According to artnetcom, Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has invested US$2,7 million to renovate an abandoned bowling alley in Santa Fe to transform it into a new art center. Martin leased the 33,000 square-foot space for 10 years to the local visual arts group Meow Wolf, who pledged to create an arts center that offers "a unique, interactive arts and entertainment experience." Founded in 2008, Meow Wolf presents itself as the first artistic and musical alternative in Santa Fe that specializes in "fully immersive exhibits." Located in Silva Lanes, the space—yet to be officially inaugurated—will be mostly devoted to a permanent continuation of the group's multimedia installation titled The Due Return (2011), centered on the theme of an alien, inter-dimensional sea voyage. The House of Eternal Return will be ten times the size of the original. Meow Wolf hopes to attract 100,000 annual visitors. Other features of the center will include 19 artist studios, an additional exhibition gallery, a gift shop, and a 2,000-square-foot workshop and learning center named after David Loughridge a member of the Meow Wolf group who died last year. Admission will cost $8–$15, with discounts for local families. Meow Wolf has received a $25,000 grant for the project from Albuquerque Creative Startups, which supports entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural fields and has pledged to undertake a Kickstarter campaign to raise $100,000. The Meow Wolf Art Complex will become the second cultural institution in Santa Fe to get Martin's support. In 2013, he reopened the Jean Cocteau Cinema, the self-proclaimed "most eclectic movie house" in Santa Fe. More information is available at:
http://meowwolf.com/art-complex/