Meow Wolf Presentation Draws Students

Posted by Zoe Baillargeon in Santa Fe

Imagine stepping inside a massive Victorian house whose inner rooms, doors and even fridge transport you to all manner of magical places, like a quirky cave system, a mystical forest, an inter-dimensional travel agency and even an Allsups (minus the late-night strung out guy asking for change, of course.)

That’s where local art collective Meow Wolf wants to take the citizens of Santa Fe and the world, into the House of Eternal Return. The massive installation will be the central point of the art collective’s new permanent exhibition space at the former Silva Lanes Bowling Alley on Rufina Circle.

“The story is basically of this house, where some event occurred to this house and the family living there that has caused time and space to break and created a rift,” says Vince Kadlubek, one of the founders of Meow Wolf.

Working with more than 100 artists to fill a 20,000 square foot space, Meow Wolf is renting the former bowling lanes spot from George R.R. Martin, who bought the building as an investment in the community. The project has received attention from such major publications as The Guardian newspaper. To help fund the venture, a Kickstarter campaign raised $100,000 to assist with costs.

At a meeting on April 6, members of the collective came together at the Forum on the SFUAD campus to present the project to the community and student body and put out a call for volunteers and possible student internships over the summer.

“We’re hoping people will come on and lend hours to the project, have something fun to do and something that’s good for the community,” says Kadlubek while setting up beforehand.

At the meeting, which according to the Facebook event page had more than 200 attendees, member Sean Di Lanni presented the plan for the building, which includes the House of Eternal Return, a movie theater, an arcade, and a “shanty town” performance space for concerts and musical acts. The space will also include a learning center and artist studios. At the meeting, artists and team members then presented their different areas of the project, such as constructing caves, “terrain couches” and more and how many volunteers are needed in each area.

“It’s gonna be a really fun project, but also a lot of work,” member Mat Crimmins told the assembled audience.

Kadlubek says that the opportunities for students and volunteers range from carpentry and general building to sound, film making, lighting and more. Meow Wolf will coordinate with the heads of departments to figure out internship credit and hours for students.

“A big part of this is interacting with the university because there’s so much talent here,” says Kadlubek. “This is a chance to grow our community and give a bridge to students to have something to do in the community that isn’t based on school specifically.”

At the end of the meeting, community members and students alike swarmed the booths to sign up for projects.

“It’s very exciting, it’s bringing a lot of different kinds of art and energy to Santa Fe,” says student Julian Gingell, who was interested in signing up on the project to work on construction. “It’s completely new.”

Sedona Walker-Morrissey, a photography student, agrees. “It’s gonna be awesome,” she says, adding that she hopes to volunteer in building but is willing to help out “in any way I can.”

Students and potential volunteers who were unable to make the meeting can contact Meow Wolf at admin@meowwolf.com for more information.