Best of Las Vegas -- Las Vegas Review Journal

Guest Pick: Best Public Art

PHILANTHROPIST ELAINE WYNN

For Elaine Wynn, the best public art in town can be found in just about any Clark County School District building.

"If you were to visit most typical elementary schools and walk down the corridor and see the artwork that's displayed by children in the school, most people would be overwhelmed," she explains.

And that ringing endorsement doesn't even include "a lot of the permanent things that have been done in the schools themselves as part of the artist-in-residence programs," Wynn adds.

There is, for instance, the ceramic work created by students and teachers at her own namesake school, Elaine Wynn Elementary School, 5644 Edna Ave., with the help of a visiting artist.

The wall installation in the school's cafeteria is "the most beautiful thing," Wynn says, "and all of the children in the school participated. "There are many programs like that in the schools, (but) I think a lot of people don't appreciate the value of the arts in education."