We Tripped (on) Balls at Balloon Museum Dallas

Picture this: you’re swimming in a sea of balls in an industrial dark room — it’s not what you’re thinking, nor is it scary. The darkness is so thick that you can’t even really gauge how large the room truly is. Music pours into the room, and the deep bass thrums through the sea of plastic balls. A massive disco ball starts spinning in the center of the room, reflecting the light from red and blue orbs and smaller mirror balls dripping from the ceiling, which is coated in black balloons. It’s both sensory deprivation and over-stimulation in harmony.

That is just a taste of the Balloon Museum’s “Let’s Fly – Art Has No Limits” exhibition at Dallas’ South Side Studios, which spans 65,000 square feet and showcases work from 18 international artists. 

“Founded in Rome in 2021, Balloon Museum is a pioneering art space dedicated to showcasing inflatable and air-based contemporary installations that merge creativity, technology and sensory exploration,” a press release states. “Recognized as a global phenomenon, the Balloon Museum has welcomed more than 7 million visitors to exhibitions featuring renowned international artists.”

It would be an understatement to call this exhibition immersive, because it is much more than that. Not only do visitors have the opportunity to step into a different world when they enter the exhibition, but they also get to engage with it audibly, visually and tangibly. 

One exhibit within the sprawling exhibition is an interactive sculpture that invites guests to help a 26-foot butterfly “fly.” Christopher Schardt’s “Mariposa,” which features a butterfly overhead that has nearly 40,000 LED lights synchronized to music and movement, was first introduced at Burning Man 2023. Both the lights and the wings spring to life once visitors sit on a bench below the insect sculpture and begin to swing. Surrounded by floor cushions and bean bags, the exhibit offers ample space for both participation and observation.

Just beyond “Mariposa,” there is another interactive exhibit that serves as a canvas, where each guest can participate in creating a unique art piece. Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s “ADA” could not be more visually different from its predecessor. From a dark room lit only by the LED butterfly wings, guests step into a blindingly white, boxed-in room containing a massive balloon spiked with charcoal. As the balloon floats around the room and is encouraged in new directions by guests, the balloon leaves unique marks on the white floor, walls and ceiling. Once the exhibition is closed, a unique piece of art will be created to serve as a representation of everyone who interacted with “ADA” in Dallas. 

The exhibition also features multiple infinity rooms that challenge one’s perception of space, installations meant to be moved around and re-designed by visitors and a virtual reality experience to complete the tour. 

Near the exhibition’s end, there’s an installation that resembles an indoor pool. Upon walking into the enclosed space, the room opens up to the aforementioned all-black room with a ball pit. Light bars around the perimeter of the room and suspended orbs of light bounce off of disco balls that drop from the ceiling and rise back up in rhythm with the bass-heavy music.

Balloon Museum’s “Let’s Fly – Art Has No Limits” is open through April 26, 2026, and tickets are available here.