Widening one’s worldview begins with conversation and exposure to varying walks of life. Black Mountain Institute, an international literary center, understands this well and has steadily stoked a fire of intellectual and cultural growth for 20 years.
Founded in 2006 by former UNLV President Carol C. Harter, BMI quickly became a sanctuary not just for writers, but for the ideas that challenge, explore and transform.
“It’s humbling to think that my first BMI event was almost 20 years ago,” says Joshua Chévere Cohen, a former high school attendee who now serves as the institute’s marketing and communications manager.
“From my high school student brain perspective, it was a lot. The level of discourse in the room was humbling. It made me want to engage in these ideas in a deeper way,” he says.
His words underscore BMI’s role as a cultural catalyst, an incubator where local and global perspectives collide and push boundaries. When the International Institute of Modern Letters (BMI’s predecessor) welcomed its first City of Asylum fellow to Las Vegas in 2000, the city became the first in the U.S. to join this global program that provides refuge to persecuted writers.
“Those two initiatives, IML and City of Asylum, were wrapped into BMI,” says Cohen. “Those things feed into the early story of BMI and are central components of BMI as it exists today.”
In the two decades since, BMI has continued to evolve, offering a mix of live and virtual events, book signings and thought-provoking public conversations. Its Shearing Fellowship provides two writers with a nine-month residency in Las Vegas to focus on their craft while developing community-focused projects.
But it’s not just about the writers who come to BMI, it’s about the broader community. BMI’s Community Partnerships program invites locals to pitch creative projects, offering funding and support for work that’s already in motion.
“That’s just one way of us trying to inject some energy into work being done by others,” Cohen says.“We’re not driving the bus, so to speak, when it comes to culture in Las Vegas. That work is already being done by artists and creatives.”
Colette LaBouff, BMI’s executive director, sees this as a crucial piece of the institute’s ongoing mission. “The idea of involving more people in thinking about what is relevant for the community is huge for us right now,” she says.
BMI’s staff of six continue to connect the throughline of the founder’s initial mission: to imbue the public with ideas while supporting those who generate them. Twenty years in, BMI has woven itself into the fabric of Las Vegas’ cultural landscape and the world of literature.
Upcoming BMI Events
October 15
StraightioLab with Special Guests - Vegas Theatre Company
October 22
A Conversation with Meera Subramanian and Neal Thompson - Virtual
October 30
Libros & Chisme Book Club: Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova - The Writers Block
November 18
An Evening with Maz Jobrani and Maryam Ala Amjadi - UNLV’s Philip J. Cohen Theatre
November 19
A Conversation with Johanna Hedva and Isle McElroy - Virtual
BLACK MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, 702-895-5542, blackmountaininstitute.org.
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