Dream big! More than 100 children vie for artwork to be seen on The Sphere

Ilana Keller, Asbury Park Press

Kids often are told to dream big, but seeing their artwork displayed across 580,000-square feet may take the cake.

Public voting is underway in the Sphere XO Student Design Challenge, which will display students' artwork on the Exosphere in Las Vegas.

This marks the first time that the public is able to have a say on what appears on the exterior of the venue and the first time members of the general public have created art for it.

An example of what one student's artwork would look like on The Sphere. Public voting is underway in the Sphere XO Student Design Challenge, which will display students' artwork on the Exosphere in Las Vegas.
An example of what one student's artwork would look like on The Sphere. Public voting is underway in the Sphere XO Student Design Challenge, which will display students' artwork on the Exosphere in Las Vegas.

The contest is a collaboration between Sphere, the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). More than 100,000 students from elementary school to college were invited to participate.

The winning artwork will debut on the Exosphere on July 4.

“The talent and creativity of all of the local students who participated in the Sphere XO Student Design Challenge is remarkable,” said Jennifer Koester, President, Sphere Business Operations, Sphere Entertainment. “This Challenge brings together artistic expression and technology in a way that uniquely captures how the Exosphere has become an engaging platform for public art, and we’re pleased the public will now play a significant role in choosing the art appearing on Sphere on July 4.”

People worldwide can view the artwork from more than 100 finalists and vote through 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, June 5 at thesphere.com/xo-student-design-challenge. Four winners - one each from elementary, middle, high school and college - will be chosen by the public and four will be chosen by professional artists who have previously designed work for the Exosphere.

Each high school and college winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship from Sphere, while elementary and middle school students will earn a $10,000 donation for their school's art program.

The largest LED screen on Earth, the Exosphere consists of approximately 1.2 million LED pucks that each contain 48 individual LED diodes. Each diode is capable of displaying more than 1 billion different colors. Visit thesphere.com for more information.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sphere XO Student Design Challenge will see students' work on Sphere

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