Las Vegans interested in art have ambitions to bring to an art museum which could go head-to-head with many major museums around the United States to Sin City. If they succeed in achieving their goal, Las Vegas will join Fort Worth, Omaha, Des Moines, and other midsize cities with a contemporary art museum.
This is not to say that art completely evades the Entertainment Capital of the World! They have a museum dedicated to its mobster past as well as one for its world-famous neon signs. However, there’s a lack of an all-round world-class art museum. Children and students that wish to visit an exhibit have to navigate through casinos such as the Bellagio and the Venetian Resort. According to artist Wendy Kveck, who was in charge of school tours of the museums, the majority of the youngsters have never before been to a museum.
But in recent years, there’s been a push for building a contemporary art museum in Las Vegas, and the project seems to be quite ambitious. It remains to be seen whether art aficionados will be able to complete such a task in a city which attracts tourists interested in gambling and midnight shows. The question is — if Las Vegas could provide
slots for everyone, could it do the same with arts?
Joining Forces With Reno
After decades-long murmurs of efforts from the city officials to give a museum to Nevada’s largest city, it finally looks like it might happen! The state budget has received the needed funding to give a grant of downtown land and cash for construction. Richard Koshalek, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, is in charge of the team on the hunt for an architect. The arrival of such a well-connected director has put the gears into motion when it comes to raising funds for the project.
The Nevada Museum of Art, located in Reno, is also interested in the efforts of giving Las Vegas a museum. The director of the Reno museum, David Walker, said that the new museum is being materialized in joint efforts with the Reno institution. In Walker’s words, the Vegas museum would provide a cultural bridge between the northern and southern parts of the state. Reno, according to Walker, isn’t interested in Vegas itself but the cultural development of Nevada as a whole.
In 2016, Walker was the driving force and the leader of the Seven Magic Mountains project. As a reminder, Ugo Rondinone created seven huge totems, which they placed in the desert, just ten miles away from Las Vegas. The initial plan was for the totems to be there for two years, until 2018. However, they received an extension due to the fact that they attracted around 1,000 daily visitors, which is quite an accomplishment for an installation in a remote desert spot.
Previous Efforts
In 2009, lack of funding prevented the Las Vegas Museum of Art from becoming anything more than just a short-lived operation. Libby Lumpkin, a director of the museum at the time, talked about her failed efforts to raise enough interest and support. The museum, rather minuscule in size, was part of a local public library in Summerlin, a Las Vegas suburb. Lumpkin claimed that the nature of the city is a major stumbling block for opening a large-scale museum. In her own words, people who go there to visit a casino simply will not go to an arts institution.
Going in line with Lumpkin’s claims, Glenn Schaeffer agreed that for Las Vegas to become a major art center of the region, people in charge would have to face an uphill battle. Schaeffer, an art collector and casino executive, saw his efforts to open a casino resort with artistic installations by James Turrell fail due to the 2008 Recession.
However, there’s been steady progress in the city’s image. It’s slowly but surely becoming a city which is no longer associated only with gambling. Yes, that’s still the major part of it (and perhaps will always remain so), but the city is moving away from the stigma that comes with it. For instance, wine enthusiasts used to be disgusted by the idea of extravagant wines such as Chateau d’Yquem being a Las Vegas staple. People also believed that no major league sports team would be located in Vegas due to the city’s ties with sports betting. However, with the Raiders leaving Oakland for Nevada, they will become the city’s third major professional team! These are all clear signs that there’s more to Sin City than just gambling.
Residents Leading the Line
Las Vegans who leave the city to study elsewhere talked about facing stereotypes about their hometown. For instance, Tarissa Tiberti, a former art studio owner in Brooklyn, left Sin City to study sculpture. She talked about people thinking her parents were a dealer and a showgirl. Tiberti’s ambition is to one day establish Las Vegas as a regional center for arts.
Another example of a Nevadan in love with art is Heather Harmon, a fourth-generation Las Vegan who studied art at the University of Nevada. She became an expert after leaving to work in Ibiza and Vienna. She has returned with credentials, connections, and plans to work on Vegas becoming more open to arts. Tiberti, now the executive director of art and culture at MGM Resorts, is currently in charge of an exhibition of Yayoi Kusama works, a Japanese contemporary artist.
Harmon and Tiberti lead the line of art workers but are not the only ones who strive to bring arts to Sin City. Hopefully, with the new arts museum, there will be a place for many other residents to fulfill their vocation.
The future of the museum is still not guaranteed. The city has put the land on offer, and the Nevada Museum needs to raise $12 million in funds. It’s a somewhat accessible amount, but there are no clear plans set in place. Harmon hopes to have an adventurous program, with multicultural art, covering African-American, Hispanic, Native American, and Aboriginal works.
