Hide and Seek

Magical tree fort exhibition climbs into Austin as a must-see attraction

Fortlandia Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

"Fairy Pavilion" by James Edward Talbot.

Photo by Brian Birzer/Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Now through January 26, the buzzy new Fortlandia at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a special exhibition featuring 10 custom-built forts created by Texas architects, designers, and artists, will be on display in Austin. The pop-up encourages adults and children of all ages to play, explore, and wander while enjoying the natural beauty of the center.

Among those crafting the impressive forts are James Edward Talbot, the mastermind behind the whimsical three-story Casa Neverlandia, a 1906 Bouldin Creek property that’s undoubtedly one of Austin’s wackiest homes, and Sky Lutz-Carrillo of design-and-fabrication studio Hatch Workshop.

Both fans of the Wildflower Center, Talbot, and Lutz-Carrillo eagerly became involved with this year’s Fortlandia, producing wildly different forts. The result is a must-hit destination for winter travelers to Austin.

The creatives spoke to CultureMap and revealed their inspiration for the structures and why designing for children tests their boundaries.

Land of the fairies
“A classmate of mine from Rice went to Fortlandia last year ... and was sure I would be a fit," Talbot says. "[She] told me I should try for it." For inspiration for "Fairy Pavilion," Talbot turned to his time spent living in a treehouse during college in Honduras, and, of course, fairy culture. The result, part pavilion, part fairy circle, is something out of a children’s book.

In addition to its magical properties, the green design features a recycled aluminum-can roof and a branched cedar base. “I always wanted to make a roof with flattened aluminum cans as shingles,” he remarks. “I had done a piece for Bouldin Creek Cafe on the side of their building, but wanted to make something more three-dimensional.”

The design also includes a main floor, maze, underneath crawl space, and a lookout that lifts guests about nine feet above the ground. He then added six plexiglass pieces in the roof to act as colored skylights and hung recycled CDs for a bit of glittering, magical ambiance.

“The wood for the platforms was recycled from a fence I had torn down. Most of [the materials are] recycled. The fairy circle is made from a wagon wheel rim I collected,” he says.

More than just a creative exercise, Talbot's Fortlandia entry is an extension of his lifelong work. Talbot’s father was in the military, and due to his uncommon upbringing — he’s lived on five different continents — he has always been drawn to creating spaces for children to learn, grow, and work through experiences as they age.

“I thought change could occur more quickly by influencing young people rather than trying to work with adults,” Talbot explains.

A tree’s story
Like Talbot’s fairy pavilion and fairy circle, Hatch Workshop’s "Flitch Fort" was also sustainably built, utilizing pieces of a single fallen oak tree from Oakwood Cemetery that was made available through the city’s urban forestry program.

Inspired by work with Hatch’s sister company, Harvest Lumber Company, which repurposes fallen trees in the Austin area, the fort “tells the story of the tree in a way you don’t normally get to see,” says Lutz-Carrillo. The circular structure “displays the tree vertically in these slices so you can follow swirls and hollows, all while creating a kind of jungle gym at different heights around the circumference,” he adds.

While Lutz-Carrillo typically designs items for adults, like the live-edge pecan bar for Dai Due and oak-and-steel dining tables for the former Unit-D Pizzeria, Hatch did build a custom cedar playground back in 2016.

Like Talbot, as well as the other makers involved with this year’s Fortlandia, Lutz-Carrillo loved getting to think outside the box and provide opportunities for children to experiment, test boundaries, and have fun in a safe environment.

“There is an openness and lack of expectations to how things are supposed to work and look and feel that children bring,” he says. “Children are willing to experiment in spaces in a way that adults don't think to. Designing for children asks you to put yourself in that more expansive mental space.”

To see these forts, as well as entries from firms such as The Beck Group, dwg., Nelson Partners, and The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, head to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center now through January 26.

Entry to the Wildflower Center is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors and non-UT students; $6 for children ages 5-17; and free for children under 5 and all UT students, faculty, and staff. Access to Fortlandia is included with the price of admission.

Now hear this

New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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