The “Bird” at OMSI
You may have noticed the new guest on OMSI’s front plaza! This sculpture, named “Migrations,” celebrates the beauty and struggle of animal and human migration, and prompts viewers to reflect on their own personal relationship with movement and place.
The 21-foot sculpture was originally built for Burning Man in 2023 before being displayed at the Portland Lights Festival in 2024. During its time at the Lights Festival, the sculpture was lit with color-changing LEDs and accompanied by an interactive app that allowed visitors to share their own stories of migration as well as read the stories of others.
Olivia Phoenix (nee Guethling), the artist behind the work and an immigrant herself, shares, “Migration is complex and wild and scary and beautiful. The piece invites everyone to relate: what brings us together? What is migration to you?”
As Olivia points out, migration is as natural to animals and humans as breathing. Every person has experiences of moving, relocating, and being uprooted, and she hopes this sculpture will bring people together around a shared experience.
About the Sculpture
“Migrations” was created through a collaborative process between artist Olivia Guethling, Engineer Trevor Blackann, GuildWorks’ Founder & Principal Mar Ricketts, and many others.
Learn more about GuildWorks, a Portland-based design and build firm specializing in architectural fabric structures.
About the Artist – Olivia Phoenix
Olivia is an international, multi-talented artist and designer with a BA in Visual Communication Design and a Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Design. With her fascination for effective communication and systems design, her work spans many disciplines and mediums. She is known for her work as Creative Director, Producer, Graphic Designer, and Artist.
My works are creating immersive experiences that serve as portals for contemplation, pondering, and reflection.
Collaboration is fundamental to my creative process. Each project begins with a vision, location, or venue and comes to life through my synergistic relationships with other artists and creators. To me, material or logistics constraints are creative catalysts that shape and enrich the final result.
This approach has led me to work across a wide spectrum of media – from generative digital installations, photojournalism exhibitions, large-scale public art sculptures, or making books that explore the human consciousness. The creation process is as important to my practice as the finished work.
I approach each project as an opportunity to investigate and learn. My works aim to create moments of pause, offering a space for viewers to relate to new perspectives, dream of what’s possible, and be present with their reflections.
Olivia Phoenix