Snapshot: Las Vegas

Las Vegas Mural: “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Ruben Sanchez, Photo by Claus Schmidt© Claus Schmidt / Artist: Ruben Sanchez

Las Vegas off the strip 

What do you think of when you hear Las Vegas?  Hunter S. Thompson’s "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Sin City, Gamblers Paradise? Even though the famous Las Vegas Strip with its glittering casinos and hotels is the biggest employer and economic engine of the city, there is also Las Vegas off the Strip with its independent cultural scene: street art, free theaters, visual arts and much more. If you’ve only visited the strip, you technically have not been in Las Vegas.

Halfway between the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas is the 18b Las Vegas Arts District with its alleys full of street art, independent galleries, free theaters, coffee shops and a variety of boutiques and second-hand stores. The 18b Las Vegas Arts District was founded in 1998 to promote art, business, and residential growth. It spans 18 blocks between Las Vegas Boulevard and Commerce Street from west to east and between Gass Avenue and Utah Avenue from north to south, hence the “18b” in the name. As a result, warehouses and shops were converted into galleries and bars. The best known is the Las Vegas Arts Factory located on Charleston Boulevard / Main Street.
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by King Ruck © Claus Schmidt / Artist: King Ruck
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - King Ruck
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by ISI Group Trenton © Claus Schmidt / Artists: ISI Group Trenton
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - ISI Group Trenton
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by Recycled Propaganda © Claus Schmidt / Artist: Recycled Propaganda
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Recycled Propaganda
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District. © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Holly Rae Vaughn
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Holly Rae Vaughn
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by The Stencil Network © Lord Jim / Artists: The Stencil Network
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - by The Stencil Network
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by an unknown artist © Lord Jim / Unknown Artist
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Unknown Artist
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by Enok One © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Enok One
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Enok One
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by an unknown artist © Lord Jim / Unknown Artist
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Unknown Artist
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District. © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Aware
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Aware
  • Street Art in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District by Broken Fingaz © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Broken Fingaz
    Street Art in Las Vegas: 18b Arts District - Broken Fingaz
 

Street art in the 18b Arts District Las Vegas

As in most cities, graffiti is illegal in Las Vegas. After the Las Vegas Arts District was founded in 1998, an artist group around the artist Iceberg Slick (@icebergslick on Instagram) contacted owners of buildings with the request that the outside surfaces of their buildings be made available to street artists to put up their murals and write graffiti.  These requests received a positive response and the resulted in the Graffiti Alley as a refuge for Las Vegas street artists. Initially, there was plenty of friction with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, which has a graffiti task force to fight gang crime. However, these were settled through discussions between artists, the city and the police. While the original Graffiti Alley still exists, street art can now be found everywhere in the 18b Arts District. Business owners today proudly display artwork created by Las Vegas artists on the exterior walls of their shops, which they commissioned and paid for.
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Okuda
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Okuda
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East: Bordalo II Las Vegas, Nevada 723 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Bordalo II
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Installation by Bordalo II
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Saner
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Saner
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: ROA
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by ROA
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Fafi
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Fafi
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Claus Schmidt / Artist: Ruben Sanchez
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Ruben Sanchez
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Tristan Eaton
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Tristan Eaton
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Vhils
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by VHILS
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: D*Face
    Street Art in Las Vegas/ Fremont East - Mural by D*Face
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: This is my B World
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by This is my B World
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Broken Fingaz
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Broken Fingaz (Detail)
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: 1010
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by 1010
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Okuda
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Okuda (Detail)
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Shepard Fairey
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Shepard Fairey
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Christina Angelina
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Christina Angelina
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Pixel Pancho
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Pixel Pancho
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: D*Face
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by D*Face
  • Street Art in Las Vegas: Fremont East © Photo: Lord Jim / Artist: Felipe Pantone
    Street Art in Las Vegas / Fremont East - Mural by Felipe Pantone

Fremont East

Fremont Street is one of the oldest and most important streets in "old" Las Vegas. The train station was at its western end. The city was founded here in 1905 and at that time had about 350 inhabitants. It wasn't until 1945 that Las Vegas had more than 10,000 residents for the first time. While casinos and hotels dominated between the train station and Las Vegas Boulevard, the part east of Las Vegas Boulevard (Fremont East) was dominated by shops and motels. The competition from the Las Vegas Strip, which lies outside of the city, caused them more and more economic problems, and beginning in the seventies the area was gaining a reputation as a stronghold of crime and deteriorated more with every passing year. The area only recovered at around 2010 and is now one of the city's cultural centers along with the 18b Arts District.

Despite years of progress, cultural and otherwise, cries of “Las Vegas isn’t a real city” persist. But the insular and haughty would be schooled with just a casual look at a Downtown wrapped in murals and collaged by street posters, revealing a vibrant, spontaneous—and still developing—metropolis.

Mike Prevatt / Las Vegas Weekly


The private downtown project of Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, who invested around $350 million in the area, and the Life is Beautiful Music Festival, which started in September 2013 and takes place annually since, played a major part in the recovery. Both, Hsieh and the organizers of the Life is Beautiful Festival funded the creation of murals. In addition to world-famous musicians and bands, the Life is Beautiful Festival invites street artists from all over the world to adorn Fremont East with murals. The transition from a problematic neighborhood to one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city has succeeded and today downtown Las Vegas can no longer be imagined without the lively scene on and around Fremont East.
 
Map by TravelMarx
 

Author

Claus Schmidt
Lawyer turned photographer. Has lived in Las Vegas for almost ten years, does not gamble and loves downtown. Claus Schmidt was voted BEST STREET PHOTOGRAPHER 2019 by the Las Vegas Weekly.
Find his “Las Vegas off the Strip” photos on Instagram: @lvelectrified.

MASA: Las Vegas Murals and Street Art

Street Art News: Street Art und Graffiti in Las Vegas

Life Is Beautiful - Music and Art Festival