Clark County To Spend $231K On Public Artwork In Overton

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

Overton may soon be the home of a large outdoor public work of art. Clark County Parks and Recreation Public Art Office is currently seeking artists to design, fabricate and install a permanent sculpture near the Overton Community Center.

The new art installation is planned to have a significant footprint. The space set aside is 25 feet wide by 25 feet long. The work is allowed to reach as high as 20 feet tall.

Two possible locations have been identified for the sculpture. The first is on the property just east of the Community Center situated right next to the historic Army Tank. The other location being proposed is on the southeast front lawn area of the Community Center property itself.

The work is envisioned to serve as a gateway artwork to Michael Heizer’s Double Negative, a well-known piece of “earth art” located on the eastern edge of the Mormon Mesa which is accessed from the Overton community.

“Ideally the work will be a visible link of the Moapa Valley community to Heizer’s work establishing it as a gateway to that world-renowned artwork,” explained Clark County Public Arts Office Cultural Supervisor Mickey Sprott.

The County has allocated a sum of $231,000 for the completion of the project which includes all materials, design and labor cost in construction.

Sprott explained that this funding is coming from the Clark County Arts Plan Funding. The money for this program is riased purely through hotel taxes, Sprott added. “So Nevada citizens are not paying into this fund in almost any way at all,” Sprott said.
“Moapa Valley deserves to have some of this funding for public art just like the rest of Clark County,” Sprott added. “We are excited to be bringing it to you.”

In a Request For Qualifications document released last month by Clark County, artists are being asked to submit a packet to be considered for the project. The packet must include a letter of interest outlining the artist’s unique interest in the project. Also each artist is asked to submit a resume and a series of photos outlining their past work that is similar in scope and size to this proposal.

The deadline for artists to submit their packets will be April 5 at 3:00 pm. Submittals must be made at the Clark County Government Center at 500 South Grand Central Parkway in Las Vegas at the Purchasing and Contracts Division, Fourth Floor.

An independent review panel comprised of county residents, artists, art educators, art administrators will choose three finalists from all of the applicants. This selection is expected to be completed by May 6.

The three finalists will be paid $3,000 each to create a detailed design proposal for the work. They will then be asked to present their proposal to the panel at a public meeting in the community. That is tentatively expected to take place by June 12.

The final selection is supposed to be made public by July 8 with an award and approval of the final contract taking place around August 9.

Depending on the scope and complexity of the artwork, county staff hopes that the project will be completed by late 2020.