If you’ve been searching for a whimsical way to stay cool during Atlanta’s record-breaking heatwave, you’re in luck. Misting Mushrooms, a new interactive public art installation in Downtown’s Woodruff Park, invites visitors to step into mist, music, and glowing lights—all by turning a single crank.
Created by LeMonde Studio and presented by Central Atlanta Progress through Woodruff Park’s Art in the Park program, Misting Mushrooms officially debuted Saturday, June 22, during Atlanta Streets Alive and will remain on display through August 30. It’s the latest in a growing series of site-specific installations designed to bring surprise, conversation, and creativity to downtown public spaces.
“Bringing high-quality art into downtown—where people work, eat, walk, or pass through—creates opportunities for joy without barriers. That’s the kind of public space we’re trying to build.” — Noa Hecht, Creative Placemaking Lead, Central Atlanta Progress.
Visually, the piece feels like something out of a fairy tale: a pair of oversized red-and-white mushrooms—one towering seven feet tall—stand side by side on the park’s open lawn. Visitors crank a bright red mechanical handle on the smaller mushroom, activating a gentle spray of mist, a shifting halo of LED light, and a looping melody from the larger mushroom. And, during a week when the city issued heat advisories and opened emergency cooling centers across metro Atlanta, the public art piece is as public service in more ways than one.
“It is such a different interaction when one can touch and play with public art,” said Noa Hecht, Creative Placemaking Lead at Central Atlanta Progress. “There’s real beauty in watching strangers laugh together, start conversations, and share this kind of experience.”
Since launching Art in the Park in 2024, Central Atlanta Progress has commissioned seven installations that transform Woodruff Park into an open-air gallery with no admission fee and no gatekeeping.
“Not everyone can afford museums or feels comfortable entering them,” Hecht said. “Bringing high-quality art into downtown—where people work, eat, walk, or pass through—creates opportunities for joy without barriers. That’s the kind of public space we’re trying to build.”
Response to the public art program has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’ve had no vandalism or graffiti,” Hecht added. “That tells us the community respects and values what’s here.”
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The Misting Mushrooms installation marks the program’s first foray into misting art, combining play and practical relief in a summer that’s only getting hotter. Opening weekend found children, couples, and office workers lining up to take a turn at the crank and bask in the mist.
“There’s something so simple but powerful about seeing another person smile,” Hecht said. “It breaks down those invisible walls and reminds us that we’re part of the same story, even if it’s just for a few moments.”
