Coming soon to the Sphere: Art made by local students
Local students will get their chance to see art they create displayed on the Sphere this year.
Sphere Entertainment Co. on Thursday announced the start of the first-of-its-kind Sphere XO Student Design Challenge. More than 100,000 Clark County School District and UNLV students will be invited to submit their work for the contest, which will start this month.
The winners will get their work displayed on the venue’s exosphere, and the company will donate $10,000 to their school’s art program.
Eight winners ranging from elementary school through college will be chosen by a combination of voting by the public on thesphere.com and selection by professional artists who have designed for the exosphere, including Refik Anadol and Michela Picchi.
Submitted art must have a Fourth of July theme and will be first displayed July 4, the first anniversary of the initial illumination of the Sphere.
“Sphere is more than a venue — it is a new entertainment medium uniting art and science to broaden our understanding of what’s possible through artistic and technological innovation,” James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment, said in a release. “Sphere XO Student Design Challenge is an opportunity for us to engage Las Vegas students by introducing them to Sphere’s technology, and meaningfully give back to the community by inspiring its future.”
A total of 294 students — one each from the district’s 233 elementary schools and 61 middle schools — will be chosen based on two-dimensional illustrations or paintings they produce. The 30 best elementary and 30 best middle school entries will be chosen by CCSD administrators to be digitized by the Sphere team for judging. In May, the public will vote online for what they view as the best.
“Arts education in public schools is more vital than ever,” Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, the district’s interim superintendent, said in a release. “We are fortunate to not only have this next-generation canvas in Las Vegas but also to have Sphere’s commitment to using it in support of the local community.”
For older students, 30 from district high schools and 30 from UNLV’s colleges of Fine Arts, Architecture, Film, Engineering, and Mathematics will be selected by school administrators based on their demonstrated passion for art and digital design.
The 60 chosen will be provided a VR headset and custom design tools developed by the Sphere team, which also will provide hands-on tutorials for designing on the sphere-shaped canvas. All 60 selected entries will be digitized for voting.
“The intersection of art and technology is a consistent throughline in our curriculum and a crucial priority for students pursuing careers in these rapidly evolving industries,” Nancy Uscher, dean of UNLV College of Fine Arts, said in a release.
A total of 120 submissions — 30 each from elementary, middle, high school and UNLV — will be involved in the public voting on thesphere.com, with additional details and dates to be announced later.
Four entries from each age category will be chosen by public vote, and four will be selected by a panel of artist judges. Ultimately, two elementary school students, two middle school students, two high school students and two UNLV students will win and see their work displayed on the exosphere July 4.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
