Can Mercer Labs Keep the Immersive "Museum" Trend Alive?

I’ve recently been hit with a barrage of social media ads for Mercer Labs, the newest representative of the past decade’s immersive/experiential/Instagram museum trend, opening this month in downtown Manhattan. Someone was clearly funneling significant money into advertising the museum, which found its niche at the intersection of "art and technology." Promotional videos showing eye–catching lights reflecting in mirrored rooms with guys in streetwear facing away from the camera, taking in the techy glory. Quick jump cuts bouncing between LED tableaus were hard to process. The non-stop ads reveal very little beyond a taste of the museum’s futuristic aesthetic. What was so fascinating to these mysterious men?

A descendant of the 2010s’ Meow Wolfs, Van Gogh experiences, and Museums of Ice Creams, Mercer Labs appears to be positioning itself as a cooler, artier version for the 2020s. Immersive museums have been polarizing—accessible and populist art or shameless cash grab?— and I’ve been confused by the cottage industry for years. Relying on novelty, it seems unlikely to produce, as Museum of Ice Cream founder Maryellis Bunn wished in 2017, "the next Disney." Yet, following its original boom, venture capitalists poured even more money into the industry post–pandemic lockdowns. The investment paid off, with reported revenues in the millions and expansions across the globe. These past few months, however, have brought difficulties. Meow Wolf is restructuring and laying off employees, and the company behind the Van Gogh Experience filed for bankruptcy. But Mercer Labs is plowing ahead, investing $35 million into renovating a former department store in New York’s financial district. While it was "in preview" ahead of its opening, I got a tour.

Mercer Labs is housed in an austere, imposing building catty-corner to the Oculus (a mall/transportation hub at the World Trade Center). It was originally the East River Savings Bank, founded in 1848, according to the bronze plaque above its triple–height wrought–iron doors. As I approached the ticket booth, a PR representative, Isabelle, intercepted me, introducing me to the Lab’s chief of staff, Merm. Both were warm and friendly. They ushered me into The Window. Part foyer, part art piece, the room was pitch black save for a huge, circular screen on the ceiling. Sitting along the wall, I pawed blindly to put on my required, disposable shoe covers and watched a video of a crystalline 3D model rotating and morphing above.