About 120 miles Northwest of Las Vegas, along a piece of the Mojave desert outside of Rhyolite (a dusty turn-of-the-century ghost town) is an outdoor “open air” art museum. Though-the-middle-of-nowhere-Nevada may seem like an odd location for a sculpture exhibit, the strangest part is that all of the art is the work of a group of Belgians (Yes, Belgians. As in from Belgium). How multiple artists from a European country whose entire population barely exceeds that of New York City (Belgium has a population of close to 11 million) came to choose the outskirts of an abandoned gold-mining town in Nevada as the place to showcase their work, I have no idea.  I’ve learned though that the desert can be a magnet for the bizarre (castles or wild donkeys, anyone?) and it’s best to just accept the fact that a lot of what you encounter out there won’t make a lot of sense. It’s part of the appeal, in my opinion.

If you’d like to see the art for yourself, the museum is called the  “Goldwell Open Air Museum” (http://goldwellmuseum.org/) and it’s located along the route to Death Valley National Park.  Check out the website for upcoming art workshops.

Goldwell Open Air Museum

Near the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 405
Beatty, NV 89003

Telephone: (702) 870-9946

Reannon Muth

Reannon Muth is a full-time writer, social media consultant and owner and manager of the Taken by the Wind travel blog. Born in Hawaii, Reannon has lived in five countries, at Disney World and on a cruise ship. She currently lives in fabulous Las Vegas.