Las Vegas Art Scene

Displays of Art in Las Vegas

1944 - The Huntridge Theater opens as the first non-segregated theater

1912 - The Airdome, the first outdoor theater in Las Vegas, opened on Fremont Street

1928 - The El Portal Theatre opens on Fremont Street

1941 - The first neon sign was installed to attract patrons to the El Rancho Casino

1998 – Bellagio opens Las Vegas' first art gallery

The Appreciation for Art is Growing in Las Vegas!

The art on display in Vegas

ranges from fine art exhibits,

like those found at the

Bellagio or Cosmopolitan,

to modern galleries in

Vegas' growing downtown

district.

The diversity has

allowed artists to

create what

inspires them, as

opposed to other

big art cities, such

as Los Angeles or

New York, where

the demand for

certain types of

art is greater.- Matt Finn

FoxNews

“Vegas hotels

have added the

art for culture, and

to make money.

But the overall art

scene in Vegas is

growing because

it attracts artists

who think outside

the box.”- Jerry Schefcik

University of Las VegasArt Galleries director

Tourists in search of art don't

have to venture beyond The

Strip because museums and

galleries are located right on

Las Vegas Boulevard.

Being free-formed and independently thinking, Las Vegas

is able to successfully display a wide variety of art.

But isn’t everyone in Las Vegas a tourist? Las

Vegas isn’t known for art, where can you actually

go to see art in Vegas?

Current Places to View Art in

Las Vegas

CityCenter DowntownSummerlin

Summerlin

Summerlin Art Group

The Summerlin Art Group had its grand opening the weekend of June 26, 2014 to celebrate the opening of its art school and gallery at 7885 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 108.

More than 40 pieces of framed artwork line the walls of the gallery.

The gallery offers art classes Monday-Saturday to adults and children.

Summerlin

Annual Summerlin Art Festival

Summerlin offers an Annual Art Festival located at the Summerlin Centre Community Park.

The Summerlin Art Festival allows artists to display and sell their pieces of work as well as do live demonstrations.

Along with paintings, the festival has live dancers, glasswork, pottery, jewelry, metal works, sculpture and mixed media.

CityCenter

CityCenter is located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. It consists of galleries and

open-air artwork at the following locations:

Mandarin Oriental

Vdara Hotel & Spa

ARIA Hotel & Casino

The Harmon Hotel

Veer Towers

CityCenter There are art galleries within these spaces as

well as works of art that are meant to be stumbled upon while traveling throughout the

many hallways and corridors of the massive

buildings.

CityCenter presents the first major permanent collection of art in Las Vegas to be integrated

into a public space, and one of the world’s

largest and most ambitious corporate art

collections in existence today.

“The fine art collection

is the first initiative of its

kind to merge public

and corporate interests

on this grand scale,

and we’re proud to

deliver this prominent

force in contemporary

art and culture to Las

Vegas.”-Jim Murren,

Chairman and CEO

MGM Resorts International

Downtown

Local Street Art On just about every corner in

downtown Las Vegas you can find amazing murals and street art done by local and international artists.

The Life is Beautiful Festival sparked some of the first installations of the massive murals.

Street Art News described Las Vegas as “being the hottest city in the United States right now for Street Art”.

Downtown

Container Park

The most notable of several public-feeling private spaces the Downtown Project has so far produced.

A variety of small businesses operate in this arrangement of shipping crates.

Centered around a full-featured playground with four-story slide and fronted by a 55-foot-tall scrap-metal praying mantis, originally built for Burning Man, which at night periodically shoots fire from its antennae.

Downtown

First Fridays One of the most popular events in downtown Las

Vegas is First Fridays at The Arts factory.

Debuting in October 2002 as a way to spark a

downtown renaissance.

A 20-block event that brings out the city’s best

artists and puts their work on display in the streets as

well as in galleries.

Located in the downtown Las Vegas arts district

and surrounding neighborhood, more than 80

indoor arts, food trucks, drink and shop venues open their doors and 50 outdoor artists, and

entertainers showcase their work.

The Las Vegas Art Scene

With the head of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, investing $350

million in The Downtown Project, it is on the rise

drawing more and more attention towards it and away from the strip.

First Fridays intends to bring the public

to an environment which turns on the

excitement and intrigues the event-

goers to dig deeper into their art

community.

New modern bars and restaurants are

sprouting up and a following of the

younger generation is emerging in

downtown and sparking a new

interest of the “what was”.

Summary

Because within the last 25 years, 90 percent of the population of Las

Vegas arrived, the art scene is still a work in progress.

By walking the streets of either downtown Las Vegas or the strip you

are surrounded by different forms of art, whether it be local street art

or a billion dollar skyscraper, you have no choice but to be engulfed

by art.

There are a variety of spaces throughout the city that one can view

pieces of art. CityCenter and Summerlin offer galleries and classes,

however they fail to bring people together the way downtown can.

Downtown Las Vegas is currently blossoming into the largest art

scene in Las Vegas and First Fridays is a huge reason for the

emergence.

Conclusion

There is more to Las Vegas than its flashy lights and high-stakes gambling

halls. Las Vegas has a strong up and coming art scene that strives to get

more of the residents involved. From its art classes in Summerlin, high-end fine

art galleries housed in billion dollar casinos or lining the old streets in

downtown Las Vegas.

There has been more opportunity for art to emerge in downtown Las Vegas than in any other part of the city. It gives you the feel of old Vegas as well as

the energy of the up and coming art scene.

While Summerlin and CityCenter are easily accessible for people living on the

east side of town or staying in a casino, downtown is holding its position as

the predominant local art scene in Las Vegas.

Bibliography

http://lasvegasnevada.gov

http://lasvegassun.com/history/timeline/

https://sites.google.com/site/everythinglasvegas21/las-vegas-history

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/04/30/vegas-adds-culture-with-art-museums/

http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/arts-culture/art-scene-influence-stretching-farther-west-toward-summerlin

http://www.streetartnews.net/2014/12/street-art-and-graffiti-in-las-vegas.html

http://vegasseven.com/2012/10/04/how-first-friday-changed-our-city/

http://www2.citycenter.com/press_room/press_room_items.aspx?ID=843

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/nov/20/downtown-and-out-the-truth-about-tony-hsiehs-350m-las-vegas-project

http://www.lasvegas.com/event/first-friday-art-celebration/11674/