How Life Is Beautiful’s Street Art Is Transforming Downtown Las Vegas

Downtown Las Vegas is getting a facelift, and it’s largely at the hands of Charlotte Dutoit. As head of Life Is Beautiful’s street art program, Charlotte picks each individual artist for the show. These creatives are tasked with transforming entire city buildings while thousands of festivalgoers roam the streets. “Street art was considered vandalism and is now part of the contemporary art market,” says the JUSTKIDS art collective owner. “I hope it continues to provoke a dialogue and change people’s perspective in their everyday life.”

From selecting the artists to securing buildings to having a backup plan in case of rain, Charlotte explains what goes into running Life Is Beautiful’s street art program.

How are the Life Is Beautiful muralists selected?
The artists have been selected for their originality, their high quality work, and for their ability to paint on huge buildings. We are talking about structures that are a few stories high, so lifts and heavy equipment is involved. There is no improvisation allowed.

These artists are the best street artists in the world, and I always like to have a few new talents, too. It’s great for the attendees to see rad new artwork that has never been seen this side of the world. In some cases, it’s these artists’ first time traveling to the US as well, which makes for a nice story. I also choose the artists for their good spirits. When art is great and people share it, that’s when the magic happens!

Can you describe the process from picking a building to actually being able to paint there?
We first get in touch with the owner of the building… and present the project and the artist. Most of the time, the owners don’t even know what a mural is; but lately it’s become easier, as mural painting has become a global phenomenon, and murals are in almost every large city. We also have to make sure that we can technically and legally do the mural, which means analyzing the ground, the architecture of the building, the street traffic, the permits and other parameters.

To avoid communication problems, we show the building owners sketches and sometimes renderings. Usually they’re cooperative, and even if they are skeptics during the process, they’re usually happy when they see the physical end product.

Do you give the artists creative direction, or do they have free reign?
I try not to give the artists instructions, reminding myself I chose them for a specific reason. I do explain the spirit of the event, however, and for Life Is Beautiful it’s obvious that an artist cannot come with a very dark, too provocative or subversive design—but usually it’s implicit.

For younger artists, I give a few pointers related to their best work, but it’s more to encourage their creativity than to limit their artistic freedom.

What are the biggest logistical challenges?
We are doing huge murals and installations in a small time frame and in a public space, so everything should be meticulously organized. The most difficult factors are the things you can’t predict (like the weather), but this too you should anticipate. Problem-solving is totally part of the job!

Are the murals temporary or permanent?
We try to keep the murals permanently, which is something I really respect from Life Is Beautiful. I have seen too many events where every year they paint over the same walls, which is nonsense for me, since they were commissioned. These murals are like a collection; we need to preserve them.

Which musical acts are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival?

Major Lazer, Chance the Rapper, and Stevie Wonder.

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