Octopoda: Creative Neighborhoods’ First International Public Art Installation

This summer, Creative Neighborhoods proudly stepped onto the international stage with our very first public art production abroad: Octopoda.

In partnership with Terre d’Auge in Pont l’Évêque, France, and celebrated French artist Nicolas Barrome Forgues, our executive director Matt Wagner curated a large-scale, collaborative inflatable installation with American artist and Pickathon alum Inflatabill. The result was Octopoda—a surreal, playful, and larger-than-life piece that quickly became a highlight of Nicolas’ exhibition in this beautiful village in Normandie.

The installation embodied everything we stand for: collaboration, cultural exchange, and creative placemaking. By bringing together artists from both sides of the Atlantic, we were able to merge distinct creative traditions while showcasing what can happen when design/build values are applied to an international canvas.

Octopoda was just one of several public art experiences coinciding with Nicolas’ exhibition, but for us, it represented a milestone: our first step into global public art production. It showed us that the ethos we’ve cultivated at Pickathon and across the Pacific Northwest—sustainability, collaboration, and imagination—translates beautifully in international settings.

We’re excited to continue building bridges through art, and to support more projects around the world that invite community, creativity, and connection.

A heartfelt thank you to Wacom for supporting this nonprofit public art project and helping us export our mission across borders.

At Creative Neighborhoods, we believe that art has the power to transform spaces, strengthen communities, and connect cultures. Octopoda is just the beginning.