Colorful art display with illuminated stained glass artwork, a mannequin with an elaborate headdress made of flowers and lights, and a stone sculpture, all set against vibrant neon lights.

UNDER THE MOUNTAIN

UNDER THE MOUNTAIN

Experience Reno’s Largest Art Immersive

Look Beneath It All

Open THursday - Sunday

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Yari Ostovany Artist Reception

April 25th 6pm - 9pm

Born in Iran in 1962, Yari Ostovany moved to the United States at the age of 16. He pursued his artistic studies first at the University of Nevada – Reno, and later earned an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995.

Ostovany’s work has been exhibited internationally, with shows in London, Paris, Berlin, Merten, Monaco-Ville, Bochum, Berg am Starnberger See, Cologne, Ferrara, Varenna, Umbria, Tehran, Toronto, New Delhi, and Dushanbe, as well as in numerous exhibitions across the United States.
He is the recipient of the Center for Cultural Innovation Grant, Sierra Arts Endowment Grant, Craig Sheppard Memorial Grant, and Sierra Nevada Arts Foundation Grant.

His work is in the permanent collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art (New Britain, Connecticut), Pasargad Bank Museum (Tehran, Iran), Château d’Orquevaux (Champagne-Ardenne, France), and the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art (Reno, Nevada). He is represented by the Foundation Behram Bakhtiar (Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France), Lansing Street Gallery (Mendocino, CA), Dakkara Art Gallery (Palm Beach, FL), and Noon Powell Fine Art (London, UK).

Recent solo exhibitions include The Yard: Columbus Circle (New York, NY), Joyce Gordon Gallery (Oakland, CA), Rebecca Molayem Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Radian Gallery (San Francisco, CA), and la Galerie du Génie de la Bastille (Paris, France).

Yari Ostovany currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.

steve debruyn artist reception

Friday, May 1st 6pm - 9pm

The fabric used in this show was found, thrifted or otherwise sourced sustainably and includes a healthy amount of Steve’s own clothes and bedding for that extra personal touch. All pieces are washing machine safe on the regular cycle and can be tumble dried and ironed with no risk of shrinkage or colour bleeding. 


Artist Bio

Based in London, Ontario, Canada, Steve deBruyn holds a BFA from NSCAD University and an MFA from Western University. His practice is rooted in DIY processes, culture, and aesthetics and focusses on sculpture and site specific installations that mix carpentry, painting, drawing, and fibre-based arts. Approaching projects with a responsive methodology, Steve works in a fluid and improvisational way that fosters improvisation, research and collaboration while also simplifying logistics, environmental impact, and encouraging broad accessibility and community engagement. This will be Steve’s first solo exhibition of 2026 and his first in the USA. All work in this exhibition was made in the last 3 months and has never been shown before, with a portion being made during a research/creation residency in Glasgow, Scotland in March. Steve thanks the Ontario Council for the Arts for their support with this exhibition.

Join us for the artist opening reception on May 1st from 6pm - 9pm with words from the artist, light refreshments and a plethora of jokes. Free admission, open to all.

Makers masquerade

Saturday, May 2nd 7pm - 12am

Join us for a night of fantasy inside Reno’s Largest Immersive.

Everyone I know has dreamt of a masquerade party. A night of mystery and beauty and art. On May 2nd I am bringing this fantasy to life for you and your friends to experience.

Live music by:

Jenera Paxton

Jonesy

Annabelle And The Desert Scrubs

Cheshire V

We will have savory snacks and a bar. Come decked out in your most outrageous garb and enjoy the dreamscape!

May 2nd

7:00 pm - Doors open

Event runs until Midnight

Leonard and friends painting party

Friday, May 8th 6pm - 9pm

May Fairy Fair

Saturday, May 16th 12pm - 8pm

Join us for our Spring Fairy Fair, a mystical market featuring over 30 local vendors, GD's kitchen food truck, a full bar, live music, tarot, tours of our 20,000 sqft immersive art exhibit and so much more. Bands will play on our outdoor boat stage within our sculpture garden. 

This is an all-ages event from 12pm - 8pm on Saturday, May 16th. Magical fairy outfits strongly encouraged! 🌟🌿🌸

Tickets are $15 and include full access to our 3-floor art immersive created by over 40 local, regional and international artists! Meet our talking mushroom, dance with the cave witches, climb the Tinkertown Spaceship and make a wish in our crystal grotto.

Hosted Events at the Immersive

What we’re working on

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Upside Down Universe is a bedtime story come to life. Our art director Pan and his son Axiom have been collectively building the Upside Down Universe together for over 8 years.

    The story starts a little like this….

    There is a story. A story worth telling. And it starts with a little boy and his father. They move to a new home one Sunday. It was an ordinary Sunday, in an ordinary house. His room was not very clean, and so he spent the whole day arranging it just how he liked. At night he heard a strange scratching noise form inside his closet.

    The boy naturally tries to ignore it. But it gets louder, and louder, until a gruff voice sounds from behind the door…

    "Woah what's that?!"

    The boy was terrified and stumbled for the stick he keeps for just a moment like this. He slowly opened the closet door, ready for whatever horror lay inside, but there was nothing - a simple, fairly empty closet.

    Until something tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to find a monster! It was a very small monster, about 3 feet tall, with horns, purple fur and big yellow eyes.

    The boy fell and scrambled until the side of the closet was at his back.

    The monster only said, "Hurry up" and grabbed the boy by the hand, to drag him through the small door that appeared at the closets very end.

    They came out through a wishing well, in a strange new world.

    This place has had many names.

    And many children to name it.

    But this boy called it Upside Down Land.

  • Thursday - Sunday from 12pm - 11pm

  • Yes! Tickets are available at the door but we do limit the amount of guests per time slot to allow for the most magical experience for all. We recommend buying tickets in advance if you can.

  • Yes! We have the space available for rent for parties and private events.

    To learn more about our rates please visit our venue rental page.

    You can also email us at info@under-the-universe.com or give us a call at 775-444-4605.

  • The Upside Down Universe is located within the Potentialist Workshop at 836 E Second Street in Reno, NV.

  • Yes! Under the Mountain is great for kids and children 4 and under get in for free!

  • A group of over 60 artists created this work. Visit our artists page to learn more.

  • The best way to support Under The Mountain is through becoming a sponsor. You can learn more about our sponsorship levels here.

    If you’re an artist that would like to collaborate please reach out to us at info@upside-down-universe.com.

  • We love hosting performances at the Upside Down Universe! For booking inquiries, please reach out to us at info@upside-down-universe.com.

under the mountain

☽☾

under the mountain ☽☾

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The Potentialist workshop

The Upside Down Universe is a place for daydreams to become reality and that couldn’t be possible without our amazing space and art collective, The Potentialist Workshop. The current show - Under The Mountain was made possible by the hard work of 40+ artist, creatives and leaders in the Reno area and beyond. The Upside Down Universe originally debuted at 2022 Miami Art Week. The collaborative artist group had a fantastic time building for that special event and they wanted to bring that magic back home to Reno. In the Fall and Winter of 2023, the community created Upside Down Land, Reno’s largest DIY art immersion. Our newest iteration, Under The Mountain will include 20,000 sqft of indoor/outdoor interactive art immersion. We are so excited for you to experience our collective dream.

A black and white image of outer space with stars and nebulae, featuring a white infinity symbol in the center.

rocks boulders in desert landscape
A black circle with a white ring border surrounding a black center.

Collective place making