Listening to the Land - Laguna Gloria

The Contemporary Austin is launching Listening to the Land - Laguna Gloria on Sunday, September 20, a free multimedia walking tour of the museum's 14-acre lakeside property. It's a self-guided experience that runs through an app, combining audio and augmented reality to pull you into the ecological and human histories that shaped the site. The tour follows the many people who have crossed this region over time: early Texas socialites, industrious Mormon settlers, and Indigenous peoples.

Because it's an app, you set your own pace across the grounds. The audio tells the stories as you walk, and the augmented reality layers in visuals that aren't there in the physical landscape, so you're seeing and hearing the history of the land while you're actually standing on it. It's less of a traditional museum tour and more of a guided exploration you do on your own time.

The launch is part of Austin Museum Day, and there's more to do on the grounds than just the walk. The historic Elisabet Ney Museum, also on the property, opens its doors for a hands-on art-and-nature program by artist Virginia L. Montgomery. Her contribution includes a screening of her surreal short films, a chance to observe moths from the UT Insect Collection, and plein air watercolor postcard painting. If you're in the mood to spend a few hours outside, you can pair the walking tour with the activities over at the Ney.

Listening to the Land runs from 12 PM to 3 PM on September 20 at The Contemporary Austin (Laguna Gloria), 3809 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703. Admission is free.