Area15, an experiential art and entertainment complex in Las Vegas, is a space for art installations, state-of-the-art technology, retail and F&B. The venue’s art experiences include a permanent gallery called Art Island that showcases artwork inspired by festivals and an ever-changing Japanese maple tree and canopy with more than 5,000 LED lights.
“It’s a cool space; it’s entertainment, it’s amusement,” said Area15 CEO Winston Fisher. “We are a storytelling company. It’s a word that you hear a lot, though only a few people actually do it with authenticity.”
“With Area15, at the end of the day, we’re building an imagination box,” added Fisher. “It’s a place of wonder, a place of excitement, where creativity is not scared to flourish. We don’t go for perfection, but for creativity of expression.”
Gallerie 360 Inside The Portal is an immersive audio and visual experience within Area15’s 360-degree projection mapped room, while Shogyo Mujo by Bart Kresa Studio and Joshua Harker is an interactive giant skull covered in 3D projection mapping. The Spine is a dynamic corridor featuring art installations and F&B.
Wink World: Portals to the Infinite comes from Chris Wink, the co-founder of Blue Man Group. The art and entertainment project boasts six infinity mirror rooms, each featuring a production number with black light and dynamic stage effects, as well as the Aliume 3D Psychedelic Art Gallery.
“We set out to design something that has never been built before – a vast bunker to house the burgeoning experience economy,” said Michael Beneville, chief creative officer at Area15. “By creating and curating best-in-class experiences and partnering with immersive artists and makers at the vanguard of this movement, we have witnessed our vision come to life.”
The Las Vegas-based complex is a collaborative venture between Fisher Brothers and creative agency Beneville Studios. Area15 is opening in Orlando in 2024, and expanding its district in Vegas by 20 acres. The anchor tenant will Horror Unleashed, a brand-new, year-round horror entertainment attraction from Universal Destinations & Experiences, inspired by Halloween Horror Nights.
Fisher said the attraction is going to be “incredible and standout”. Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, he told blooloop, is a “30-year concept that has incredible brand awareness… It’s edgy, it’s cool, it’s fun. It’s the right concept to be part of the Area15 district. It’s exciting.”
The new development will extend to over 450,000 square feet. This includes almost 110,000 square feet for Universal’s attraction as well as a range of flexible food and beverage and retail spaces from 1,000 to 60,000 square feet. In addition, a scrapped Boeing 747 airplane will be used as an event space, with more than 85,000 square feet dedicated to pop-ups and outdoor activities.
