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Past Projects
FISCAL YEAR 2026 ARTISTS
FY26 SPRING ARTISTS
Zoe Camper
Zoë Camper is a practicing artist and technologist. She is CEO of Zoë Camper LLC, an RSA Fellow, and Co-Founder of the Augmented Society Network. She is a London native based in Fabulous Las Vegas.
Zoë works at the intersection of art and technology, her creative practice combines labor-intensive, highly detailed drawings with technology to explore storytelling, pattern making and cryptography.
She combines technologies to experiment with encryption, and the process required to encrypt, obscure, hide, and reveal messages in her work.
Taking Up Space by Zoe Camper and Youth from Hollywood and Moapa Valley Community Centers
The three sculptures show some of the children and young adults who attended a workshop in March. It’s a simple idea that draws on identity and promotes a sense of belonging in our public spaces. The sculptures are near life sized 3D composites made using photography and digital editing. Some facets of the sculptures look real and lifelike while others are progressively pixelated to give the impression that the individual people are appearing and disappearing in the way they occupy space. The sculpture questions the right we have to take up space in public spaces and raises questions about identity, and what makes us real and human, in a technology and data driven world.
Cameron Cools
Cameron Cools, a proud Las Vegas resident for over two decades, discovered his passion for art through his mother's talent for painting and crafts. Self-taught, he began exploring various artistic disciplines, including custom framing, graphic design, and sign production, before diving into sculpting at age 27. His work blends sacred geometry, recreational math, and upcycled projects, experimenting with materials to create captivating art. Cameron’s recent pieces include lyrical abstract paintings, dynamic relief sculptures, kinetic optical art, temporary pop-up installations, and recycled metal art.
Shape Shifters by Cameron Cools and Youth from Bob Price and Parkdale Community Centers, and Seniors from Cora Coleman
This playful desert tortoise sculpture was created through a hands-on youth art workshop focused on transforming recycled garage door parts into art. Inspired by the simple strength and flexibility of the triangle, student artists explored how this fundamental geometric shape can become a powerful building block. By bending metal and assembling triangles into tetrahedrons and one pyramid, they constructed individual sections that come together to form the tortoise’s shell and body.
Meghan Dragon
Meghan Dragon is a Las Vegas-based artist and educator whose work highlights the patterns, textures, and interconnections of nature, with a particular focus on the native flora and fauna of the Mojave Desert.
Through murals, paintings, and drawings, she invites viewers to slow down and notice the often-overlooked details of their surroundings, sparking curiosity, appreciation, and ultimately, a deeper commitment to conserving the world’s wild spaces.
Together in Bloom by Meghan Dragon and Youth from Searchlight and the Wetlands
This interactive sculpture highlights two threatened bird species: the yellow-billed cuckoo and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Blooming willow forms drape over layered fabric, which is painted with images of the birds and the native riparian plants that they rely on, including cottonwood, mesquite and willow trees. Restoration efforts at the Las Vegas Wash, centered on the reestablishment of native plants, support the return of these species to the Wetlands. Nature monoprints, created by visitors during the 2026 Wetlands Art Day, hang together and represent our connection to the natural world and one another. Guests are invited to engage with the piece by selecting and hanging a colored seed that represents an action they will take to support the environment.
Linda Shaffer
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Linda Shaffer is an award winning, full time abstract artist working in collage, painting, mono printing and mixed media in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has a Graduate degree from Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, is a Registered Nurse, and after completing the Gemological Institute of America’s Graduate Jeweler program in Carlsbad, California in 2010, she created the Red Pearl Art brand to encompass both her jewelry designs and art works. Her work is inspired by travel, relationships and human connection. She uses abstract forms and color to explore the theme of journey, love and connection.
MANAS by Linda Shaffer and Youth from Silverado Ranch and Paradise Recreation Centers
This interactive sculpture highlights two threatened bird species: the yellow-billed cuckoo and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Blooming willow forms drape over layered fabric, which is painted with images of the birds and the native riparian plants that they rely on, including cottonwood, mesquite and willow trees. Restoration efforts at the Las Vegas Wash, centered on the reestablishment of native plants, support the return of these species to the Wetlands. Nature monoprints, created by visitors during the 2026 Wetlands Art Day, hang together and represent our connection to the natural world and one another. Guests are invited to engage with the piece by selecting and hanging a colored seed that represents an action they will take to support the environment.
FY26 FALL ARTISTS
Nicholas Denson
Nicholas “Nick” Denson is a Las Vegas-based art therapist, educator, and ceramic artist whose practice is grounded in community engagement, trauma-informed care, and expressive arts research. With a background in counseling, arts-based scholarship, and socially engaged practice, Nick integrates clinical insight with a deep commitment to accessible creative expression.
Nick holds professional licenses in clinical counseling (LCPC), drug and alcohol counseling (LCADC), and is a registered, board-certified art therapist (ATR-BC). He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Expressive Therapies at Lesley University. His research explores the relationship between image-making, metaphor, and meaning-making across cultures.
The Things We Keep by Nicholas Denson and Youth from Pearson and the Clark County Museum
The Things We Keep is a community-centered artwork that invites youth to explore storytelling, memory, and generosity through the creation of origami and assemblage vessels. These vessels are made from recycled magazines, found objects, and hand-constructed elements that young people select with intention and care. Each choice becomes part of a visual language that communicates aspects of identity, lived experience, and imagination.
Chad Scott
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Chad Scott is an interdisciplinary artist and art educator living and working within Las Vegas, Nevada. Drawing on his background in cultural sociology, qualitative research, and arts education, Scott’s interdisciplinary art artistic practice delves into the dynamic interplay of perception and experience. Scott is interested in exploring how we interact with objects and environments, and how meaning is constructed through these interactions. This exploration has taken him through two distinct yet interconnected areas: an initial focus on sociocultural inquiry, and a more recent emphasis on “introspective placemaking.”
The Things We Keep by Nicholas Denson and Youth from Pearson and the Clark County Museum
Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground is an art installation that consists of three drawing-objects with LED Neon, suspended from the ceiling.
As an interdisciplinary artist, I am interested in creating space for introspective pla(y)cemaking. Over the past few years, I’ve been reflecting on fundamentals of art and within an introspective, interpersonal, and developmental context. Drawing, mark making more specifically, is something I turn to for introspection and imaginative play.Mark making is a process for thinking and reflection—much of my thinking occurs during the process of creating “drawing-objects.”
Jamie Zepeda
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Jamie Zepeda is an artist from Huntington Park, California.
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Jamie's work draws influence from her cultural background, particularly from the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and the Southwest region of the United States. Her current focus is on creating a fusion of Mexican folk art and Western art, depicting subjects such as vaqueros, folklórico dancers, mariachis, Día de los Muertos, and other folk traditions in Mexico.
Dream Circles & Alebrijes by Jamie Zepeda and Youth from Walnut and Cambridge Community Centers
This installation brings together imagination, cultural tradition, and community collaboration. Inspired by the vibrant world of Mexican alebrijes, I created two sculptural creatures: a giant green horse and a smaller pink dog/coyote. Alebrijes exist in the space between reality and fantasy, and I wanted these forms to feel equally alive—playful, protective, and full of color.
FISCAL YEAR 2025 ARTISTS
FY25 SPRING ARTISTS
Racheal Braley
Racheal Braley is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores the intersection of personal experience, ecological concerns, and creative expression. Originally from Texas, Racheal moved to Florida to pursue a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Florida State University, where she experimented with ceramics, bookmaking, painting, and sculpture. In her sculptural practice, she recycles sentimental objects to reflect on emotional attachment and environmental impact.
Roots by Racheal Braley and Youth from Silverado Ranch
Roots is inspired by the vast, interconnected root systems of Joshua Trees, found throughout the Mojave Desert. In nature, roots serve as life-giving channels that sustain ecosystems; in community, stories function the same way passing knowledge, memory, and wisdom through generations.
Books and zines created by children are embedded in the sculpture. These narratives become the building blocks of connection, inspiring reflection, curiosity, and a sense of belonging.
Haide Calle
I make artwork on my reflective experiences growing up through a childlike perspective and the use of fantasy to create comfort in navigating home. Being informed by my Otomi heritage I currently create soft sculptures that deal with displacement and the discomfort I feel living in the US, given I was born in Mexico. By creating these morphing bodies, they become my shields as I navigate being ok with place. With the use of repurposed material, I aim to recontextualize waste in today’s society and create a space for people to connect and create their own narratives and an evolved public memory of what culture is in the US.
Let’s Pretend (Stories Shape History) by Haide Calle and youth from Walnut and Cambridge Recreation Centers
As a child, storytelling was always my preferred to learn about life, morals and values. It continues to be a means of passing down history and making it easier to understand.
Mexican folk masks were a prominent way to achieve this for many indigenous people during the pre-Columbian period, and they continue to be used today with dance and music.
By collaborating with the youth to create these masks, which are influenced by historical Mexican folk masks like the Tecuani mask and the Axolotl mask, I continue this tradition of crafting your own story to shape your future or reimagine it, despite the restrictions and setbacks posed by banned books and cuts in resources.
David Lampel
David Lampel was born and raised in Harlem New York. As a young adult he became one of the prominent voices on various radio stations and broadcast networks. He has been a teacher of communications arts and science for a community school district in the south Bronx and a visiting professor at a University in New Jersey. He has presented and staged shows at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. After 20 years in front of the cameras and microphones, David moved behind-the-scenes as a Broadcast executive. He later built a company headquartered in Las Vegas that today owns and operates TV stations reaching audiences in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. David also has a passion for music and art including ceramics, charcoal, oil painting, watercolor, and hand coloring black-and-white photographs. He has been a featured artist in many art gallery exhibitions curated by professional artists. He is a musical arranger for a band while also playing keyboard, harp, synthesizer, organ, guitar and accordion. He also plays piano with a big band in Las Vegas.
Psychedelic Shack…That’s Where it’s at, by David Lampel and Youth from Desert Breeze
Using green screens, videographers, cell phone cameras, and body cams, the participants crafted a layered video collage that immerses viewers in the vibrant pulse of Desert Breeze—a gathering place for skating, swimming, exercise, and family connection.
This three-screen sculptural installation explores the theme “Psychedelic Shack…That’s Where It’s At”—a playful nod to funk culture and colorful imagination. Each screen celebrates motion and rhythm: bikes spinning, kids skating, friends in mid-conversation, and the textures of desert light bending through filters and effects. Together, the videos form a visual “shack” of layered memories, joyfully chaotic, full of life, movement, and personal style.
Through a series of workshops, local 12-year-olds became co-creators—directing shots, interviewing each other, and playing with visual effects to capture how they engage with the park’s spaces and staff. The result is both artwork and archive: a shared portrait of a community seen through the creative lens of its youth.
Vezun
The son of immigrant parents, Vezun grew up with a culture clash present in his thoughts. A self-taught Las Vegas based visual artist, Vezun's career path has been outside of the mainstream.
Life Shapes by Vezun and Youth from Whitney and Paradise Recreation Centers
In the Life Shapes workshops, children were asked to think about the shapes that influence them in their lives and use stencils, ink, and chalk to create abstract images that reflect their inner worlds. He will include his signature style to unify the boxes
FY25 FALL ARTISTS
Rebecca Goodman
Becca is a working artist in the concrete desert of Las Vegas, NV. She has always enjoyed working in various traditional and digital media. Canvas, paper, murals, sculpture, ceramics, and textiles. She enjoys working with photo reference in the studio, and from life including figure drawing, still life, and plein air.
Watercolor Dreams by Rebecca Goodman and Youth from Helen Meyer and Melvin Ennis
Watercolor Dreams is a collaborative installation series where youth were asked "What are dreams? Why do we dream? Where do dreams go when we are awake?" Students were encouraged to talk about their dreams and guided to write and draw out their answers on watercolor paper. Their resulting artwork was transformed into drops and stars alongside internally lit clouds and rain.
Julia Hall
Julia Gonzalez Hall is of Guatemalan and Mexican heritage. She grew up in Los Angeles, California to 1st and 3rd generation immigrant parents. She was classically trained in oils at an early age under a private instructor for five years. Her current work represents Abstract Expressionism. Julia emulates her culture's appreciation of intense color and defined images. Whether she includes music, feminism, or dance, no subject is off limits.
Pop Melody by Julia Hall and Youth from Moapa Valley
“This piece Pop Melody is inspired by a fusion of abstract cut outs and music combined. By moving away from reality and more into a child-like imagination, music and art had its own art form. Just as Henri Matisse created paper cut-outs, he knew art was limitless and had no boundaries. As Matisse used scissors to draw, I also understood his vision and was inspired to create a musical abstract scene.”
Spectrum of Inspiration by Julia Hall and participants at the Clark County Wellness Fair
One of the most powerful ways to create art is to incorporate personal experiences and to inspire the community on a deeper level and share their positive affirmations.
I am a mixed media artist, and I wanted this project to reflect who I am. Despite our individual differences, as humans we share a common experience of life, facing similar challenges, emotions, and desires, essentially navigating the same path through existence, even if our specific routes and circumstances. This piece was constructed with different personal affirmations that the community helped create. I carefully chose colors to evoke a variety of emotions. Finally, adding greenery reminds me of how beautiful nature is and how it effects of our mental well-beings.
Erika Muecke
Erika resides, works, and indulges her passion for all things art in Henderson, Nevada. Originally hailing from the Pacific Northwest, she made the move to the vibrant Vegas valley in 2014. Since her arrival in Las Vegas, Erika has dedicated herself to teaching art at various local studios.
Picture the Win by Erika Muecke and Youth from Parkdale and Bob Price
In sports, remarkable plays and incredible runs often stem from mastering the fundamentals through countless hours of practice. Similarly, in art, the layers of a painting reflect the dedication and skill built over months or years. "Picture the Win" celebrates victory achieved through repetition and mastery. Using simple shapes, vibrant colors, and playful, hand-crafted stamps, the background comes alive with community spirit.
As an artist, I blend street art with nods to classical and antiquity-inspired forms. In this installation, I draw inspiration from Nike, the Roman goddess of Victory, who crowns champions at the Recreation Center. Special thanks to the amazing kids who helped create unique stamps that are now part of the artwork. Each stamp beautifully captures the essence of the students and the vibrant Parkdale and Bob Price communities.
There She Is (Sage)
There She Is doesn’t know who she is, and that’s a good thing. With years of participation in multiple exhibits, as well as contributing to the street art scene since the early 2010’s, she has done enough to establish herself without defining herself. With a passion for painting intertwined with a deep love for construction and collage, she often creates multidimensional works that reflect both craft and creativity. Studying art from an early age, she managed to remain a Jane of all mediums, and an expert of none. She has built cardboard cities and sculpted fried eggs enjoying both the whimsical and goofy. Street art has played a major part in her artistic expression, wheat pasting with her art partner You Killed Me First, the two first established themselves in Los Angeles and continue to take time to get up guerilla style. Their art collective Cult 33 has been the hive minded headquarters for both individual and joint ventures. There She Is continues to expand on her portfolio with one consistency in her work - that you never know what she will paint next, and, frankly, neither does she.
Desert Bloom by Gina Sage and Youth from Clark County Museum and Pearson Recreation Center
Desert Bloom: The Rise of Las Vegas is a sculptural representation of the natural Nevada terrain and the explosive growth of Las Vegas within it. The work uses cardboard, paint and mixed media elements to create an intricate visual interplay between the barren desert and the vibrant, neon infused cityscape that has risen from it. The glowing bulbs evoke both the Vegas strip, and allure of the desert environment, capturing the complex relationship between nature’s resilience and human development.
Previous artists in the Youth Temporary Public Arts program include:
2024
Karen Castaneda
Hue (Cloud House)
Brent Holmes
Joan Paye (Art Barn)
Emily Relf
Emily Robinson (Emenro)
Ross Takahashi
Shereen Sun
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2023
Bug Universe
Alexander Sky
Bella Sanabria
Daisy Sanchez
Jesus Orozco
Michelle Beardsley
Ronnie Quiambao
Tracy Martin
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2022
Abigail Woodward
Homero Hidalgo
Kendall Sudduth
Lanelle Christman
Tree Hill
Holly Lay
Ashley Fox
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2021
Debbie Lambin
Vanessa Maciel
Mila May
Bonnie Kelso
Gail Schomisch
Alison Johnston
Murbina Urbina
Jamari Rodriguez
Rebecca Shullinger
Shan Michael Evans
Adam “Pretty Done” Rella
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2020
Nancy Good
Jamari Rodriguez
Lisa Clark
Vanessa M Napoles
Anna Arphan
Caitlin Sparks
Adam Rellah
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2019
Sierra Slentz
Vanessa Maciel
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2018
Andrew Schoultz
Bobbie Ann Howell
Kim Johnson