TRANSFIX Immersive Art Experience Opens in Las Vegas
The event seeks to create a new creative ecosystem that champions experiential art from around the world.
Art can sometimes play a subtle or an overstated role at a music festival. Whether in the massive stage designs at Burning Man, niche installations at Movement or Outside Lands, to the massive edifices seen at Coachella. In virtually all of these events, however, art almost always plays backseat to the music centerstage. But not at TRANSFIX, a new immersive art experience that launched the first leg in its global tour last weekend in Las Vegas.
TRANSFIX is the brainchild of CEO Michael Blatter and Tom Stinchfield, who together, run the New York marketing agency, Mirrorball. The event is clearly inspired by festivals, such as Burning Man or Ultra, where a number of interactive sculptures have become a centerpiece to each respective festival. “These things shouldn’t be gathering dust in a warehouse—they should be out on the road, they should be installed somewhere where people can enjoy them and be as inspired by them as we are,” Stinchfield said in an interview with Artnet News.
Moreover, the artists themselves, who have long been ignored by the market altogether, should be compensated to create these breathtaking works, which is largely fueled off passion. After a three year process, the inaugural event presents 50 interactive, kinetic and fire-breathing artworks made by an international cast of artists across a 200,000 square-foot multi-level venue on four acres of land.
Hypeart was invited to tour opening day at Resorts World Hotel in Vegas. Having become the permanent home of EDC and a longtime mainstay within the club world, Vegas is a fitting platform for TRANSFIX to draw new audiences with an already established baseof electronic music lovers. Opening night was a testament to this, as both children and adults experienced totemic sculptures and interactive light installations by the likes of Marco Cochrane, Duane Flatmo and Ouchhh Studio, amongst many. Fittingly, one of the first stops in the night is a kinetic tunnel by PLAYMODES, which literally and figuratively feels like going through hyperspace.
Although the festival is designed as a ‘choose your own journey’ type of experience, “everything creates a dialogue with the next piece”, Marc Dizon, chief creative officer of TRANSFIX, tells Hypeart. “We really looked up how to link all the pieces together to form a common thread.” Like Blatter and Stinchfield, Dizon is a seasoned vet when it comes to the world of experiential art, having worked on projects for Hakkasan nightclub in Vegas, the Jean Arp Museum in Germany and the Sony Music Hall in New York City.
TRANSFIX arrives at a truly historic time in the world of art, as AI and the metaverse have not only seeped its way into the conversation, but have become legitimate tools for creative expression. Naturally, there is as much hysteria surrounding these new mediums as their is excitement. While Dizon understands the legitimate threats brought on by any burgeoning technology, he believes this is just the natural progression between reality and the digital world. “That’s what makes TRANSFIX interesting: some things can live in the metaverse, but we’re starting to blur the lines between real experience and a digital experience into a tangle space not viewed through a headset or lens,” Dizon added.
This crossover between real and imagined, physical and digital is a point of emphasis. Works such as Cadence by creative duo NONOTAK, Shrumen Lumen by Foldhaus Collective and AXION by Christopher Bauder and KiNK, are more than just audiovisual experiences. Each work invites audiences to sit, hear and touch a particular work, leading to “something unexpected and engaging,” Dizon mused.
Rather than just another festival to add to the calendar, TRANSFIX seeks to create a new creative ecosystem pushing the boundaries of experiential art. A space that will provide income streams for a range of artists who for years were creating on the peripheries. While the first leg is in Vegas, TRANSFIX looks to go on a global tour, with Austin, Los Angeles and New York on the near horizon.
The inaugural TRANSFIX is on view until September 2023, from 7pm PT to midnight on Tuesday through Thursday and 7pm to 1am PT from Friday to Sunday. The event is open to all ages and tickets can be purchased here.
