University of North Texas 
David Stout's In Their Arms We Hold the Sky and Alicia Eggert's You Are Magic, were selected as featured installations at Temple Emanu-El's sesquicentennial celebration, TE150, Light Years: An Innovative Light and Technology Experience. Light Years is the second of three cornerstone events in celebration of Temple Emanu-El's 150-year legacy in Dallas. The temple worked with AURORA to commission original multimedia artworks, for an exclusive art event that will showcase new media art forms while celebrating their history.
In Their Arms We Hold the Sky is a panoramic video mural celebrating the Tree of Life as an archetypal expression of interconnected biodiversity. Drawing from traditional forms of narrative scrolls and epic tapestry, this poetic work evokes the wonder, fragility, and exuberance of creation itself, set in contrast to the looming shadows of environmental catastrophe. The project was created using a variety of generative digital techniques including AI image synthesis, audio-visual transcoding that turns animated imagery into sound, and interactive animation methods, which allow the artist to compose and perform audio-visual passages live in real-time. The result is a richly illuminated audio-visual experience, intended for an audience of all ages, that integrates painterly and synthetic photo-realistic imagery through a blend of graphic geometric abstraction and illustrative magic realism. Designed as a two projector, ultra-wide panorama, the 100 x 25 ft image was premiered at monumental scale on the upper wall of the Olan Sanctuary.
You Are Magic is an interactive inflatable sculpture designed to inspire wonder and evoke the power of collaboration. When two people hold hands with each person touching one of the handprint sensors, they complete an electrical circuit and the deflated sculpture comes to life, expanding into the words "You Are Magic." The sculpture fills with air, growing larger the longer participants hold hands. But as soon as they release their hands the circuit is broken, and the sculpture deflates into a crumpled pile of fabric on the ground.