The Interactive Art Space You Need to See to Believe
Before we began our road trip we asked for recommendations from friends and family on places to see and things to do along our route. One of the responses we received was “Meow Wolf in Santa Fe is supposed to be incredible” – an understatement to say the least.
We arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon and had to leave the next morning so we didn’t have much time to explore. At the time we also didn’t know what we were in for.
In 2015, a former bowling alley was purchased by Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin. He turned the 29,000 square foot property over to an art collective to turn their massive vision into reality. That art collective is Meow Wolf. An arts and entertainment group that formed in 2008 with about 200 artists specializing in all forms of disciplines.
The House of Eternal Return is often described as a psychedelic funhouse, a whimsical maze or an immersive multimedia installation, all of which is accurate but it’s also much more than that. This is the first permanent installation by the group with a massive expansion slated for the coming years. After buying our tickets we walked through a door that opened to the front of a full size, fully furnished, Victorian house. Visitors are encouraged to explore by touching whatever they want so we were confused at first, not knowing if we were supposed to be figuring out a mystery or finding an escape. There are no rules by which to explore, no set order or time limit – it’s free exploration to make it your own adventure. Secret passageways led to other rooms, some through the fridge, the dryer, and up spiral staircases. We even found a stage area where they have concerts (it’s been voted a top ten music venue in the U.S.). This exhibit truly is “a multidimensional mystery house.” If we had more time we would have delved much further into the storyline – which is just as detailed and thought provoking as the rest of the place.
The expansion of this wacky, one of a kind experience is expected to open in Las Vegas in 2019 and in downtown Denver in 2020. The Vegas complex will nearly double the size of the original in Santa Fe and in Denver it will be three times larger – housed in a four-story, 90,000 square foot area.
Fun Fact: The name Meow Wolf was chosen out of a hat at the first meeting of the collective in 2008. All of the artists put two words into a hat and the two that were randomly picked were meow and wolf.
