Those who have grown up in Denver or surrounding areas have come to know an artistic light that is ceaselessly evolving. Those of you that moved from out of state, well, I could take a few guesses as to why you did. Denver is an eclectic city full of creativity and inspiration all in conjunction with an immensely involved music culture. There’s certainly always something to look forward to, a new and exciting experience is always just around the corner. One upcoming attraction has drawn mostly excitement from The Mile High City while also earning its fair share of doubts, if not down-right criticism. Of course, I’m talking about the arrival of Meow Wolf’s newest installation to their growing universe, ‘The Convergence Station’, located off Denver’s infamous Colfax Avenue and opening this Friday, September 17th.

The Sante Fe-based arts and entertainment company, Meow Wolf, made the exciting announcement way back in 2018 for their would-be brand new, interactive, and permanent art exhibit/experience, The Convergence Station. Their first installation, The House of Eternal Return, was opened in Sante Fe in 2016 and quickly gained nationwide popularity, in part thanks to their in-house music venue attracting national talent of large proportions. The “OG” location soon struck a loud buzz as they collected a cool $6.2 million in revenue their first year open. In February of this year, The Omega Mart in Las Vegas became their second permanent installation (see our coverage of that location HERE). An immersive experience is potentially an understatement when referring to Sin City’s then newest and much larger Meow Wolf location. But both The House of Eternal Return and The Omega Mart can’t hold a candle to Denver’s audatious new location, a 90,000 sq ft+ warehouse, built from the ground up and boasting art from hundreds of renowned artists, brought in from near and far. SharedViews got a very special sneak peek at the Convergence Station, allowing us to share with you just exactly what you can expect.

After the news leaked, there was plenty of excitement but controversy subsequently arose regarding several concerns in the Sun Valley neighborhood. Will the artists be paid living wages? Is this another force of gentrification? Can we count on more jobs? What kind of impact will this have on the environment? What IS the message? Will Meow Wolf provide opportunities to Denver-based artists who’ve poured blood sweat and tears into making their city beautiful and unique for years before? Let us clear up some of those questions and concerns while preparing you for everything The Convergence Station has to offer.

60,000 square feet of exhibition space filled with over 70 different unique rooms give Denverites and visitors an interactive experience like none other. One major concern for many was whether local artists would have the opportunity to leave their thumbprint in the creation of the Convergence Station. Turns out, over 100 Colorado-based artists took part alongside nearly 200 internal Meow Wolf Artists from near and far. This dedicated and talented team came together to “inspire creativity in people's lives” according to Sean Di Lanni, one of Meow Wolf’s Co-Founders and Executive Vice President. He continues with, “... our hope is that it creates the conditions for the imagination to transform our world.”

Di Lanni’s words hit me hard, as I entered the Convergence Station. My imagination shimmied into another world full of hidden details like I never could have anticipated. Thanks to previous Meow Wolf experiences, I was able to anticipate a diversity of colors, lights, sounds, and structures that embellish the space surrounding you, but even my imagination fell short of what I was met within reality. In fact, at times I found myself almost questioning my reality. The entry room embodies a simultaneously old and futuristic feeling train station, with large vaulted ceilings and information boards running bits of information that ingeniously begin preparing travelers for the build-your-own adventure they’re about to embark on. The atmosphere feels nostalgic yet unfamiliar. It’s a place where memories are recreated with a familiar attraction to gorgeous gems embedded in thick stone, bright and bold colors filling paintings and murals, and the melodic sounds or stories that welcome you into each room. And memories are very important in this world. You’ll collect memories as you go along that are almost a currency for the rest of your journey. Aren’t able to see it all in one trip? Your memories will stay and be usable as you continue to come back, via an electronic card you get to carry with you as you go and keep.

Once your journey begins, you truly are given the freedom to control your destiny within the Convergence Station. You’re encouraged to touch, feel, and interact with your surroundings, never sure of what you might uncover or solve next. Easter eggs fill the space, giving travelers more exciting outcomes than one could experience in one trip. The more memories you collect and the information you learn, the more you potentially unlock. *Hot tip* See if you can align the planets just right in the cathedral room, to unlock a wormhole event sure to awe the entire room.

A favorite theme of mine was the “garbage” symbolism throughout the exhibit. Meow Wolf is often described as a social impact art project. Before revenue was flowing and permanent fixtures were being built/designed, the founders began their journey creating art out of simply…. TRASH! From dumpster diving and random donations from junkyards to nearly any inanimate object that sparked creativity in these individuals, they mastered turning nothing into something. Along your journey, you may find yourself in a place where all the worlds of The Convergence Station dispose of their trash. The lost inhabitants of the convergent worlds found themselves here too and created a sustainable living space with this ‘garbage’. They’ve even created an entire language spoken in music. As you spin around one of my favorite rooms, you can enjoy the music and sounds coming from a drum-set, a piano, and other random instruments all right above your head and playing entirely autonomously. All of that sits beneath an awe-inspiring portal on the ceiling, where it’s said many of the residents came to the Convergence Station from.

For another inspiring perspective, “Come Save My World” was the first room I entered that quite literally had a message to say to you. A screen greets you from the middle of the room as you enter and your attention is directed to a woman sitting in front of a sage-filled, south-western landscape. She is humbly informing, subtly reaching out for help and awareness directed towards the safety and well-being of our Native American lands and people. She is not alone as two more gentlemen speak in sequence adding to the message of awareness. I left the room in awe attempting to dissect the intelligence and perseverance of these artists and the native people as a whole. The room, much like all of Meow Wolf, is engulfed in color, providing an artistic atmosphere while spreading a very important message. Moving forward, we entered through hallways, doorways, and secret passageways all leading to different worlds. My imagination continued to be fueled while taking in every room and shaping my perspective of their symbolism.

Artists Molina Speaks and Stevon Lucero worked together to create the Dreamscapes Lounge. As the project manager, Speaks’ goal for the lounge was to make sure that the multimedia and variety of room elements live on par with the art wrapped around the walls created by Stevon Lucero. Lucero’s medium reflects Metarealism and Neo-PreColumbian art, the latter of which stems from lucid dreaming and visions that have occurred ever since his childhood. We are invited into the Dreamscapes Lounge to grow our appreciation and understanding of spiritual art. “We want people to think radically differently about time and space...,” Speaks explained to be the message the pair wish to convey through their art at The Convergence Station. “...we will not solve all of our problems on this planet with the old ways of thinking.”

If the exuberance is beginning to overwhelm you, relax. You will find your way into what I began to call, decompression rooms. These rooms provide a variety of mediums of sound, light, and projections, but more minimally. For example, as you enter the Blue Spa Room, the resemblance of a sauna welcomes you. Beautiful blue tiles mask the walls, pairing with sonic mantras that will ease you to sit on the wooden benches lining the edges of the room and just…. Breathe. Listen. Feel. Slow Down. What makes the experience even more admirable? Knowing you’re in a tranquil room still curated from the hearts and hard work of collaborative artists.

Keep in mind, these are just a few of many positive experiences that inhabit this immersive experience. The invitation to use your imagination in any way you please truly welcomes you to new worlds enhancing your internal ideas of how YOU can make an impact. Your creative additions to the vast storyline (s) are not only welcomed but encouraged. Even if it’s simply opening up your mind and heart to a new culminated vision of art, the entire team seems set on helping you see things in a new way. Let us view this as an opportunity to be unapologetic to ourselves without conforming to what society wants to shape us into. Let us use our voices in the tone we wish to be heard. Let us turn our visions and imagination into reality and release them into the wild. Let us transform the world.

We wound down our experience by roaming the massive merch store, and the cafe curated by twelve local and delicious vendors. The Convergence Station also separates itself from the entertainment venue, where we were able to enjoy a delicious lunch I might add, The Perpexiplex. I am dying to experience the production of this 450 person venue - as the stage itself is an art exhibit. Projections on the walls flow constantly, also depicting the works of collaborative artists. Projections will even track and illuminate bodies on the dance floor, helping to create a new type of concert-going experience in a very intimate room. The Perpexiplex will kick off its first show with Colorado’s own, GRiZ, tomorrow Saturday, September 17th. If you’re one of the lucky ones to snag a ticket before it sold out, you are in for an imaginative treat.

Denver's Meow Wolf Is Ready For The General Public. Here's What You Can Expect From The Convergence Station