Fathom immersive art experience opens in Portland
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Fathom is a new art show for adults and children that runs through October. Photo: Joseph Gallivan/Axios
Move over, pirate glow golf. Fathom is Portland's new immersive art show, filled with black-light sea creatures, sunken ships and elements of video games.
Why it matters: Fathom, created by the people behind the Portland Winter Light Festival (PWLF), provides something fun to do in a part of downtown where street activity has dwindled.
Catch up quick: The pop-up was started by Chris Herring, Jean Margaret and others in the city's maker and music festival communities. It opens on Friday.
- Herring is the artistic director of the PWLF. Two weeks after the festival wrapped, about 50 artists began collaborating on an indoor exhibit.
- The result was undersea-themed Fathom, a low-budget Meow-Wolf-meets-The-Little-Mermaid place to play.
- It's in a former pharmacy on SW 4th Avenue between Washington and Alder Streets.
Inside the room: Standout features include a space crab whose shell is made of the hoods of five Volkswagen Beetles.
- There's also a laser harp room and a wall-sized video game made by Goodbeast, which you play by using your whole body.
How it works: Participants enter on SW 4th Avenue, show their timed ticket and are free to wander.
- A scavenger hunt keeps visitors on their toes, Herring says, and people tend to double back to discover more rooms.
- There's no bar and no food, so eat before going.
Fun fact: The show draws on Portland talent. Andrew Wade Smith created a multi-chamber infinity room in a few weeks for Fathom.
What they're saying: "It's ridiculous how much stuff is laying around that we can build with," Herring told Axios on a tour before Friday's grand opening.
If you go: Fathom is open 3-10pm Fridays, 1-10pm Saturdays and 1-8pm Sundays ($20 for adults; $17.50 youth and veterans), through October.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove a reference to a Microsoft event.