Vince Kadlubek, founder and director of Meow Wolf, is launching a new consulting agency called Spatial Activations.
Vince Kadlubek, the creative mind behind the innovative arts collective Meow Wolf, has brought together some top names from a variety of disciplines to form a new consulting agency. Spatial Activations aims to assist commercial developers, municipalities, retailers, entertainment brands, and entrepreneurs in solving design challenges as the LBE market continues to evolve.
“The goal of Spatial Activations is to make the physical world a more imaginative and connected place. Humans demand it and we deserve it,” says Kadlubek.
“The physical world has not been able to keep up with the creativity of the digital world, it often-times feels predictable and boring. And now because of COVID, the world of location-based has been completely decimated practically overnight.”
“Whether it is out-of-home entertainment like movie theatres or brick and mortar retail, we are seeing millions of square footage around the country suddenly empty and dead. The retail apocalypse is literally happening right now, and Spatial Activations is here to begin bringing forth the next era of location-based solutions.”
A talented team
Special Activation team of collaborators includes some impressive young creatives who have been making waves in recent years, including:
- Kae Burke – founder of the game-changing nightclub in Brooklyn, House of Yes, named the #2 “Things To Do in 2019” by TimeOut Magazine.
- Leila Amirsadeghi – founder at XR consultancy, MESH, and Co-Founder of Onedome,
delivering location-based entertainment, including the world’s first Mixed-Reality experience using the Microsoft HoloLens headset, and spatial computing. - Aleissia Laidacker – former Head of Developer Experience at Magic Leap and thought-leader in AR/VR/MR industries.
- Fernando Ruiz – three-time Food Network champion chef, winner of Guy’s Grocery Games, and a winner of Chopped. He brings his Latin-inspired tastes to Spatial Activations
- Max Beck, Amelia Stickney and Noah Kessler – Beck is the founder of the Meow Wolf Events initiative and, along with Stickney and Kessler, was responsible for building one of the most successful events brands in the US.
- Nova Han – Creative Director and Founder of Nova Han Productions
- Ebony Isis Booth – Cultural Strategist and Founder of Honeysuckle Creative
- Jeremy Jasper – Founder of Oh Lawd
- Joshua Levine – Founder of Fired Up Management
- Liminalia – Experience-Design Firm
Bringing people together
“The technological tools are right in front of us for transforming physical space into integrated cross-reality experiences. Whether it is VR, smartphone-driven AR, wayfinding, digital service products, or Mixed-Reality Headsets, those who own physical spaces need to begin designing for these incredible new possibilities. Audiences are beginning to demand them,” says Amirsadeghi.
Ruiz, who will provide consulting expertise for Spatial Activations to the popular world of Food & Beverage, says: “Food is about people. People want authenticity. This era of copy-paste, predictable dining experiences is over, it is uninspired.
“Local folks want local solutions, even your average restaurant-goer is looking for something quality and original and genuine. Doesn’t have to be high-end either, it can be a quality burger or quality tacos or quality ceviche. What matters is authenticity.”
As well as Kadlubek, the agency draws upon the expertise of other early creators of Meow Wolf such as Beck, Stickney and Kessler, whose music venue in Santa Fe was rated as a top-10 venue in the country by Yelp and RollingStone.
“Event programming is the beating heart of culture and community. Of course, COVID has paused that for the past year, but we believe strongly that folks are hungry to get back at it,” says Beck. “People want to party, people want to gather, people want something to go do.
“Once we are passed COVID, the world of events will come back stronger than ever. Spatial Activations is positioned to support property owners in utilizing their space to make cool shit happen and bring people together.”
Filling a gap in the market
This new consulting agency was formed in reaction to a need in the market as the world of commercial and communal space continues to change, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. Spatial Activations believes that in-person gatherings will still take place after the pandemic, as humans always need to connect in real-life. But what will this look like after COVID?
Meow Wolf’s unique House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe provides a good example of the kind of in-person, memorable experiences that audiences are increasingly desiring and expecting, giving a glimpse of what the future of LBE could look like.
“People want attraction. The attraction is the new anchor space, and the attraction is most
attractive when it leverages visually-stunning art and creativity,” says Kadlubek.
“Humans of all ages want to experience imaginative worlds, they want to take pictures of those worlds and share them on social media. Spatial Activations is home to folks who have created some of the most engaging and successful immersive experiences in the world, and we are here to help cultivate and grow these experiences in every viable market.”
Last month, Meow Wolf shared sneak-peek images and footage of the unique experience that is Omega Mart at AREA15.
