Throwback to Las Vegas 2016

July 30, 2020

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A large mural on a building depicts a hand holding coins, with text "Be a Maker! Not a Taker!" and a man working on the…
A man in a white t-shirt and harness works on a mural, meticulously drawing on a white sheet with a pen.
A person's dirty hands hold a crumpled paper showing a design for a mural with a hand holding coins and text "Be a Maker!"
An aerial view of a building with a large mural depicting a hand holding coins and text "Be a Maker! Not a Taker!" with…
A man in a white t-shirt and blue harness stands on a lift, looking at a mural with black and yellow stripes being painted…
A man in a white t-shirt and harness works on a mural from a blue lift, painting a red section under a bright blue sky.
An aerial view of a city with a large mural on a building, depicting a hand holding coins and text "Be a Maker! Not a…
A man on a blue lift works on a large mural, painting a red and black design on a cream-colored wall under a blue sky.
Three men on a blue lift work on a mural, carefully peeling back a black stencil from a cream-colored wall with black…
An aerial view of a large mural on a building, depicting a hand holding coins, a flame, and text "Be a Maker! Not a Taker!"…

Back in 2016, I went to Las Vegas with my team for the Life is Beautiful (LIB) festival. I was happy to be part of this festival which aimed to bring together music, art, food, and learning in downtown Las Vegas. With the help of my crew and securing a location with the LIB curatorial arm Just Kids, I completed my Corporate Welfare mural, to inspire viewers to continue to consider money in politics during the 2016 election season. This piece is a comment on corporate subsidy. While average Americans struggle to make ends meet, many profitable industries and corporations receive tax breaks and subsidies due to the dangerously disproportionate influence corporations have on politics and policy, specifically the oil and gas industries which have continued to have a stronghold on Washington. If you want to learn more about how these corporations support the Republican party, check out the numbers from the Center for Responsive Politics through opensecrets.org.
-Shepard

Photos: Jon Furlong and Raymesh Cintron