The Life Cube Project went up in flames in downtown Las Vegas Saturday night, ending a two-week celebration.
The Life Cube Project is the brainchild of Burning Man artist Scott Cohen.
Artists and others put their marks on a giant, wooden cube in the Llama parking lot across the Atomic Liquors on East Fremont Street.
The first Life Cube, which was only 8 feet tall, appeared at the annual Burning Man festival in the Northern Nevada desert in 2011. The following year, the cube at Burning Man was 16 feet in height, and the third cube at Burning Man in 2013 was a much more complex and multi-level.
In 2013, the Downtown Project invited Cohen and his team to bring the Life Cube Project to Las Vegas.
Construction on the Life Cube began in January 2014. After its completion, anyone who wanted to paint or draw or simply sign their name on the cube was able to do so. On the weekends, the site became a popular place for people to gather and simply hang out, often listening to local musicians who gathered and getting to know others from around the valley and even other parts of the world who were drawn to the cube.
The 2014 project also included the distribution of nearly 100 four-foot cubes to various venues to be decorated by locals artists, teachers and children. After the smaller cubes were decorated and stuffed with wishes, they were returned to the Life Cube site for the controlled burn on March 21, 2014.
Cohen and his team headed to Reno in 2015, but now they are back in Las Vegas and very excited to be in the valley once again. In addition to working on the construction of the cube, Cohen has also been speaking at schools around the valley and making other appearances to promote the project.
Started the day speaking at KO Knudson Junior High School. Changing the world one cube at a time. #lifecube #LC2016 pic.twitter.com/sYszKySSfc
— The Life Cube (@thelifecube) March 3, 2016
A lighting ceremony for the latest cube took place on March 19. The event, which also featured performances by several local performers, drew a couple of hundred curious onlookers and artists eager to go to work on the cube.
All art supplies and materials are provided free of charge, including canvas panels, ‘wish-stick’ postcards and satellite cubes. In addition to painting, there will be yoga practice, music and entertainment, dance, fashion shows and other activities and creative outlets at the Cube for those of all ages to participate in and observe.
More information about the Life Cube and the activities over the next two weeks can be found on the project's Facebook page. In addition, photos and video are posted on the Life Cube's Instagram account.
