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Take a Weird Walk Through Meow Wolf’s Expanding Universe
Millions are flocking to the art collective’s five immersive exhibitions to duck through secret doors and explore new worlds. Coming soon: Los Angeles and New York.
It was gray and drizzly in Houston — a perfect day to be sucked into an alternate universe.
A mysterious statue of a bearded man encrusted head to toe in pastel shells, barnacles and other sea life caught the attention of two visitors. One of them, a young boy, uttered a few words into a microphone, and suddenly the creatures began to pulse and glow. A symphony of chirps, squawks and sounds reminiscent of whale songs and pipe organs resonated through a forest of neon-colored coral.
Lisa Hlavacek, 35, and her 3-year-old son, Arthur, were visiting Radio Tave, the latest immersive art exhibition by the group Meow Wolf. It was Ms. Hlavacek’s sixth visit since it opened last October.
Meow Wolf, which began in 2008 as a loose collective of artists in Santa Fe, N.M., has grown into a pop culture phenomenon with five permanent installations and more than three million total annual visitors.
As visitors explore Meow Wolf sites, ducking through secret doors and experimenting with different objects, they unravel mysterious back stories, discovering clues, hidden places and more than a few surprises.
The House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf’s permanent exhibition, in Santa Fe, N.M.Credit…Atlas Media
A movie-themed Los Angeles site is scheduled to open next year, and the group has announced plans for a New York location (set to include an “otherworldly arcade”) in late 2027 or 2028.