From becoming fully immersed in an alternate reality to discovering ways to experience the work of popular artists, musicians and creators as never before, immersive art and entertainment is hotter than ever. And while new museums, galleries and venues are cropping up across the country, here are nine of the best immersive art and entertainment experiences travelers won’t want to miss.
Meow Wolf, Denver
Established in 2021, Meow Wolf’s Denver installation “Convergence Station” invites visitors on an out-of-this-world adventure. Featuring a winding display of brightly colored sets, creativity is the name of the game as visitors begin their commute aboard the “Quantum Department of Transportation” to “Convergence,” an alien city birthed by, “a rare cosmic event.”
Trippy, bizarre and totally interactive, Convergence Station brings visitors’ wildest sci-fi fantasies to life with four floors jam-packed with some of Meow Wolf’s most incredible art to date. From crystal-covered caverns and stained glass castles to alien test tubes and bio-mech space stations, a new world is waiting.
WNDR Museum, Chicago
An amalgam of art and technology, Chicago’s WNDR Museum is built on one simple belief: we are all artists. As such, WNDR is alive as its guests become an extension of the exhibits themselves, every dance, pose and laugh illuminating the creativity within. “As artists, our visitors are more than passive onlookers,” reads the WNDR website. “Whatever they do in our museum, IS art.”
Inside, artists will find endless ways to interact. Some exhibits move and sway to the music, inviting visitors to join in while others immerse and delight with intriguing color palettes and mind-bending illusions.
Wisdome LA, Los Angeles
Art meets music meets planetarium at Wisdome LA, Los Angeles’ first and largest immersive art and music dome park. A place where visitors can experience work from their favorite artists as never before, surreal and colorful imagery projected onto five Epcot-like domes takes guests on a journey into their minds, hearts and souls.
In addition to regularly occurring live events, Wisdome also hosts what it calls “Sacred Sunday,” a weekly gathering where visitors are invited to manifest their visions with sound healing, sound baths, yoga, mindfulness and more.
House of Eternal Return, Santa Fe
Often referred to as the original immersive art experience, Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return features a fantastic array of non-linear storytelling in the form of 70 rooms crafted by local and community artists. Meow Wolf describes the “house” in question as a “curious family home” a sentiment travelers are sure to share as they explore 20,000 square feet of mystical lands and peculiar realities.
Behind the home’s seemingly ordinary facade awaits a portal to an unearthly realm. With its enticing textures and prismatic lighting, an uncanny world unfolds presenting places and creatures never before known.
Superblue, Miami
Visitors become one with immersive art experiences at Superblue Miami, Superblue’s first location. From a mirrored labyrinth illuminated in shades of white, gray and silver to rooms that come to life with idyllic scenes projected onto their walls, floors and ceilings, travelers will find themselves feeling dwarfed by their new surroundings.
In addition to permanent works designed by artists and teams like Es Devlin, teamLab and James Turrell, Superblue also features special exhibits and installations throughout the year.
ARTECHOUSE DC, Washington DC
As its name implies, ARTECHOUSE DC is a place where art and technology collide. Featuring larger-than-life, totally vibrant exhibits, ARTECHOUSE partners with the pros — read award-winning motion graphics designers, multi-platinum producers and composers, and talented sound designers — to create what it calls “a total metaverse-like environmental immersion.”
From finding themselves wholly absorbed in floor-to-ceiling worlds, to uniquely displayed creative concepts that encourage visitors to touch and interact, at ARTECHHOUSE DC, art comes to life just footsteps away from the National Mall.
Otherworld, Columbus
Surreal, whimsical and futuristic all at once, Columbus’ Otherworld is the brainchild of over 100 artists, builders and engineers. The far-out experience spans more than 47 rooms and is self-described as combining “elements of large-scale Burning Man-style art, immersive theater, escape room, children’s museum and haunted house.”
With its bizarre beasts, secret passageways and overall wonderworld-esque aesthetic, Otherworld has something for everyone. Plus, although some areas include nooks and crannies designed for crawling, dipping and ducking, 95% of Otherworld’s exhibits are handicap accessible and those that aren’t are easily by passable.
Omega Mart, Las Vegas
The average trip to the supermarket just got a whole lot weirder at Omega Mart, one of Meow Wolf’s latest installations in beautiful Las Vegas. As they peruse the store’s neatly stacked produce and colorful aisles, visitors will discover things aren’t quite what they seem as everyday items transform into strange variations of the products they’ve come to know. Better yet, every freezer door, canned good and box of cereal is a potential portal to an enchanting new world.
Located in AREA15 — Sin City’s premier destination for live events, immersive activities, ground-breaking art installations and more —, Omega Mart and the “supernatural factory” housed inside is the result of the work of hundreds of “Meow Wolfers” and dozens of collaborating artists from around the globe.
City Museum, St. Louis
A realm of visitors’ wildest imagination, St. Louis’ City Museum is a seemingly endless labyrinth of hidden — and not-so-hidden — rooms, caves, tunnels, slides and sculptures waiting to be explored. Situated within a former International Shoe building, the four-floor, 600,000-square-foot space is an immersive land crafted from metal, stone and everyday objects, its uniqueness ensuring no visit is alike.
Among its many beloved features, the most iconic spots City Museum has to offer include a 10-story spiral slide, a rooftop Ferris wheel, a decommissioned airplane, an antique pipe organ, a hidden room featuring live circus acts, the world’s largest pencil and more. Best of all, this incredible place is suited for travelers of all ages, sure, you’ll be crawling on your hands and knees, and you will work up a sweat, but City Museum is a favorite among adults and kiddos alike.
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