Want to choose what goes on the Sphere? Cast a vote

Voting has begun for the second Sphere XO Student Design Challenge in which the public has a say on what art will be displayed on the exosphere on April 22, Earth Day.

Sphere Entertainment Co. began the voting process Monday and it will continue through March 24 at 11:59 p.m. at thesphere.com/vote. Voters are allowed to submit daily through that date in each of the four student categories of elementary school, middle school, high school and college.

The public will choose half of the eight winners through voting with the other four being selected by a panel of professional artists and designers with experience working on the Sphere.

The design challenge is a collaboration by Sphere, the Clark County School District and UNLV. The first competition had a Fourth of July theme and winners were displayed that day last year. Sphere officials said nearly 75,000 votes were cast in the 2024 competition.

An estimated 100,000 Clark County students were invited to participate in this year’s Earth Day-themed challenge.

Competition winners not only get to see their work displayed on the outside of the Las Vegas performance venue, but their elementary and middle school art programs received a $10,000 donation and members of the entire student body attended a Sphere Experience event. For high schoolers and college students, the winners receive a $10,000 scholarship from the company.

Joining the team of experts judging the contest is Los Angeles-based artist Jen Stark, who was invited to place her designs on the exosphere and to be a judge.

In an interview with the Review-Journal, Stark said she was “mesmerized and amazed” by the technological capabilities of the Sphere when she first saw it after its opening.

“I saw it on social media the first time and my jaw dropped,” she said. “I saw some artist peers that they were displaying their work and I wanted to see my artwork up there too and luckily they reached out to me. I’m so glad it all worked out.

“It’s literally the biggest screen in the world and can display more than 1 billion colors. It’s an incredible feat of technology and art. I was just focused on that amazing dynamic canvas and when they approached me, it was a dream come true.”

After seeing images of the Sphere online, Stark said she had to see it in person. That resulted in trips to Las Vegas to see and hear Phish and Dead & Company in concert. She was on an Uber ride for a Phish concert when she received the email inviting her to contribute and be a judge. She’ll be here again for Earth Day next month.

Contest entries already have been submitted, but Stark said what she’ll be looking for among entries.

“I wouldn’t want to tell an artist what to create, but I would say just, they can just brainstorm their greatest idea, whatever imagery they want to create, just go for it,” she said. “Make it big, make it colorful, make it amazing. This is one of the biggest canvases in the world.”

A winner from last year said seeing his work on the exosphere was a career highlight.

“It’s probably one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done as an artist,” said Raul Montez, one of the UNLV winners of the inaugural Sphere XO Student Design Challenge in 2024. “As an architect, I’m still on one of the highest highs ever of seeing my art on Sphere.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.