Hunting for Art in Las Vegas

Looking for a socially distant activity that will get you out of the house? Take a car ride and go hunting for sculptures, murals, and graffiti.

One of my favorite activities is to go hunting for street and public art, which has the added bonus of being something you can do largely from the safety (and air conditioning) of your car. It’s kinda like when I was a kid and we used to drive around to look at houses in fancy neighborhoods like Rancho Circle, only much more culturally enriching.

If you’d like to take a drive and look for some art, here are some suggestions.

Fremont Street

In Downtown Las Vegas, you see everything from gang tags to massive murals from the Life is Beautiful Festival. 

This mural by D*Face was created for the first Life is Beautiful Festival in 2013 and is one of Downtown's most well-known murals

Drive east down Fremont Street from Las Vegas Boulevard and you’ll find amazing murals on Fremont as well as along intersecting streets (roughly within the footprint of LIB). As you get past Fergusons Downtown at 11th Street, things start to taper off in the artwork department. You’ll recognize Fergusons Downton by the s-shaped semi truck sculpture in the courtyard, “Big Rig Jig.”

"Big Rig Jig" in 2017, not long after it arrived in Las Vegas. The complex is much spiffier now. 

Main Street 

Over on Main Street, you’ll find vintage shops and trendy new places along the recently renovated street (which is now one-way only – traffic flows north). On the streets intersecting Main are where you’ll find wonderful murals adorning the sides of the buildings. 

About a block west of Main Street, you’ll find Graffiti Alley, which runs parallel to Main. It’s full of ever-changing artwork, tags, and messages (as are many alleys in this area). In general, the further away from Main Street you go, the artwork is more graffiti than murals. 

I have to offer a warning: Fremont and Main Street are downtown, and you may encounter mentally distressed individuals, people under the influence, and those who could simply be called “colorful.” Be respectful and aware of your surroundings. I saw one Google review that said of Graffiti Alley, “Not what I expected and the area was pretty chock full of vagrants and homeless people,” but I honestly have never had any issues. 

If exploring alleys in Downtown Las Vegas sounds too sketchy for you, don’t worry – we have plenty of other artwork around the valley.

Utility Box Art

Did you know Las Vegas has an official program to promote art on utility boxes? The program started in 2005 and has prettied up utility boxes throughout town. Personally, I’m a big fan of the lizard and snake over on Lone Mountain, but you can find these gems by Desert Breeze Park, along Maryland Parkway, and in several other locations. Check the program's website for a list of the neighborhoods featuring artful utility boxes.

Median Art

We’ve also got fancy medians that feature sculptures of Joshua Trees, coyotes, scorpions, and other desert flora and fauna. I’m not sure why our medians also feature saguaro cactus sculptures since they’re native to the Sonoran Desert, not the Mojave, but inclusivity, I guess? No cacti left behind?

In addition to the desert-themed beautification on medians all over town, Clark County took it a step further with their “Centered” project. Ten artists were selected to create original sculptures, like the large metal heads on Eastern at the 215 and the octopus on Pecos-McLeod, south of Desert Inn. The project’s website lists all the artwork. 

I’d also recommend Alta from Rampart to Valley View for home-grown, local murals. Every time I drive it, I see a few new pieces. I think it’s an up-and-comer for street art.

You can find all kinds of art along the Strip, especially at Aria and CityCenter, but you have to get out of the car and proceed on foot to see anything. While that’s a little too much potential ‘rona exposure for me, if you’re masked up and low-risk, you’ll find plenty to enjoy, like Maya Lin’s sculpture of the Colorado River, which is over the front desk at Aria. Lin also designed the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.

Have you been out hunting for art in Las Vegas? What are some of your favorite finds?

All photos by Terrisa Meeks

Art at Life is Beautiful 2014

The art at Life is Beautiful 2014 was everywhere: on the buildings, constructed out of wire, and at Art-tales at the Western.

The musicians and the chefs may have had the big names, but the artists certainly brought the food for thought.

Did you go to Life is Beautiful this year? What did you think of the art?
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All pictures by me, Terrisa Meeks. See more of my Life is Beautiful pictures at flickr.

Life is Beautiful in Downtown Las Vegas

Last Saturday, my son and I spent seven hours at the first day of the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival, an amazing event that has transformed Downtown Las Vegas permanently.

The murals gracing the walls of so many downtown buildings were only part of LIB's over-sized artwork--which included storage containers stacked on top of each other and painted with the event’s signature heart. (A few girls climbed on them for photo ops before the police showed up and halted any more climbing.) 

Lawn chairs were placed haphazardly on sidewalks and even in the middle of Ogden.

My son and I wandered the streets all day, making two stops at the Culinary Village and one in Food Truck alley (LAVO meatballs, Sin City Hot Dog, KGB Burger). I know that sounds like a lot of food, but I had a teenage boy with me.

We walked through the Art Odyssey, where artists used rooms at the former Town Lodge Motel for individual galleries, and a water feature acted as a centerpiece for the central courtyard.

I pointed out the Fremont Center building to my son and told him how it used to be a Woolworth’s (where I sometimes shopped on my lunch hour when I worked for the police department in their offices at 601 E. Fremont, a building that now houses “Tripe B,” Backstage Bar & Billiards--although I found out later that my memory was off by a block: Woolworth's was at 5th Street.). 

We sat on the new grass in the Secret Garden, watched street performers, and rode the Ferris wheel, which gave us an expansive, bird's-eye view of the eastern portion of the valley (a view I haven’t seen since I worked in City Hall in the BT days--“Before Tony,” as in Hsieh).

Throughout the day, we stopped at stages randomly and always heard music playing in the background. We caught four bands: Alpine, Wallpaper, ZZ Ward, and Imagine Dragons (who closed their performance with Cirque joining them onstage).

It’s been sad for me to watch so much of Las Vegas fall into disrepair, disintegrating in front of my eyes, and to see Downtown get a makeover and a festival of this caliber gives me hope that Downtown may yet blossom into the place I know it can be.

If LIB comes back next year, and I hope they do, I hope they:

• Come up with a better mobile app
• Incorporate more shade (especially in Culinary Village)
• Get a less-confusing entry and exit system
• Give the Cirque performers an elevated stage (my son called them “Cirque du Can’t-See-Nothing”)
• Find a venue for the “Learning” speakers where people under 21 can attend   

Bravo, Life is Beautiful! You were beautiful, indeed.

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Were you at LIB last weekend?

See more of my pictures on flickr.

Festival Season in Las Vegas

It’s Festival Season in Vegas, otherwise known as “October” in other places.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll get the chance to see a lot of scenes like these:

I snapped these pics last weekend at Boulder City’s Art in the Park, the grand-daddy of art festivals in Southern Nevada. 

My son and I spent Sunday afternoon checking out each and every booth. The balance between actual art and only-at-a-festival doodads for sale was just right. And we loved that so many people had their dogs with them.

(Our total damage: one tie-dyed shirt for Dad, one gigantic ceramic mug for Son, and good-smelling house stuff for me).

Feeling festival-like now? This weekend you might want to check out:

Summerlin Art Festival & Sidewalk Chalk Art Show

Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival

And later in the month:

Life is Beautiful (A two-day extravaganza of food, entertainment, and art in Downtown Las Vegas)

Vegas Valley Book Festival (Major event is Oct. 31 - Nov 2)  

Las Vegas Foodie Fest at the Silverton

Do you have a favorite festival during this time of year?

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All pics by Terrisa Meeks