Cockroach Theatre in the 18b. After landing in Las Vegas back in 2011 I immediately began exploring the region to continue self-imposed research on street art. I did not know what to expect because Southern Nevada doesn’t have a reputation for being a destination for murals created as art in public space. The portfolio was modest. That has changed. There is now a strong cross section of mural styles. Las Vegas has the self branding form of graffiti and street artists who want their works to gain value through guerilla aesthetic and experimental development. There are also large-scale works have get international attention. And there is some backstory drama. Local artists voiced a backlash against the random bubble tagging that was less about aesthetic, and more of infiltrating landscape with dull presence. Here is a list of five spots that offer any student of street art the free experience of random discovery. 1: 18b Graffiti Walls.
2: 18b Street Art Walls.
3: Fremont District Bordalo II "Meerkats" for Life is Beautiful. The downtown footprint anchored by Fremont Street, between Las Vegas Blvd, Stewart Ave, 8th Street, and Carson Ave., is filled with leave-behinds; the commissioned large-scale street art from the Life Is Beautiful Festivals. The visual spectacle has linked Las Vegas to a global contemporary mural movement. A highlight from last year is Portuguese-based artist Bordalo II, who invaded local trash bins to find found objects to assemble a group of Meerkats hanging out against a discarded bus. Even without the crowds and music, works by artist like D*Face, Doze Green, Vhils, Ana Maria, Borondo, Fintan Magee and others left downtown’s Fremont District a distinct portfolio. Emergency Arts adorned for Life Is Beautiful Festival. Street Artist, 1010, painting his mural for the 2015 Life Is Beautiful Festival 4: The Linq LINQ In what was once an access road between The Imperial Palace and The Flamingo is now public space along The Linq, a shopping walkway anchored by the High Roller. It has also become an outdoor gallery for I.S.I. Group to bring in local artist to convert blank walls into a site for small murals that tourists (and locals) use for photo ops. It’s a commercial modification of an alley being a nesting spot for street art, yet shows how there can be a balance integration of street art and the Strip as an activated space for walking. 5: Maryland Parkway Twenty commissions were appointed to paint utility boxes in Maryland Parkway in 2015 for the seventh “Zap!” a project that has been introducing public art to local neighborhoods. ZAP 7 was also one of the first visible steps in converting Maryland Parkway to an Urban Art Corridor, and the works by the artists, or teams, when past street level decoration and finding ways to reflect neighborhood identity. A number of painted boxes were created by UNLV alum, and alongside the campus, near Harmon, are some that were designed by students in UNLV "Art in Public Places" course. For easier touring, a pdf map of is available. ZAP 7
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BARD NEVADA ROAD TRIP TAKES DETOUR: Quietly Las Vegas became the Nevada stop for a copy of Shakespeare's "First Folio." The first reports listed Reno. Now the 400 year folio is scheduled to be at University of Nevada from September 1 - 29, according to the First Folio Tour site. In honor of the 400th anniversary since Shakespeare’s death, The Folger Shakespeare Library has dispatched "First Folio" to barnstorm the US to one location in each state, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The "First Folio" was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616, and acknowledged as the definitive source of several of Shakespeare’s works. "There are 36 plays in the First Folio, all the ones we're familiar with. If it weren't for the First Folio we would have lost some of those plays, most likely. Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet. Plays that have formed an important part of American culture." said Jodee Fenton to MyNorthwest. Fenton is the manager of special collections at the Seattle Public Library, where the folio is currently on display. More from the The Folger Shakespeare Library:
AFTER THOUGHT: With "First Folio" on the UNLV campus in September, and the final 2016 Presidential Debate slated for October 19, 2016 at Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV's Department of Theater may want to consider staging one of Shakespeare's political dramas in a modern setting come fall. Like Macbeth using Michael Heizer land art to guide the set design. Or Julius Caesar imagined as happening on the Strip during the days of atomic testing. TOKEN STREET ART REFERENCE: In the BBC/RSC 2012 production of "Julius Caesar" Brutus (Paterson Joseph) and Cassius (Cyril Nri) early confrontation is set in a hallway. On the walls are "stencils" of Caesar.
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February 2 – March 31, 2019 Artist Reception and Gallery Talk: Sunday, February 10, 2019, 4 p.m.–7 p.m. SPONSOR
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