The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is set to glow this holiday season with Cistern Illuminated, a new multi-sensory art experience by artist and engineer Kelly O’Brien that transforms the historic underground reservoir into a dazzling interplay of color, light, and sound.
Opening Nov. 28, 2025, and running through Jan. 18, 2026, the installation invites visitors on a luminous journey beneath the city. More than 200 towering concrete columns will be bathed in vivid, shifting hues, accompanied by an ethereal soundscape that highlights the Cistern’s natural acoustics and reflective surfaces.
O’Brien’s creation reimagines the decommissioned drinking water reservoir as a meditative environment that balances art, engineering, and architecture. Tours will be offered Wednesday through Sunday, with hourly sessions at 10 and 11 a.m. and 1, 2, 3, and 5 p.m.
On select evenings, the experience expands through live performances of Ring in the Peace, a cross-cultural music composition presented by Ars Lyrica. Curated by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte and percussionist Jesús Pacheco, the program draws from centuries of global musical traditions to evoke themes of reflection, harmony, and connection.
Originally constructed in 1926, the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern was rediscovered in 2010 and repurposed by Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) into one of Houston’s most distinctive public art spaces. Previous installations have featured renowned artists such as Magdalena Fernández, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Anri Sala, and Rachel Rossin.
Tickets and additional information about Cistern Illuminated and BBP’s ongoing programming can be found at buffalobayou.org.