Meow Wolf, Las Vegas

Mobile photography from a large-scale, interactive, and immersive art installation.

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever been to any of the Meow Wolf locations. I’m guessing for almost all of you, the answer is, “What are you TALKING about?!” Don’t worry. I’m here to help. That’s why this week’s newsletter is all about my visit to Meow Wolf Omega Mart, located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I’ve now visited three of the five locations: Vegas, Denver, and Santa Fe. Whenever people ask what Meow Wolf is, I try to explain that it’s an art installation on steroids. It’s located in a massive warehouse with multiple rooms and floors of different types of art. Some of the art is interactive, some of it is coded, and some of it is a secret. There are tunnels and hidden doors that lead you into the rooms with the idea that you are supposed to sit and watch the art for a little bit. It’s all very weird, quirky, and interesting. Honestly? Some of you might like it better if you were on drugs.

The Vegas location started differently than the other two in that they had art pieces outside of their warehouse called Art Island.

This art piece was fun to look at. As I got closer, I saw the inception of my reflection.

There were several interesting sculptures other than this one. I didn’t know until later that these pieces come from the Burning Man festival.

The lady insisted on being the first person in. I took her picture, not because she was being a “Karen,” but because I thought the entrance reminded me of Darth Vader’s fortress (and she didn’t want to move away from the door).

As you get closer, that’s when you see the details. There were two dogs on either side. The art note said they were clones. I just thought they were hilarious with their lil’ Adidas sneakers.

The coordinates for Las Vegas, specifically Area 15, the name of the complex.

I got close to the statue so you could see the details. This was a large sphere around the silver woman, and it was super reflective in the morning sun. An alien in a UFO, perhaps?

Omega Mart, the art installation, was in a building called AREA15. The warehouse includes other retail and entertainment businesses. There was a bar in the middle with a huge artificial Japanese maple tree made up of LED lights. As we waited to get into the art installation, I stared at the tree, watching the leaves change color. It was stunning.

There were also signs all over saying, “AREA15 does not exist.” For those of you who are not American, this is a play on Area 51, a highly-classified Air Force base outside of Las Vegas that “doesn’t exist.”

The Meow Wolf logo.

Each location has a different theme. The theme for Vegas is called Omega Mart, with their tagline stating, “Discover the greatest supermarket experience in the world.” There’s always a story behind the theme, but I did not have enough time to dive into it. From what I gathered, there was a woman who grew up to be the CEO of Omega Mart, inheriting it from her dead parents. I think she represents evil capitalism? There is something wrong with the mart, so weird things happen throughout the art installation. If it doesn’t make sense, don’t worry. Look at the pictures, and then decide if you want to visit to understand it better.

I will note that a lot of these pictures are purposefully abstract. That’s part of the fun (to me) of Meow Wolf locations. Also… Meow Wolf does not allow cameras with detachable lenses inside, so this is all mobile photography from my Pixel 9 Pro XL.

An absolute play on Zoltar.

These long, lit hallways are prevalent in each Meow Wolf location. I stood at the end and watched the light show for a bit.

This room was SO trippy! There was a large head in each corner with multiple mirrors throughout. It was a challenge to capture this image with the weird angles, so I accidentally captured myself on the left side.

Sometimes there are small doors that open to show a piece of art inside. I liked the shapes and colors of this piece, so I stuck my phone up against the glass. This was miniature-sized, not life-sized.

I sat in this room for a good ten minutes. The music was very ambient with these large panels changing light on every wall. The lights were mesmerizing, even for sober me. A few others sat and joined me in the room.

These flowers were so cool! The stems were painted on the wall with the 3D petals jutting out. They had a variety of different wildflowers including yellow poppies.

You’ll see signs like these, and when you read them, you realize something’s a little off.

Inside the mart, which looked like a supermarket, they had various pieces of art and also (expensive) things for sale. These cans are a play on Campbell’s soup. There was also a glass case on top with a camel made out of these cans. If you pushed on one of the cans (there were like 300 of them), the camel would collapse - one of the “secrets” of Meow Wolf.

This piece of art was in one of the stairwells - it was two levels tall.

Omega Mart utilizes LED lights practically everywhere. If they want you to enjoy art for a bit, they will provide seating in the room. I sat on one of the couches to watch these pieces change color along the ceilings and upper walls.

I also sat in this room for a while. Not only did the backlit LEDs change colors, but so did the walls. When I walked in, this entire room was pink and teal.

Weird? Absolutely. Fun to visit? Hell yes. I appreciated that I was not only able to visit a new (to me) Meow Wolf location but also that I didn’t have to spend the day walking the strip. It was the perfect end to my five days in Vegas.

Cheers.