BuHi Lights Project Illuminates Buford Highway’s Diversity
BuHi Lights, located at Pinetree Plaza in Doraville, includes a set of decorated, inflatable light installations.
Beate Sass
A new Buford Highway project is shining a light on the area’s rich culture.
Dashboard, a creative agency, and We Love BuHi have teamed up to produce the first-ever BuHi Lights, which includes a set of decorated, inflatable light installations. The temporary project is located at Pinetree Plaza, 5289 Buford Highway NE, Doraville, throughout November.
“We really wanted to do something that celebrated the area’s diversity and then create an opportunity for a visual unifying element that can be fun and playful, but definitely also celebrates diversity,” Marian Liou, founder and executive director of We Love BuHi, an initiative that shows Buford Highway’s diverse community, said.
The installation is also intended to get locals out into the community to “explore new places,” according to We Love BuHi’s website. A children’s fair and lighting ceremony introduced the local communities to the art on Nov. 3.
“One of the goals … for this project is to encourage people to walk around Buford Highway. It is a corridor designed for cars, but we think it should be redesigned for people, especially to promote the safety of the many pedestrians who get on Buford Highway,” Liou said.
The inflatables created by Pheuhaus are covered with textiles designed by four women of color who are artists within the Atlanta community. Mónica Campana, InKyoung Chun from Korea, Chintia Kirana from Indonesia and Dianna Settles who is Vietnamese-American brought their own perspectives to their BuHi Lights pieces.
Campana, founder of local nonprofit Living Walls, was inspired by the Nazca lines that are found in the desert for her piece called “Even In The Arid Desert We Can Find Each Other.” She said she wanted to show the Nazca culture in Peru, which is where she immigrated from.
“This place (Nazca lines) holds so much magic but at first glance, you cannot see it. Because it’s in the desert. You have to see it from the sky. And to me, Buford Highway is a place that many times gets misunderstood,” Campana said. “It takes more than first glance. It takes getting to know someone and getting to know and see how rich and magical a person can be.”
Liou hopes for this project to show others that “Buford Highway isn’t just about food.”
“I think it’s a place of a belonging. It’s a place to call home,” Liou said. “I hope it continues to be culturally diverse and to continue to build on its own character.”
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