Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf is an arts and entertainment company that creates large-scale immersive art installations and produces arts and music festivals, music videos and streaming entertainment.[1][2] The company was founded in 2008.[3]

Meow Wolf
Christian Ristow's gargantuan robot statue poses in front of Meow Wolf's Santa Fe, New Mexico location.
Established2008
FocusCollaborative Art Installation
CFOCarl Christensen
Location
Siler and Rufina neighborhood
,
Santa Fe
,
New Mexico
,
the United States of America
Coordinates35.6543986, -105.9966387
Address1352 Rufina Circle
Websitehttps://meowwolf.com

Meow Wolf's attractions are located in Santa Fe and Denver, and additional attractions are slated to open in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Washington DC.[4] Its flagship attraction, House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, is a 20,000-square-foot facility that includes an immersive art installation, learning center, and concert venue.[5][6]

History

Meow Wolf was formed in February 2008 as an Artist Collective by "a group of young residents hoping to supply Santa Fe with an alternative art and music venue."[7]

At the first meeting of the collective, everyone present put two scraps of paper with a word on each one in a hat, and the first two scraps drawn became the name of the collective, Meow Wolf.[8]

In 2016 Meow Wolf opened their first permanent installation, House of Eternal Return, which was built by a collective of 135 artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[9]

As a company, they focus on sharing abilities and processes amongst their artists to create elaborate maximalist art installations with a focus on interactivity, narrative and immersive art.

Early projects 2008–2014

Notable Santa Fe-based installations created by Meow Wolf include "Biome Neuro Norb" (2008) a Sci-Fi inspired installation,[10] "Auto Wolf" (2009) an installation centered around the destruction and reuse of a donated car,[11] "The Moon is to Live On", a multimedia theatrical play,[12] "Geodecadent I" and "Geodecadent II" (both 2010) a series of installations based on geodesic domes,[13][14] "The Due Return" (2011) an installation consisting of a 70-foot long ship with two levels, and filled with rooms and objects suggesting details of implied fictional inhabitants' lives.[15]

In pursuit of teaching collaborative arts practices Meow Wolf formed CHIMERA in 2011. In 2012 CHIMERA worked with approximately one thousand Santa Fe students to create "Omega Mart", a collaborative art installation in the form of a fictitious grocery store stocked with hand-made satirical goods.[16][17] "Omega Mart" was deliberately placed away from Santa Fe's arts district to attract a more diverse audience.[18] The Omega Mart concept is currently set to be revived for the Las Vegas Meow Wolf location in 2021.[19] In 2013, CHIMERA began working with the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History's classroom mentorship program for gifted students to create an installation named "Project Dreamscape".[17]

Meow Wolf has built notable shows outside of Santa Fe. "Glitteropolis" (2011), at the New Mexico State University Art Gallery, used 50 pounds of glitter for the installation.[20] "Nucleotide" (2013) was a drippy pastel cave-like installation built by Meow Wolf artists in Chicago at the Thomas Robertello Gallery.[21] The majority of "Nucleotide" was conceived and built in Chicago over a 3-month period by 18 members of the collective.[22]

House of Eternal Return

In January 2015, author George R. R. Martin pledged $2.7 million to renovate and lease a vacant bowling alley to create a permanent facility for Meow Wolf. This was supplemented by additional funding, including $50,000 from the city of Santa Fe and $100,000 from a crowd-funding campaign.[23][24][25] The installation, called House of Eternal Return opened March 17, 2016.[26][27] It received a 2017 TEA Award[28] and has been cited as the tenth best music venue in the United States.[29] In 2018, TimeOut Magazine called it one of the 50 best things to do in the world right now.[30]

House of Eternal Return is focused around the story of the Selig family, who disappeared after experimenting with interdimensional travel by tapping into a mysterious force known as "The Anomaly" in an effort to bring back deceased family members, causing the house to fracture open paths to alternate dimensions. A secret government organization called the Charter was able to contain the Anomaly's effects and passes off the containment warehouse as an art installation.

In January 2018, Meow Wolf announced that it will be opening two new art complexes in Las Vegas, Nevada and Denver, Colorado.[31][32]

On November 29, 2018, the documentary Meow Wolf: Origin Story was released in movie theaters around the United States in a one-time only showing.[33]

On January 8, 2019, rock band The Revivalists shot a music video for their song Change at House of Eternal Return. The video was released on February 19, 2019.[34]

Ninja Sex Party have filmed music videos at House of Eternal Return for their cover of Africa by Toto and We Built This City by Starship

In March 2019, rapper T-Pain filmed a music video for his song A Million Times at House of Eternal Return.[35]

Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape

On August 22, 2018, Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape, an "other-worldly" dark ride based around the concept of entering a piece of contemporary art, was announced for Elitch Gardens Theme Park in Denver, Colorado, replacing Ghost Blasters. According to Meow Wolf, the attraction is intended as a prequel to their blockbuster Denver exhibit opening in 2020.[36]

Omega Mart

In January 2018, Meow Wolf announced that it would open its second interactive art installation in Las Vegas, Nevada as the anchor attraction at a new retail, art and entertainment complex called AREA15.[37] Scheduled to open in early 2021, Omega Mart is a 52,000-square-foot multisensory grocery store that blends narrative storytelling, technical wizardry, and commerce.[38] Omega Mart will prod guests into fantastical areas with overt themes tackling American consumerism and corporate responsibility – a space complete with a pharmacy, floral section, surreal products and custom-made art by Las Vegas locals.[39]

References
  1. Monroe, Rachel (2019-05-01). "Can an Art Collective Become the Disney of the Experience Economy?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  2. Owens, Dylan (2019-01-16). "Meow Wolf: Inside the Insane Psych Art Collective Taking Over the World". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  3. "The Origins of Meow Wolf". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. Ortiz, Christopher (2019-02-25). "Meow Wolf announces new city". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  5. Owens, Dylan (2019-01-16). "Meow Wolf: Inside the Insane Psych Art Collective Taking Over the World". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  6. Perkins, Jennifer. "Why This Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Art Installation in Santa Fe Is Worth a Visit". Travel Channel. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  7. "About". Meow Wolf. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  8. "Frequently Asked Questions | Meow Wolf". meowwolf.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  9. "House of Eternal Return". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  10. "Biome Sweet Biome". The Santa Fe Reporter. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  11. Photos, John (12 August 2009). "Unmade in the USA". The Santa Fe Reporter. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  12. Charlotte, Mary (26 February 2010). "Santa Fe Radio Cafe". KSFR. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  13. "Meow Wolf". Visual Art Source. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  14. Lenihan (Intern), Drew (12 June 2010). "Meow Wolf's Orb of Collective Wisdom...and Junk". Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  15. Sharpe, Tom (23 April 2011). "'Return' to fantasy: Art installation aboard ship promises spectacular interactive environment". Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  16. "OmegaMart". Meow Wolf. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  17. Pleshaw, Gregory (14 March 2013). "Project Dreamscape: Ask & You Shall Receive". Weekly Alibi. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  18. "Meow Wolf Reveals Bag of Tricks". Black Rock Arts Foundation. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  19. https://news.yahoo.com/meow-wolf-set-transform-themed-105919686.html
  20. Irwin, Matthew (30 November 2011). "Team Wolf: Art collective Meow Wolf gets serious". The Santa Fe Reporter. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  21. Eler, Alicia (17 September 2013). "A Psychedelic Cave Blooms in Chicago". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  22. Dluzen, Robin. "Visual Art Source - Meow Wolf - "Nucleotide"". Visual Art Source. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  23. "Meow Wolf Art Complex ft. The House of Eternal Return". Kickstarter. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  24. Monroe, Rachel (February 11, 2015). "How George RR Martin is helping stem Santa Fe's youth exodus". The Guardian. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  25. Jardrnak, Jackie (January 29, 2015). "Silva Lanes to be transformed to an explorable art space for kids and adults". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  26. Horowitz-Ghazi, Alexi (March 27, 2016). "DIY Artists Paint The Town Strange, With Some Help From George R.R. Martin". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  27. Newitz, Annalee (April 4, 2016). "Inside Meow Wolf, the amusement park for people who want a weirder Disneyland". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  28. "TEA names 23rd annual Thea Awards recipients; Awards Gala to be held in Anaheim in 2017". http://teaconnect.org. External link in |website= (help)
  29. Will Simons, Yelp Community Director; Tuesday, July 18 (18 July 2017). "Top 50 Music Venues In The U.S." Yelp.
  30. "The 50 best things to do in the world right now: a polka dot paradise in Tokyo, a hedonistic party venue in New York and an insanely cool sauna in Kiruna top the list". Time Out About. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  31. Mexican, Bruce Krasnow The New. "Meow Wolf announces permanent exhibit in Las Vegas, Nev". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  32. "Meow Wolf is opening a second 'world' in Denver / Boing Boing". boingboing.net. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  33. "Meow Wolf Origin Story website". Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  34. "The Revivalists - Change". Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  35. "Rapper T-Pain filmed new music video at Meow Wolf". KRQE News 13. 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  36. "Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape at Elitch Gardens". Meow Wolf. August 22, 2018.
  37. Vitu, Teya (2020-08-10). "Meow Wolf unveils 'Omega Mart' as its Las Vegas attraction". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  38. Zara, Christopher (2020-08-11). "Here's a preview of Meow Wolf's trippy new Las Vegas grocery store—fingers crossed for 2021". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  39. Martens, Todd (2020-08-08). "Meow Wolf was set to transform themed entertainment in Vegas and beyond. Then came the pandemic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
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