This weekend, the Black Mountain Institute is featuring an afternoon of music, conversation, readings, and visual art as part of its annual three-day Believer Festival.
Saturday afternoon event is free and is centered at 6th and Bonneville, downtown Las Vegas at the building known as The Lucy.
Justin Favela and Francisco Donoso are two of the featured artists and as part of the festival they have collaborated on a piece they're calling "Orbit."
"We are creating what we’re thinking of as migratory land forms,” Donoso told KNPR's State of Nevada.
He explained they will be draping the building with sculptural pieces that will look like a combination of clouds and islands.
“I’m really excited to work on this because my work isn’t necessarily known for being abstract," Favela said.
The theme of the festival is La Frontera or the border. Favela said he wants the work to be about the border and migration but, "but I also want it to be seen as a beautiful abstract piece."
In a way, the piece is similar to a work done by artist Amanda Browder that covered a building at UNLV. Favela said that large, eye-catching works are a trend right now.
“I think what’s happening now is that visibility is so important now when it comes artwork,” he said.
More museums and galleries are putting in large installations that can be easily photographed and shared on social media.
This is the second highly visible collaboration that Favela has done recently in Las Vegas. A show featuring collaborative work between Favela and artist Ramiro Gomez is open now at the Barrick Museum.
Favela said collaboration is a way for him to grow as an artist and use different materials, but it is also a way for him to bring "cool people to Las Vegas," he said, "and show them how awesome Las Vegas is when it comes to art and culture.”
Justin Favela, Las Vegas-based visual artist; Francisco Donoso, New York-based visual artist
