For seven consecutive years global creative house Justkids has collaborated with Life Is Beautiful festival to transform the cityscape of Downtown Las Vegas, consistently curating ambitious semi-permanent murals and site specific installations. The woman-run creative enterprise recently debuted seven new works from artists Ernest Zacharevic, DAKU, HOTTEA, Zosen & Mina Hamada, Mantra and AKACorleone, joining an already rich portfolio of works in the festival footprint by artists like Shepard Fairey, D*Face, Fafi, Mike Ross, Felipe Pantone, Okuda, Faile, Andre Saraiva and many more.
ABOUT THE MURALS
India’s most prominent anonymous street artist DAKU, joined justkids to create a shadow mural powered by the sun light. Located on Fremont Street in what is locally known and the writers corner, in homage to the bookstore the building formerly housed. The time and sun sensitive piece quietly activates through the day, revealing to the city dwellers a chant, as though from the heavenly start of time itself: “Very Slow For Those Who Wait Very Fast For Those Who Are Scared Very Long For Those Who Lament Very Short For Those Who Celebrate” from William Shakespeare. DAKU’s series of text-based works “Time Changes Everything” including light based site installations have gained him global notoriety.
On the northeast façade of the F9 residential building overlooking Fremont street now a new Mural by Youri Cansell, known internationally as Mantra, greets the downtown landscape. The monumentally mesmerizing trompe l’oeil butterfly casing piece by the rising french multidisciplinary artist was complemented during the festival with a butterfly case installation within the festival footprint. The inspirational compositions and technical mastery has now become a sensation worldwide, making Vegas one of the lucky tenants of Mantra’s incredible public artwork.
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic made his Las Vegas debut with a mixed media site specific public art piece with found wood scraps, re-imagining the city center’s façade as an unexpected space for play. The experimentation and engagement with the urban surrounding lies at the heart of Ernest’s creative process and style, which for this artistic intervention meant a careful study of the architecture and urban composition, combined with an intertextual message of expansive play, fraternity and imagination that is carried throughout his body of work.
USA contemporary artist Eric Rieger, internationally known as HOTTEA, produced a site specific textile installation made with colorful yarns that towered over spectators commuting through 7th street parking / crossover area. The Emmy award-winning artist participated in the first Life is Beautiful in 2013 with interventions on fences, came back after seven years to produce this ambitious work, embodyingthe evolution and impact of the art program not just on the community but within the artists careers.
Portugese and swisss artist Pedro Campiche widely known as AKACORLEONE partnered with Justkids and Stella Artois to create a public art visual takeover including a new mural and installation piece drawing inspiration from his hometown to turn the former Las Vegas Motel on 7th St in a whimsical provincial market.
Barcelona based artists Zosen (Argentinian) and Mina Hamada (Japanese) brought their passion colors and free forms to the desert city, creating a playful mural on the corner of 7th street and Stewart avenue. The high spirit composition of shapes and colors in this new piece creates a beautiful symphony to the surrounding architecture and landscape. The new mural addition is opposite to Joakim Ojanen ‘s irreverent yet equally vibrant mural produced in 2018.
ABOUT JUSTKIDS
Justkids is a multi-disciplinary art platform providing design, curatorial and production services for public and privately commissioned art to cities, community organizations, sensible brands, and institutional spaces internationally.
With a strong international network of leading contemporary artists, curators and creative teams, Justkids offers wide-ranging visual experiences that engage with diverse audiences and communities. Justkids favors art practices that exist in or take inspiration from the unmediated public space like street art, design and community-driven art.
ABOUT LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL was born in 2013 as part of the major transformation of Downtown Las Vegas as a cultural hub and has since contributed over $350M of economic impact and cultural capital to the area. During the three-day festival, premier musical acts, experiential artists, comedians, thinkers and culinary talent flow into the urban streets of DTLV, in addition to the festival’s 175,000 attendees. What started as an event has become something more: a symbol of connection, joy and creativity.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL continues to be driven by its core mission to create a holistic experience which aids in positive community transformation and individual empowerment by collectivizing and inspiring through shared experiences driven by art and culture.
Text by Justkids.
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