Las Vegas Sphere First Ever Student Art Challenge To Feature CCSD Artwork

The Sphere in Las Vegas is literally larger than life. And now, it just might be showing your child's artwork.

Wouldn't it be amazing to see your kids artwork displayed on The Sphere in Las Vegas? Well, it's happening. It's a new student design challenge. It's open to all Clark County, Nevada students. And the prize will be their artwork featured on The Sphere, for all to see!

The Sphere XO Student Design Challenge is a really cool collaboration between The Sphere, Clark County School District, and UNLV. And over 100,000 Clark County students will be invited to participate..

James Dolan, the executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment said that it's “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 will be chosen. One from each of CCSD's 233 elementary schools, and 61 middle schools. For older students, there will be 30 from district high schools, and 30 from UNLV’s colleges of Fine Arts, Architecture, Engineering, Film, and Math.

In May the public will get to vote online for their favorites, and then The Sphere gets to start digitizing them for the huge ball.

There will be 60 students from CCSD high school,s and 60 from UNLV chosen, based on their passion for art and digital design. Those students will be given VR headset,s and design tools, to help create their art. Also, hands on instruction from the designers who actually create for The Sphere. Quite impressive!

It all wraps up with two elementary students, two middle schoolers, two high schoolers, and two UNLV students artwork - lighting up The Sphere on July 4th!

Good luck to all CCSD, and UNLV students! For more information, go the The Sphere website.

Sphere in Las Vegas is one of the coolest venues to open in decades. There truly hasn't been anything like it, especially when it comes to its many visual aspects.

To begin with, its sheer presence as a building just off the Vegas Strip is awe-inspiring. Your eyes are just drawn to it, regardless of what it projected on its external surface. Sphere's website notes the "Exosphere" features 580,000 sq feet of LEDs that are so bright they can be seen from space.

Its interior is also magical, and we don't just mean its spatial audio system. Sphere's website states, "Events at Sphere are immersive experiences that, depending on the event, may include elements such as seat haptics, movement sensations, flashing lights, intense lighting, visual effects, loud noises, and atmospheric simulations including fog, scent and wind."

In other words: There are seemingly few limits to what can be done with Sphere's remarkable technology.

After breaking ground in Sept. 2018, Sphere opened in Sept. 2023. U2, of course, was the first artist to perform a residency at the new Vegas venue, which cost $2.3 billion to build. In December 2023, The Hollywood Reporter noted the 17 shows U2 performed through Nov. 30 generated $30.7 million in revenue, which is an average of $1.8 million per show.

Additionally, Sphere has screened Darren Aronofsky's film Postcards From Earth. Through Nov. 30, the state-of-the-art venue has hosted 111 screenings of the film, which has resulted in $44.5 million in revenue. This averages to $400,000 per screening. Altogether, these two attractions have generated over $75 million in revenue for the new venue.

After U2 wraps their residency on March 2, Phish will be the next band to perform at The Sphere. Their show dates are currently April 18-21. After Phish, Dead & Company's "Dead Forever" residency will begin on May 16.

This all has us asking ourselves a very important question: Who should be next to occupy Sphere? After some thought, we think these five rock acts would make very interesting use of the unique space.

Gilmour doesn't perform much anymore, so having him do a Sphere residency would be really special. He undoubtedly has enough of a catalog to warrant such a grand venue. Also, you just know he could really bring an impressive visual experience, too. A Gilmour Sphere residency would continue to make the venue the most in-demand attraction in Vegas.

Let's just say it: Maynard James Keenan is a f---ing weirdo. (Yes, we do mean that in a positive way.) It would be fascinating to see how he would play to such a larger-than-life venue. As far as visuals go, their existing music videos could be projected on the massive screens, and it would be outstanding! The video for "Vicarious" alone would be trippy AF. Of course, Tool would likely create original visuals for the performance just because they could.

How do you make a larger-than-life rock figure even larger? Have them take on Sphere! If anyone could do it, it's obviously Sir Paul. Like with Gilmour, there's an ample catalog to play with. Plus, he'd be able to sell out countless nights at the venue. Nothing but wins all around for this one!

Giving Trent Reznor the kind of visual freedom Sphere could offer would be interesting, to say the least. It would just be fascinating to see what he would do with all of the technology. He would surely come up with a concept literally only he could dream up. Let's hope a NIN residency will eventually become a reality.

Remember how we noted Sphere is capable of "atmospheric simulations including fog, scent and wind"? Just imagine how Slipknot would utilize scent in a venue. Sure, there's a good chance it would be gross, but it's not like you'd want some earthy patchouli incense at a Slipknot show. Plus, their visuals are overwhelming at their shows already. Just think of what they would do with those screens!