DENVER — You soon won't have to drive all the way to Santa Fe to see a Meow Wolf exhibit.
Meow Wolf has announced it plans to open its new 90,000-square-foot downtown Denver location in fall 2021. It has not yet shared an exact date.
The permanent art exhibit is located between the viaducts of Colfax Avenue and Interstate 25 between Elitch Gardens and Empower Field at Mile High.
> Above video: Meow Wolf construction tour in fall 2019.
"The shell has been built, and the gooey interior being filled with interactive art from more than 110 local artists, alongside partner artists, and artists from our own Meow Wolf team," said a Meow Wolf statement.
Meow Wolf expects an official grand opening date to be announced soon. You can sign up for Meow Wolf's e-mail newsletter to be notified of the opening date.
Hundreds of artists and construction workers have labored on the art project since it was first announced in 2018. According to a 2018 news release from Meow Wolf, the group considered other Denver sites, including the old Denver Post building, before deciding on the Colfax Avenue site.
Large cranes had to be used to hoist art installations into the building before the final building frame was constructed in 2019.
New Mexico-based Meow Wolf is made up of more than 200 artists in architecture, sculpture, painting, photography, video, virtual and augmented reality, music engineering, narrative writing, performance and more, who work to create bold, immersive experiences.
Over one million visitors have experienced Meow Wolf's "House of Eternal Return" in Santa Fe since 2008.
The Denver location is three times the size of the original Santa Fe exhibition.
Meow Wolf ultimately came to Denver thanks in part to the Denver Startup Week Design Track chair, who invited the arts group to take part in a panel that led to a chain of events that gave the Mile High City the nod.
“We're thrilled to design this dynamic addition to central Denver, which will activate both the area below and above the viaducts and draw visitors throughout the whole year,” said Anthony Guida, design director for Meow Wolf. “Meow Wolf is highly motivated to contribute to the revitalization of the Platte River and we chose the site because it's funky, bizarre and an opportunity for low impact urban infill. What better way to use the dynamic space between a bunch of viaducts than to build an unbelievable Meow Wolf experience?”
In 2019, Meow Wolf partnered with Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park to open a new ride called "Kaleidoscape."
"Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape [is] a never-before-seen attraction that takes guests on a densely immersive and fully interactive experience," Elitch Gardens said.
"Riders who journey on Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape will be transported to other-worldly motion, deep sound, wild color and interactive challenges that if well-played may just save the day. This intriguing attraction will be the first artist-driven dark ride the world has ever seen."
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Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape ride at Elitch Gardens
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