be found throughout the installation, including 30 large butterflies with wingspans reaching approximately four feet.
Together, these elements create a landscape that changes depending on where you stand, what you notice, and when you visit.
Look a Little Closer
There is a lot to discover in Sanctuary, and some of its most interesting details may not be obvious at first.
Skunk Control uses light, color, movement, reflection, and optical effects throughout the installation. What visitors see can change based on the sunlight, their viewing angle, and their position within the artwork.
There is no set path or single way to experience Sanctuary. Visitors are encouraged to take their time and notice the smaller details along with the large-scale elements. Listen for birdsong, watch the flowers move, notice changing colors and reflections, and look for butterflies throughout the landscape.
Experience Sanctuary by Day and at Night
Sanctuary offers a different experience depending on when you visit.
During the day, sunlight interacts with color, reflective materials, and optical elements throughout the installation. Daylight also provides an opportunity to see the details and construction of the individual sculptures.
As daylight fades, illumination becomes part of the artwork. Thousands of flowers and plants light up, creating a very different experience after dark.
Special evening hours on Fridays and Saturdays make it possible to experience both sides of Sanctuary.
The Science Behind the Art
Art, science, engineering and technology all play a role in Skunk Control’s work.
The collective brings together artists, scientists, engineers, designers and makers. In Sanctuary, these disciplines come together through kinetic sculpture, optics, lighting, solar technology and other technical elements.
Many of the effects visitors experience are rooted in science, from the movement of the sculptures to the ways light, color and reflection change depending on the environment and the viewer’s perspective.
About Skunk Control
Skunk Control is an independent multidisciplinary art collective based in Melbourne, Australia, led by founder and artist Nick Athanasiou.
The group brings together artists, engineers, scientists, designers and makers to create large-scale public art experiences. Nature, light, color, optics and movement are recurring elements in its work.
Skunk Control’s installations are designed to be accessible to people of all ages while also grounded in science, engineering and technical innovation. The group’s work encourages exploration and gives visitors opportunities to discover how art, science and the natural world can intersect.
About Nick Athanasiou
Nick Athanasiou is the founder and lead artist of Skunk Control.
Working across art, science, engineering and technology, Athanasiou leads the development of large-scale installations that use movement, light, optics and natural phenomena to create interactive experiences in public spaces.
His work is driven by curiosity and an interest in making science and technology approachable through art. His installations encourage people to investigate what they are seeing and discover details they might otherwise miss.
Learning Through Wonder
The Sanctuary experience extends beyond the installation itself.
Educational and community programming will explore connections between art, science, and nature through STEAM-based learning opportunities. Programming is planned to include school outreach, professional development for teachers, community workshops, and artist-led activities.
Additional program information will be added as it becomes available.
Share Your Experience
Visitors are encouraged to share photos and favorite discoveries from Sanctuary using #VBArts and #VBPublicArt.
Follow Virginia Beach Arts on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates on Sanctuary and more opportunities to experience public art throughout Virginia Beach.