If you can say one thing about the Downtown arts district, it’s that it is eclectic. Furniture stores cozy up to garages, which coexist with art galleries and hip-hop shoe stores. This makes for an interesting intersection between diverse aspects of art and life. One example is the two-fold existence of Nevada Radiator Service and the Epicenter Gallery.
Sharing the same space on South Main Street, they both service the community, keeping cars from overheating during the day and providing a venue for young, local artists like Scott R. Wood and Danny Bennett and bands like Give ’em Hell and the Royal Sloans every First Friday. Owner David Van Zanten originally bought the place because the area reminded him of his native Royal Oak, Michigan, and he liked the opportunities the presence of the arts community offered. “I originally was going to turn the place into a bar and restaurant,” Van Zanten says. “That just turned into this enormous effort. We cleared out the north end of the structure and started participating in First Friday.”
Experimentation followed, with Van Zanten and his wife, Chelsea, trying a variety of promotional events to combine with the more traditional First Friday fare of art and music. “We’ve used our friend’s catering license for special events and started having wine and liquor tastings, started partnering with other groups, like Avant Arts Collective and Lovebird Apparel,” Chelsea says. The efforts have paid off over the years, with the Epicenter becoming a regular point of interest for art revelers as they make the transition through the cultural tug of war that is First Friday (with one side residing south of Charleston, and the other to the north).
In an effort to draw more attention to the space, as well as seek out new artists to showcase, the pair came up with a unique exercise in synergy by starting an annual Radiator Art contest. They started handing out fliers and passing out recycled radiators on the street to anyone interested in participating, offering a $500 first prize. “We spent months letting folks know about it, and then decided to do it during the summer, when we knew the crowds really turn out,” Van Zanten says.
The first year saw seven entries, with a motorcycle fashioned out of a radiator taking the top prize. Artist Jesse O’Hartz liked the location and the Van Zantens so much, she introduced her friends from Avant Arts Collective, including the present co-curator Tamarisk Marie, to Dave and Chelsea.
“I was walking down Main from the Arts Factory to Dust Gallery when I saw a door open and music playing out front of the big yellow building on Main and Charleston,” Marie says. “I was curious, so I jetted across the street to see what was inside. I found an old space being used as a gallery, which was showing Jesse’s work. Months went by, and I never saw that door open again. I was sad, because the space and location had great potential.”
Now Avant has agreed to manage the flow of exhibits coming into the gallery. In its second year, the contest drew 22 contestants, along with some controversy. With a number of interesting entries, including fighting gladiators and a flesh-eating slot machine named “Destructo,” some purists (radiator art purists?) were taken aback when the winner turned out to be a likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants. “There were a lot of families out with the kids, and I think the ballot box may have been stuffed by some tiny hands,” Van Zanten says, “but it really was a great piece in its own right. I mean, he did have bubbles coming out of his mouth.”
This year’s contest—planned for this month—might also be the last, since the spot is located in the area that has recently been approved by the Las Vegas City Council for a new arena. While the issue of the impending development continues to divide the arts community, the Epicenter is a prime example of a unique location that will cease to be if the development moves forward. Not that Van Zanten is against it. “I think that improvements in this area would be a good thing,” he says. “I think they’d help the Downtown economy overall and could coexist with the arts community. The arts district will have more traffic on all days, not just First Fridays.”
Marie agrees: “The art community in that area is really close and supportive of each other, and I see us all coming together to start a new arts district close by. The arena, and the new condos, will bring new patrons and foot traffic to our galleries, and can only help to add to what we do, and maybe even help pay the bills.”
Nevada Radiator is located at 1114 S. Main St., 384-7777.