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Our first stop upon arriving in Chicago on our HiLine Roadtrip was WNDR-Chicago (Wonder Chicago).
In our art travel adventures, we’ve been to several so-called immersive art experiences, from VanGogh in Paris to Dreamscapes in Utah and MeowWolf in both Las Vegas and Denver.
It’s been over a decade since we moved from Chicago, and we wanted to see what was new, particularly in the West Loop, where we’d lived and based our galleries for 9 some years. Oh man, the changes – what used to be light, airy and honestly a little funky is now mostly a sea of residential blocks/towers blotting out the sun and soaking up what used to be plenty of free parking. But I digress.
In addition to a ton of gallery moves out of West Loop into West Town (more later), WNDR Global, a firm that calls itself “a collective of thinkers, artists, poets, and designers working at the intersection of art and technology” has opened WNDR-Chicago, one of 4 locations nationwide.
The Chicago outpost apparently opened to a bit of excitement and fanfare in 2018, claiming over 20 interactive rooms, and with general ticket prices of around $35. While the website still shows tickets “from” $32, beware the “peak pricing” rates after 10 am or so, coupled with a mandatory “service fee” (there is no option except to buy online – even standing in front of the counter); our total was $78.40.
I was particularly excited at the prospect of the much-touted Yayoi Kusama infinity room, as we’ve enjoyed prior iterations in other cities.
WNDR left me feeling mostly flat. Rather than a wander-in-wonder experience like MeowWolf, attendees must follow a prescribed flow, clearly marked with arrows on the floor; the creators clearly influenced by haunted house design (and cashflow, it seems).
There are a few fun installations; we particularly enjoyed the interactive light floor, which was sensitive to both pressure and time, creating vivid, swirling, outer-spacey effects that encouraged me to dance, slide, spin and generally act like a kid. Props.
Most of the other installations were fairly predictable and utilized tech that’s been around since Wii. In fact, I’d argue some of the low-tech (painted) areas were more interesting. At least those invited interpretation. The whole place felt neglected, tired.
The biggest letdown was, in fact, the Kusama. Touted as a 3-story installation, it is in fact a small bubble set in a large atrium with a couple more suspended polka-dot balloon bubbles. Although there was literally no one behind us in line, we were informed we’d have 60 seconds in the room. An employee literally timed us with a stopwatch. One could understand this if 100 people were waiting. But there weren’t. As the last “experience” in WNDR, it left a sour taste, and a general feeling of ripped-offed-ness.
Our Take
ArtNomads’ conclusion? In our opinion, this is NOT one of the Top 10 Things to Do In Chicago. Skip this iteration of WNDR-Chicago and instead enjoy the actual museums in town, like MCA-Chicago, the Art Institute, or any others – of which there are a delightful array. If you’re traveling, save your money for MeowWolf, or even Dreamscapes in Salt Lake.