A picture’s worth a thousand words, the saying goes. That’s evident in a photo-essay exhibit that opened this month at Nevada State College.
The fifth-annual edition of Obsidian & Neon: Building Black Life and Identity in Las Vegas presents large-scale black and white portraits accompanied by narrative profiles of six local Black women—new “inductees” to the hall of community trailblazers featured in past exhibits.
Chef Natalie Young at Eat
The artists behind the portraits and profiles—local writer and educator Erica Vital-Lazare and photojournalist Jeff Scheid—say the particular style of storytelling celebrates Las Vegans who might otherwise go underappreciated.
“It’s important that the larger community know these stories,” Vital-Lazare says. “I also want them to know how intrinsic Black life is to the everyday operation of their lives, so that the mainstream community—not only the community of color—can also take a moment to regard these figures who are so instrumental in beautiful civic work.”
She provides the example of Debbie Conway, who has served as Clark County Recorder since her election in 2007. In a 30 by 40-inch portrait, Conway stands outside the pyramid-shaped cafeteria at the Clark County Government Center, where she spearheaded the implementation of significant “technological enhancements,” according to her bio on the county’s website.
“This woman came in as the first Black woman to be elected to that position,” Vital-Lazare says. “She came in thinking 30, 40, 50 years into the future, about how to bring technology in. I think it’s important that we know this about this woman, how important it is to her that everybody’s lives in the community run with efficiency, with purpose, with an eye toward the future.”
Scheid, who has been photographing Las Vegas for more than three decades, says Obsidian & Neon has helped him not only get to know local Black leaders on a deeper level, but also to recognize the power of the city’s diversity. He says the project has the potential to educate viewers on topics of culture, history and race.
“I always joke [that] I’m the aging Baby Boomer wanting to discover what Las Vegas is and what we are as a community,” Scheid says. “Because we are a diverse city, we all really have to go out and find out more about our neighbor. In this political climate, I think it’s critical.”
Debbie Conway holds a photo of herself with local activist and media personality Tanya Flanagan and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Each year, the exhibit follows a “certain pattern,” Vital-Lazare says. This year’s installment focuses on Black women and their unique identities.
“We have all these layers of different professions, different lives. We have a beautiful LGBTQIA representation through Chef Natalie Young and through [Nevada State College] President DeRionne Pollard. … Black women, in all their presentations and complexities, must also be seen as women who have other identities that intersect,” she says.
Also included in this year’s exhibit: Shakala Alvaranga, director of public programs at the Mob Museum; Judge Belinda T. Harris, the first Black elected judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court; and Gwen Walker, president and founder of the Walker African-American Museum and Research Center in West Las Vegas.
Highlighting these figures is not just an act of expression but one of care and love for remarkable Las Vegans, Vital-Lazare says.
“Storytelling is very much a part of who I am,” she says. “I am a daughter of the Black South. And part of demonstrating love, really, is to know one another’s stories.”
Obsidian & Neon: Building Black Life and Identity Through June 30; Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; free. Glenn and Ande Christenson School of Education Building at Nevada State College, nsc.edu.
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