philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Why the Meow Wolf experience offers something Disney never will

... Meow Wolf took pains to ensure that its arrival in Denverwould benefit the community. Executives worked with local activists to outline commitments around sustainability, wages, and diversity and inclusion. In acknowledgement of Denver’s DIY scene, Meow Wolf created a fund to channel money to local arts groups. And it pledged to devote 40% of its exhibition space to Colorado artists. “If a company says that they want to do good in the world and that they’re a B Corp and that they’re about social impact, they’re expected to walk the walk,” Kadlubek says. The Denver Meow Wolf finally opened in September 2021, having already sold $1 million worth of tickets in the first 24 hours they were available.

This past summer, an eclectic crowd of club kids, burners, D&D types, and even some families turned up at a former junkyard near the Denver museum for Meow Wolf’s annual Vortex music festival. When a wall of clouds rolled down from the Rockies and unleashed a ferocious summer thunderstorm, flooding the concrete yard, they stayed put as a lineup of hyperpop groups, SoundCloud rappers, and techno DJs kept the party going. It wasn’t exactly the nightly “fireworks spectacular” over Cinderella’s castle; it was uncontrolled, unexpected, and altogether human. ...

As it’s grown, Meow Wolf has systematized its creativity. A variety of employees, not just those hired as artists, are encouraged to develop installations to fill the smaller rooms of exhibitions. They can also attend workshops on how to operate 3D printers, vacuum-forming machines, laser cutters, and other manufacturing tools. “It’s about, ‘How do we develop everyone to be an artist?’” says Rich Staib, senior vice president for exhibition design and production. This openness, he says, is very different from what he encountered earlier in his career, working on attractions for Disney and Universal. ...

It’s one of art’s most important functions—helping us grapple with the complexities of existence by allowing us to absorb them in small but powerful doses. And it explains why, as Kadlubek told me, Meow Wolf continues to explore all of the realms of human experience, not just the most commercial ones. “The big distinction between us and Disney,” he says, “is we actually want complexity and confusion and existential crisis and struggle. We don’t want to just be the happiest place on earth.”

See the full story here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90808077/inside-the-delightful-confounding-tragic-world-of-immersive-art-company-meow-wolf