HOUSTON — Art collective Meow Wolf opened its newest location in Houston this week. “Radio Tave” is the fifth permanent installation in the Meow Wolf family. Styled as an interdimensional radio station, the project is a collaboration between more than 100 artists, half of them from the Lone Star State.
One of the selected artists for the Houston space is Austin-based artist Dawn Okoro. Originally from Lubbock, Okoro dedicated herself to art professionally a few years ago. Her work has been featured on TV, in magazines and movies, and her “Punk Noir” exhibition has been featured in galleries around the country and as far away as London.
Her exhibit in Meow Wolf, “The Liberty Vault,” is her largest art piece. An expansion of her “Punk Noir” exhibit, her room at Meow Wolf pays homage to Texas music venues where punk thrived in the ’80s and ’90s, including Liberty Lunch and The Vault in Austin, and The Island in Houston.
Scenes from Dawn Okoro’s “The Liberty Vault” at Meow Wolf in Houston. (Shane Gordon)
“For my Meow Wolf project, I wanted to create a space that was beautiful, eye-catching and emotional. Some of my inspirations are the Palace of Versailles and old punk rock concert flyers,” Okoro said.
Meow Wolf gave Okoro free rein to create what she wanted in the space.
“This was my first time having a whole room as a canvas. This was also my first time incorporating music into an art piece. I brought in TaSz Trébuchet, who’s in the band F*ck Money, to compose a score for the art. TaSz performed at my Punk Noir show opening in Austin with his band BLXPLTN. For my art piece, he created a layered sound with guitars, West African drums and synth. As the music builds, programmed lights in the ceiling change color to fit the sound.”
Okoro was first approached by Meow Wolf in February 2023. The process from start to finish took a year and a half.
Scenes from Dawn Okoro’s “The Liberty Vault” at Meow Wolf in Houston. (Shane Gordon)
“Han Sayles, the curator and director of artist collaboration for Meow Wolf, emailed me and asked if I’d be interested in discussing the opportunity over a video chat. She explained that Meow Wolf’s new exhibition, ‘Radio Tave,’ was being built in Houston’s Fifth Ward,” Okoro said. “I was shocked that Meow Wolf reached out, because I had never imagined my art fitting into their spaces, which I had only seen in photos and videos.”
After speaking to the creative team, she began working on her proposal for her exhibit space. To plan for such a large space, she built a cardboard model to test out her ideas. Okoro says she wants to give visitors a positive experience that reminds them of an “underwater mosh pit that has been preserved throughout time.” The room is filled with joyful dancers surrounded by notes of blue and gold shimmer. Okoro said she used 3,000 sheets of gold shimmer to complete her room.
“My installation is a space where marginalized voices dance freely, and invent new realms of expression. I designed my space to be a reprieve from everything around it. I hope visitors who step in pause for a moment and take in the music with the figures and reflections on the walls,” Okoro said. “I hope some of the visitors catch a few of the Easter eggs I painted into the mural that allude to musicians that got their start at some of the old Texas punk music venues. I also reference current younger Texas punk and alt bands.”
Okoro documented her Meow Wolf journey on her YouTube channel.
Meow Wolf Houston is open seven days a week. Tickets are available now.
