Metra Rail Car Brings Art and Light to Life for Aurora’s LUMENAURA Festival

Metra, Chicago’s commuter rail agency, joined forces with the city of Aurora, IL, to bring art, light, and community together in a dynamic new way this fall. In celebration of Aurora’s LUMENAURA festival—an immersive downtown art, light, and sound experience—Metra introduced a specially decorated car on its BNSF Line throughout October, transforming an ordinary railcar into a moving piece of art.

The festival’s theme, convergence, reflects the intersection of art, technology, and community—an ideal match for Metra’s mission of connecting people and places across the region. Featuring interactive installations such as responsive light sculptures, laser graffiti, and enchanted fountains, LUMENAURA reimagines public spaces as platforms for creativity and shared experience.

“We are excited and pleased to again be a part of Aurora’s LUMENAURA festival,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski. “It sends a message that Metra is a part of the communities we serve.”

At the heart of Metra’s contribution was Lux Arcana, a suspended light sculpture created by artists Crystal Wagner and Logan Luckey of the collaborative studio Cashews n’ Tattoos. Curated by Monochronicle art consultants, the piece draws inspiration from bioluminescent forms in nature—shifting color and illumination to create a sense of movement and life. Through a subtle interplay of light, texture, and technology, Lux Arcana transforms its surroundings, interacting with the architecture of the railcar to create an ever-changing experience for passengers.

Originally conceived as a solar-powered, wall-mounted piece for a gallery setting, Lux Arcana took on new life inside the Metra car after space limitations required a creative pivot. The transformation required custom mounting, engineering, and coordination between Monochronicle, the City of Aurora, and Metra’s BNSF personnel, who executed the intricate installation within a compressed timeline.

The resulting piece is a pre-programmed, environment-responsive artwork—one that reacts to motion and light without direct human control. For riders and festival-goers alike, it represents a bold proof-of-concept for bringing immersive art into the transit environment.

“I’ve been curating public art for over a decade and have even painted train cars and worked with vinyl wraps—but never inside a train,” said Iryna Kanishcheva, founder and curator of Monochronicle. “As art media evolves and immersive experiences become more popular and sought after, this unique opportunity to collaborate with Metra turned into something truly symbolic. It represents how public art continues to move with people, finding new spaces to connect with them in unexpected ways.”

The partnership between Metra and Aurora’s LUMENAURA exemplifies how public transportation can serve as both a connector and a canvas—bringing art directly to riders and communities. In doing so, it encourages passengers to pause, look around, and see the journey itself as part of the shared human experience.