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Artainment

Artainment is a burgeoning trend in the attractions industry. It refers to the fusion of art and technology, or art and entertainment. Leading the way are groups such as Meow Wolf, teamLab and Culturespaces. Essentially, art is displayed in new ways, often digitally. These immersive art experiences use digital projectors, holography and virtual reality (VR).

For example, Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return is an innovative ‘fun-house’ based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is home to more than 70 rooms of immersive art. There are secret passages and interactive light and musical objects that guests can play with.

Another artainment offering is Omega Mart in Las Vegas, Meow Wolf’s second permanent location. It features interactive art and installation rooms. Highlights also include portals to other worlds, mixed reality playgrounds and a labyrinth-style maze.

Formed in Japan, teamLab is an international collective of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, architects and mathematicians. Its venues project art onto the walls. These pieces evolve and interact with each other, and with the guests. Superblue, which opened in Miami in 2021, encourages visitors to enjoy art outside of traditional museums and galleries.

Some artainment locations bring to life famous artworks. These are digitised and displayed using visualisation techniques. Culturespaces’ Atelier des Lumières surrounds visitors with projected masterpieces by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Egon Schiele.

There are two different Vincent van Gogh experiences, and an immersive Gustav Klimt attraction. Frameless, London’s first permanent digital art experience, will be a space for enveloping interpretations of iconic works of art. These are by Paul Cézanne, Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Canaletto and Rembrandt.

Traditionally, art exhibitions are enjoyed in a quiet museum or gallery. These institutions are changing with the times to include artainment experiences. Now, a visit to a museum is far more likely to involve technology and immersive exhibits. These range from interactive displays to experiential rain rooms and projection-mapped environments.