Meow Wolf’s latest immersive art experience, The Real Unreal, has opened to the public in Grapevine, Texas.
The art collective’s fourth permanent exhibition is found at the Grapevine Mills shopping mall in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
It was created by the Meow Wolf team and 38 Texas-based artists, including Dan Lam, Carlos Don Juan, Yana Payusova, Tsz Kam and Sergio Garcia.
“At Meow Wolf, we opt to tell stories about our world and worlds beyond through nuanced, timeless science fiction, and I hope the guests will take the time to explore this cohort of artists along with the deeper meaning behind the work that they have created with us,” said Han Santana-Sayles, Meow Wolf’s director of artist collaboration.
The Real Unreal
The new installation contains a series of dreamscapes, otherworldly landscapes, art installations, surreal environments, and Meow Wolf’s iconic portals.
“The Real Unreal’s narrative journey takes a leap through the spaces between universes, and is the first major step in connecting the Meow Wolf story universe,” said Dale Sheehan, Meow Wolf’s senior vice president and executive creative director.
Guests are immersed in a new storyline conceived by sci-fi and fantasy author LaShawn Wanak as they explore more than 30 rooms by 150 artists and fabricators across 29,000 square feet of space.
Some spaces are similar to those in Meow Wolf’s original exhibition in Santa Fe. “The house and the idea of ‘eternal return’ are powerful motifs that formed the catalyst for Meow Wolf’s transformation from a scrappy art collective into the growing company we are today,” said Emily Montoya, co-founder of Meow Wolf.
“When participants step into The Real Unreal, they start a cosmic odyssey where surprises await around every corner, and each discovery sparks its own story,” said Sheehan.
“Every element in the exhibition weaves together a tapestry of characters, stories, and worlds. The creative energy of The Real Unreal extends beyond the physical, and leads to a potential unlimited host of cosmic side-effects.”
On the new attraction’s location, Vince Kadlubek, Meow Wolf co-founder and director, said: “Malls have been such an incredible and weird part of the American story, especially for a lot of us that grew up in the ’80s and ’90s. It is an exciting thought that these spaces could be filled with incredible art and immersive experiences, opening a new era of opportunity for the creative economy. We felt like Meow Wolf could help lead the way.”
