SWOON, the Studio Encourages Dallasites to ‘Touch Grass’ With Its New Multi-Sensory Art Experience

For those of us who are chronically online, occasionally we need someone to remind us to “touch grass.”

Today, SWOON, the Studio opened a “fully-immersive, multi-sensory art experience where contemporary art, nature, and culture converge.” We’ve written before about the multi-hyphenate practice that focuses on branding, interior design for residential, commercial, and hospitality spaces, experiential design, photography, and retail curation. SWOON, the Studio remains at the forefront of what’s cool. Even better? The taste-making studio invites everyone to sit at their table in the proverbial Dallas cafeteria.

Designed as “a serene, grounding escape from screens and city noise,” the exhibition — Touch Grass — encourages visitors “to reconnect with the earth, themselves, and each other.” SWOON, the Studio’s founder Sam Sano said her young sons, avid gamers, inspired the name because they often tell each other to “touch grass.”

If you’re unfamiliar with this Gen Z-led, internet expression, allow me to assist. Telling someone to “touch grass” is a reminder not to get caught up in online drama. Instead, put your screens down and go outside and experience the real world. It’s a cheeky expression that’s not not a dig.

The phrase is a literal suggestion, too. Touching grass outside symbolizes grounding, presence, and a return to reality, which is exactly what SWOON, the Studio captured with their immersive experience that opened today at Shop SWOON inside The Joule Hotel.

SWOON, the Studio transformed Shop SWOON into an idyllic dreamland that features rolling hills of soft, vibrant turf. Touch Grass encourages visitors to put their phones away, remove their shoes, lie back, and ground themselves in the space while observing the projection of the sky that washes across the ceiling. To deepen their auditory experience, guests wear grass-covered headphones during the exhibit, which was “thoughtfully designed to activate the senses while maintaining a soothing, meditative environment.” Oh, and it even smells like fresh-cut grass.

“Just as electrical currents are grounded to stabilize energy, Touch Grass offers a moment to discharge chaos and still the mind,” says the installation’s curatorial team. “This is not just art you look at. It’s an artful moment to pause, breathe, and feel.”

Through October 12, escape digital fatigue and discover a sanctuary of peace, playfulness, and connection, all from touching grass.

Exhibition proceeds support The Preston Project and benefit the Grant Halliburton Foundation, a nonprofit organization that improves access to mental health resources for children, teens, and young adults. In alignment with this mission, admission is free for visitors under the age of 18.

Naturally, because this SWOON, the Studio we are talking about, OF COURSE there is limited-edition art and *good merch* available for purchase that ideally captures the show’s “contemporary-meets-nature aesthetic.” (As if it had to be said!)

“Touch Grass” is open to the public Tuesdays to Sundays from noon to 5 pm through October 12 at The Joule Hotel in Downtown Dallas. Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased online.