Meow Wolf Announces Two New Permanent “Portals” To Open In Texas

Today, US-based arts and entertainment company Meow Wolf announced plans to open two new permanent exhibitions in Grapevine and Houston, Texas. Known for their immersive and interactive experiences aimed at transporting audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of story and exploration, Meow Wolf's latest projects are slated to open in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The Grapevine exhibition will be located in Grapevine Mills and is slated to open in 2023. Located within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Grapevine Mills is known for its experiences and unique retail offerings. An exact name for the exhibition will be announced at a later date.

The Houston exhibition will be located in the Fifth Ward of Houston and slated to open in 2024, with The Deal Co as development partners. A historical district with a long history of diverse communities dating back to the late 1800s, the Fifth Ward has been transformed into an arts and cultural destination in recent years, being designated a cultural district by the state of Texas in 2020.

"The Meow Wolf story universe is expanding, and Texas holds the keys to our next chapters," said Jose Tolosa, CEO of Meow Wolf, "Opening a permanent exhibition in the largest and one of the most diverse states in the country has been on Meow Wolf's radar for years, and we are excited to be formally underway. The opportunities this state has presented have already become the touchstones of a vibrant, arts-centric portal of imaginative creativity."

The company referred to the locations as "portals" opening up, a reference familiar to those who have visited their existing exhibitions and who have eagerly awaited the announcement of their next locations as part of their texasportals.com campaign. Meow Wolf cites a number of criteria that lead them to choose Texas, including diversity, with Houston ranked as the #1 most diverse city in America. The locations have been on the company's radar for over two years, motivated by the large, diverse populations, the love of a mall experience leading them to Grapevine, and the emphasis on the arts in Houston. They plan to work with hundreds of artists, both local to Texas and from their headquarters in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to create the next immersive experiences.

"We've never designed two exhibitions in the same state at the same time. The Texas experiences will be deeply rooted in artist collaboration and connected by concealed Easter eggs," said Dale Sheehan, Executive Creative Director of Meow Wolf, "Of course, the locations themselves are also creative prompts. In Grapevine, we'll be leaning into the energy of a shopping center-a nostalgic place for many of us, where families gather and young adults often find their first moments of freedom. In Houston we'll engage a burgeoning arts community in the most diverse city in the nation, which we believe will result in a groundswell of revolutionary artistic expression."

Meow Wolf is known for its inclusivity and support of historically marginalized communities, describing itself as a "social impact art project fueling a business and a business fueling a social impact art project." The company's mission is to inspire creativity in people's lives through art, exploration, and play so that imagination will transform our worlds.

Meow Wolf plans on working with local and emerging artists in the region and will begin actively recruiting artists and staff in the summer of 2022. The company encourages those interested in the hiring process to follow Meow Wolf channels: @meow_wolf on Instagram, @MeowWolf on Twitter and https://meowwolf.com/careers or to visit and sign up at texasportals.com.

The exhibitions in Grapevine and Houston will be Meow Wolf's 4th and 5th permanent exhibitions. Meow Wolf marked a high growth year in 2021, opening two new permanent installations in addition to upgrading and reopening their original installation, House of Eternal Return, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Omega Mart opened in February in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Convergence Station opened in September in Denver, Colorado. Meow Wolf has now welcomed a total of over 3,000,000 visitors across the three locations and recently renewed its certification as a B-Corporation.

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