For a city not known for its art, Las Vegas seems to be displaying a lot of it — especially of late.
Over the past few months, both the City of Las Vegas and Clark County's public art programs have debuted multiple outdoor sculptures and murals — most of them by local artists. It's no surprise that municipal entities fund so much public art, and it has traditionally been funded by government. But these days, public art is defined more by its accessibility than who is funding it.
Perhaps the most visited public artwork in Southern Nevada, Ugo Rondinone's "Seven Magic Mountains" near Jean, is privately funded, despite being on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Meanwhile, the Jerez Law firm and Psionic Art Works consulting company have turned a Downtown commercial billboard into a rotating showcase for Las Vegas artists, making a sly statement about the glut of attorney advertisements around town.
In a recent discussion on KNPR's State of Nevada, Psionic owner and cultural anthropologist Brian "Paco" Alvarez, artist Luis Varela-Rico, and City of Las Vegas public art manager Laura Aguiar Machado acknowledged the importance of local art in giving both Las Vegas and its creators a sense of identity.
Here are some other public artworks found in Las Vegas, for those interested in seeing them in person:
- Korean dragons, Amy Sol, 2026, Clark County Fire Station 15 in Chinatown
- "The Night We Met," Krystal Ramirez, 2026, Las Vegas Civic Center
- "Life: Everything is Connected," Eric Vozzola, 2022, UnCommons
- "Radial Symmetry," Luis Varela-Rico, 2018, Arts District
- “Dream Machine,” Wayne Littlejohn, 2016, near Harry Reid Airport
- "Jaguar," Miguel Rodriguez, 2016, near Winchester Dondero Cultural Center
- "Bliss Dance," Marco Cochrane, 2010 (creation), 2016 (installation), The Park
- “Snowball in Vegas,” Jesse Carson Smigel, 2014, Arts District
- "The Flashlight," Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, 1981, UNLV
- "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas," Betty Willis, 1959, near Harry Reid Airport
Guests: Brian "Paco" Alvarez, owner, Psionic Art Works; Luis Varela-Rico, artist; Laura Aguiar Machado, public art and section manager,cCity of Las Vegas
