Meow Wolf Las Vegas: We’re Making ART

Take a peek at what you can expect from the mind-bending experience that is Omega Mart. . . and so much more.

October 28, 2020

What’s everybody been up to? Our intrepid art collective has pushed on with purpose, dedicated to providing a glorious, thought-provoking, and healing experience as soon as humanly (and humanely) possible.

If you haven't yet explored Meow Wolf's Omega Mart, follow us through the neon-soaked portal…

neon lines of color against a black wall — *A UV reactive blacklight from Baltimore art duo Jessie&Katey inside the spine at AREA15 is over 40 feet high. Photo by Laurent Velazquez.*

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Meow Wolf Las Vegas. . . Wowza!

By now, you already know that Omega Mart is Meow Wolf’s second permanent exhibition (and you already follow @omegamartusa on Instagram in anticipation of the latest specials on Impact Corn and Zalg, America’s forgotten vegetable). Guests of Meow Wolf Santa Fe’s House of Eternal Return know that the Las Vegas experience is going to take you so much further beyond what first meets the eye.

We could give you vague estimates, but we thought it best to leave it to the folks who have been on-site throughout the entire process. According to Marsi Gray, Senior Creative Producer for Meow Wolf Las Vegas, “The installation is progressing at such a rapid pace. There’s a really high degree of confidence in the team that we’re working with and our ability to execute.”

Creative Director Spencer Olsen works on site inside the exhibit as some custom art panels are installed to the wall via scissor lift. Photo by Allyson Lupovich.

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In addition to over fifty artists and artist groups — local and international — who worked on the installation, not to mention the hundreds on staff at Meow Wolf, Gray points out that the 1-on-1 collaboration between artists and our construction partners from KHS&S “has been extraordinary,” allowing for execution on a whole new level of artistry for Meow Wolf.

Creative Director Corvas Brinkerhoff echoed this point, noting how Meow Wolf’s adventuresome experience creating House of Eternal Return has made for an “amazingly smooth” second effort in Vegas, despite the new exhibition’s massive scale (52,000 square feet – over double that of HoER). And while fans of Meow Wolf Santa Fe will certainly be delighted by the nonlinear, exploratory nature of Meow Wolf Las Vegas, they can expect a completely original show.

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back of a woman's head with long dark hair standing in the misty aisles of Omega Mart — *A still from the video content inside Omega Mart that weaves an immersive story about family, ambition, and the supernatural undertones of this supermarket. Photo by Kate Russell.*

Brinkerhoff elaborates:

“It’s all new concepts from the ground up. Different narrative. Different artwork. It’s the same collaborative creative model, but beyond the model...that’s it. It’s all original immersive artwork at a much larger scale, with a lot more depth of experience. The tech and interactivity side of the show is incredibly more complex than anything in the House (of Eternal Return).

Also contributing to the depth of experience is the storytelling, which is immense. There’s about three feature-lengths worth of video content alone that’s discoverable throughout the exhibition, and then there’s a phone system where you can hear all of these audio recordings, there’s the RFID interactivity that advances the narrative in different ways... It’s like a free-roaming, open world video game, but your body is your avatar.”

Or, to put it simply — and without giving anything away — Gray sums up the progress thusly. . . “Wowza!”‍

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The Frosting‍

The final stage of our Meow Wolf Las Vegas installation is when the majority of the art goes up. It’s called The Frosting — as in the frosting on the structural cake. A few artists have already made a dent in the Frosting process, though, including California-based contributor Shrine and Costa Rica-based Carey Thompson.

Shrine’s mural at AREA15 — the Immersive Entertainment & Events Complex of which Meow Wolf is the anchor tenant — features aluminum cans and bottle caps, and we recently shared a glimpse of his process!

As for Thompson, the Boom Festival art director is installing his immersive space “Juke Temple” – inspired by Wurlitzer Jukeboxes – to Meow Wolf Las Vegas, and you can sneak a peek below.

blue room, with the feeling like being inside a box of gears — *Carey Thompson’s ‘Juke Temple’ comes alive at Meow Wolf Las Vegas. Photo by Laurent Velazquez.*

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Las Vegas Community‍

Fawn Douglas, Nuwuvi artist and Community Associate on the Meow Wolf Las Vegas team, recently shared her voice with a tremendous article outlining the importance of acknowledging and celebrating Indigenous People every day. Meow Wolf is new to the Vegas community, and as Douglas points out, we recognize that our second location will reside on the grounds of the Southern Paiute people. With this in mind, we believe that our education and involvement in the community is of utmost importance.

two people standing in front of a beautiful mural of an Indigenous woman and text "our voices matter" — Christina Hilton (Ohitikah-Win Beautiful Bald Eagle) and Director of the LV Indian Center, Rulon Pete, at the supplies drive in front of the recently unveiled mural “Our Voices Matter” by Gear Duran. *@gearduran. Photo courtesy of Darrick Fields.*

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AREA15‍

We've collaborated with local designer and artist Heather Hermann on the artwork for the AREA15 spine, as well as Vegas-based artist Valentin Yordanov and Baltimore’s Jessie and Katey on two blacklight reactive murals. It’s an incredible privilege to share a space with such amazing artists, not to mention the other tenants of AREA15.

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*The Omega Mart facade of Meow Wolf Las Vegas at AREA15. Photo by Laurent Velazquez.*

*Inside the Spine at AREA15. Photo by Peter Ruprecht.*

Fan Perspective ‍

Our #1 fan on Youtube released a video on Omega Mart – and while we won’t confirm or deny its content – we think it’s worth a watch.

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