Meow Wolf has announced a surreal dive bar in the afterlife called Cowboix Hevvven for its fifth permanent installation in Houston, Texas.
The honky-tonk establishment is an immersive space with a working restaurant and bar. In addition to Meow Wolf’s signature artworks and creations, Cowboix Hevvven includes a sculptural tribute to one of its founders, the late Matt King.
Guests will also meet a “weeping grief creature”, said Meow Wolf, as well as a pool shark with a disco ball for a head, and an “octogenarian armadillo spinning yarns of the bar’s numerous patrons”. An interactive jukebox will play songs by Texas artists.
Cowboix Hevvven is a major centrepiece of the Houston site. Led by lead artist and creative director Cole Bee Wilson, it explores and redefines cowboy culture and community.
“Cowboix Hevvven is a love letter from a Texan dreamer,” said Wilson. “It’s a psychedelic space that puts the ‘all’ in y’all and serves as a self-referential, autobiographical take on my Texan imagination. There’s a seat at the bar for all y’all here in Cowboix Hevvven.”
As for F&B at Cowboix Hevvven, Meow Wolf said the menu will complement the immersive experience with “a distinctive twist on classic dive bar fare”.
Wilson added, “Growing up between San Antonio and Bandera, and spending weekends on my grandparents’ Bandera ranch, I wanted to blend that rich, familiar backdrop with a twist of the unexpected.
Honky-tonk establishment in the Fifth Ward
“My hope is that visitors will dive into Cowboix Hevvven with the same curiosity that fueled its creation. I hope they leave with a renewed sense of wonder and an appreciation for how blending the familiar with the unexpected can create something truly weird and wonderful.”
Meow Wolf’s new exhibition in Houston’s Fifth Ward is due to open this year. The arts and entertainment company said it will announce the venue’s theme “soonish”.
In more news, Meow Wolf’s sixth permanent exhibition has been confirmed for the Cinemark complex at Howard Hughes Los Angeles. It is due to open in 2026.
Images courtesy of Meow Wolf and Kate Russell
