Art sculptures from this year's burning Man are the new tenants of a vacant lot in downtown Reno. The Playa Art Park has popped up along Virginia Street.
The space near Fifth Street looks very different than what was there before. The Golden West Motor Lodge and the Heart O' Town Motel were recently demolished. Now several Burning Man sculptures fill the lot left behind.
Organizers say the idea behind the park is to create a place of light for the community, instead of blight.
"Instead of it being a run down area, we can actually put art down temporarily and create a community gathering spot," said Maria Partridge with the Playa Art Park.
For at least the next six months, you can check out the pieces of art. The Playa Art Park has a lease with the property owner and the City of Reno approved the project.
Artists from Burning Man have brought six of their sculptures.
- Imago is by Kirsten Berg, who created blue mirror-steel butterflies.
- Electric Dandelions by Liquid PXL and lead artist Abram Santa Cruz display dandelion sculptures that double as fireworks at night.
- Electric Renaissance by Bodo Jülicher, Keith Muscutt, Andrzej Sztur, Jakub Sztur is a homage to Cadillac Ranch in Texas.
- Star Way by Debbie Daviesstar is made of over two hundred individually lit stars that twinkle internally.
- Good Luck Horseshoe by Mike Gray is an 8 foot tall steel horseshoe with the words "Good Luck".
- Transparenza by Andrea Greenlees is a transparent structure resembling a sparkling crystal crown.
Every single piece is illuminated at night and the park is closed off with a fence. But the project coordinator says they are taking a risk with the sculptures being respected.
"It is a leap of faith for the artists. Because it's downtown, we don't know what's going to happen and so these artists were willing to take that chance," said Partridge.
Artists hope to create a new location each year so residents and visitors can get exposed to art.
The Playa Art Park will be open during limited hours each day.
