Brand Events and Immersive Experiences, No Badge Required
A black hole re-creation, the Criterion Mobile Closet, and Alien: Earth close encounters await
By Kimberley Jones, Fri., March 7, 2025
The Black Hole Experience
Look, we know your parents always told you not to climb into strange people’s cars ... but what if we told you it was a double-wide trailer meant to mimic the “physics and spiritual properties” of being in a black hole? That sounds way less scary, right? Age of Union’s activation, a collab between artist Kelly Nunes* and environmentalist Dax Dasilva, boasts floor-to-ceiling mirrors to create a sense of weightlessness and a thousand square feet in which to ponder your tiny place in the universe. Pop in during March 12’s Austin Industry Day when the SXSW Expo is open to the general public, or later in the week at LoLo’s.
Wednesday 12, 9am-4pm @ SXSW Expo, Booth 1507 (SX badgeholders can access the BHX Sunday 9- Wednesday 12)
Friday 14, Age of Union party (free but registration required) @ LoLo Wine Bar (1504 E. Sixth)
Saturday 15, 2-10pm @ LoLo Wine Bar (1504 E. Sixth)
Whataburger Museum of Art
For those of y’all who aren’t from around here, what you need to know is that Whataburger is pretty beloved in these parts. We start our mornings with a taquito, hit the drive-through for a patty melt after the party, and drown everything in their iconic fancy ketchup. Apparently, we also make fan art devoted to the 75-year-old Texas brand, and 200 of those original pieces will be featured in this pop-up exhibition. Attendees can also get hands-on in the Whataburger Day Dot Room, a stark white restaurant interior re-creation that guests are invited to plaster over in stickers. Show up Saturday to get in on the free food samples.
Saturday 8-Sunday 9, 11am-6pm
Wanderlust Wine Co. (610 N. I-35)
Alien: Earth: “The Wreckage”
Brace for impact: To hype the summer release of Alien: Earth, the new Alien prequel series from Fargo creator (and Austinite) Noah Hawley, FX is transforming a Downtown lot into a crash landing site. Visitors will be “scanned for alien parasites before receiving credentials and instructions, embarking them on an exploratory mission through the ship wreckage where they will have the chance to get up close and personal with alien specimens.” Sure, you might bump into a xenomorph, but we’re more chilled by the vision of a near future where “corporations wield the power of nations.”
Friday 7-Saturday 8, 2:30-10pm
318 E. Fifth (between Copper Tank and The Westin)
Paramount+’s The Lodge
Why stop at one show when you could feast on a whole brand family’s smorgasbord of immersive activities? The Lodge’s three stories invite you to pop into Yellowjackets’ eat-your-friends forest, Dexter: Original Sin’s kill room, Gladiator II’s imperial Colosseum, Survivor’s Museum of Artifacts, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ aura-reading station, and a mirror maze to get you pumped for upcoming true crime drama Happy Face.
Friday 7, 4pm-midnight
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9, noon-7pm (8-11pm: SXSW badgeholders only)
Monday 10, noon-7pm
Clive Bar (609 Davis)
Criterion Mobile Closet
Seven Minutes in Heaven? Make it three minutes – that’s all the time you’re allotted to peruse the shelves of this mobile version of the Criterion Closet. Cameras will be rolling in case you want to monologue like a first-year film student about the influence of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (#952) on Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (#157). Your trip to cinema bountiful comes with party favors too: 40% off of up to three items stocked in the closet, in honor of the distributor’s 40th anniversary, plus a Criterion tote while supplies last.
Friday 7, 3-7pm
Saturday 8 & Sunday 9, 11am-7pm
Monday 10, 11am-5pm
West Eighth and Congress Ave. (in front of the Paramount Theatre)
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story listed the artist behind The Black Hole Experience as Kevin Nunes; the artist is in fact Kelly Nunes. The Chronicle regrets the error.
