Canopy is a grove of illuminated tree-like sculptures that continuously transform, illuminating, and expanding as participants power them with bike-driven generators.

The interdisciplinary arts collaborative Pneuhaus and Baltimore-based company Bike Powered Events have premiered The Canopy, an interactive art installation that invites its visitors to power their own experience with bike-driven generators. As participants pedal they collectively transform a neon-colored grove of sculptural trees between them. Unlike traditional sculpture these inflatable forms were never meant to be still, instead their contours and colors have been designed to change continuously in time with the collective momentum of the bikers. As participants race together the field of plant-like pieces inflate, deflate, illuminate, and darken.

Inspired by ‘Crown Shyness’, a phenomena wherein a grove of trees grows together to create a continuous canopy while never touching or overcrowding, the individual sculptural pieces of The Canopy each together at full inflation to create a unified luminous awning that
stretches over both bikers and onlookers. In this way, the heart of the installation is the excitement held between the participants that then gets reflected by the artwork.

About the artist: Pneuhaus is an interdisciplinary art and design studio that specializes in exuberant transformations of public space. Their immersive sculptures and environments guide visitors into the universe of their senses and the joys of shared experience. Inspired by physics, biology, and craft, our studio’s work incorporates the lessons of nature in both form and function.

Bike Powered Events harnesses stationary bikes that generate electricity, collaboration, and well-being for all ages. We've been bringing pedal power to offices, neighborhoods, festivals, and schools nationwide since 2009. Our activities are 100% pedal-powered and range from amplifying sound systems to mixing smoothies, churning ice cream, and spin art.