When you think of amusement parks, roller coasters, funnel cakes and games come to mind. But do you think of art? There is one amusement park that's changing the way visitors experience a ride.
Elitch Gardens amusement park in Colorado just opened their new ride called Kaleidescape, an art-focused ride. The park partnered with Santa Fe, New Mexico’s famous art installation Meow Wolf, which is known for an immersive, interactive experience. They wanted to bring that same focus to the ride.
“It is very visually dense," describes artist Frankie Toan, who helped create the ride. "There’s lot of color, shapes, and lights, and all kinds of things going on.”
Meow Wolf’s co-founder Matt King says audiences are given a chance to immerse themselves into fantastic realms of story and exploration.
"We create things that are very different than what Disney does, what Universal does," King says.
The artists behind the ride enjoy that Elitch Gardens is a non-traditional art space.
“It’s just such a fun place to work, because the rules of a gallery or museum don’t necessarily apply here," Toan says.
Meow Wolf’s ride is changing the way people look and understand art.
“Meow Wolf's great strengths is that they get people who maybe don’t normally go to see art, especially in a gallery or museum setting," Toan says. "They get to experience really contemporary, lively art in a non-traditional space.”
Elitch Gardens hopes to make Kaleidescape a permanent ride.
