People are being invited to Area 15 for art exhibition's 'alien scavenger hunt'

The seed of 'crazy' collaborative art has blossomed into 'Meow Wolf' – America's immersive, anarchic artistic environment that will leave you awe-inspired and hungry for more

They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but for a small collective of Santa Fe artists in America, it seems the opposite is true. Their collaborative art has developed into an immersive experience gaining worldwide traction and critical acclaim.

Step forward Meow Wolf, described on Twitter as a ‘trippy, alien landscape of cosmic exploration and immersive scavenger hunt art” that was dramatically developed after the founding artists connected in 2008 with a unified vision: to share an interest in publicly displaying their works and developing their skills together.

And now this collaborative vision has been brought to life via the celebration of 2,261 collaborators and their 682 projects, not just in Las Vegas, but at additional permanent exhibitions in Santa Fe, Denver and Grapevine (in the Dallas Fort Worth area), where Meow Wolf's distinctive style of immersive, maximalist environments encourage audience-driven experiences. Artists have curated and created installations to ‘open portals of possibility, while redefining the paradigm of art and storytelling to make a positive difference in the world.’

Read more: 'I took DNA test for a laugh - and accidentally uncovered my mum's devious past'

For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US.

Sounds crazy? Well, even the founders agree that that's just the point. While the website says it’s suitable for all ages and abilities, it also admits: “This attraction will either be your specific cup of tea entertainment, or it will leave you scratching your head. Explore a multi level complex of exhibits, puzzles and rooms designed to take you away from here and transport you somewhere weirder, wilder and less ordinary.” The site also admits that the founders are Santa Fe-based artists with previous and current lives as 'graphic designers, technologists, writers, fabricators, painters, sculptors, musicians, rat gang leaders, and shoplifters'.

The trailer for the event states that the event is a venue for artists who felt like they were on the outside of the art market in Santa Fe looking in: “We were Santa Fe’s orphans of neglect.” It also says that the point is to be artistic agitators, to burn down the old system: “Creating a hyper Phoenix of what art can be, rising out of the ashes.”

With investment from American novelist and screenwriter, George R R Martin, the Meow Wolf events boasts numerous full-time artists on stage working in a huge range of media, including sculpture, painting, fabrication, digital art, writing and film, and the company is also now legally registered as a public-benefit corporation and certified as a Benefit Corporation (B Corp).

As the founders say: “We firmly believe that accomplished artists must be compensated on an equal level with other skilled, in-demand professionals, and that successful businesses must give back to – and participate energetically in – their communities. Meow Wolf actively supports innovative, community-focused art and social projects.”