With First Friday gathering steam and the Downtown Arts District starting to coalesce, the opening of a new arts season in Las Vegas holds out the promise of ... well, something more than just promise.
We keep hearing that Vegas is the new Broadway, so gallery-goers have to wonder if similar wonders are in store for the visual arts. Holsum Lofts has arrived on the Downtown scene with its array of studios and galleries; the World Market Center's opening could bring more visitors and residents Downtown; First-Friday-ites can see the SoHo Lofts rising down the street—could Chelsea West be far off?
Actually, the most encouraging news on the art scene might be happening miles away from Downtown, at the Las Vegas Art Museum. Once again under new management, specifically with art historian and critic Libby Lumpkin at the helm as consulting executive director, the LVAM might be poised to become what its name claims, the art museum of Las Vegas. It would be nice if it eventually moved from its West Sahara location to somewhere in the Arts District, but one thing at a time.
Meanwhile, the local art museum is the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, and it's comforting to find its prospects remain auspicious. The fall's most tantalizing show just took up residence. Russia! The Majesty of the Tsars: Treasures from the Kremlin Museum complements the huge Russia! show opening September 16 at the Guggenheim flagship in New York. Add The Impressionist Landscape, From Corot to Van Gogh at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and the return of the Wynn Collection to Wynn Las Vegas, and you have a fairly good, high-end art museum stretched out along the Strip. If we just had one place organizing and importing top-notch shows such as these ...
For the moment though, something like Chelsea West will have to do. Main Street neighbors Dust Gallery and Godt-Cleary Projects remain the centerpiece venues of the Downtown scene, the former splitting its attention between local and outside talent and the latter providing a local space for contemporary art of national note. One example is an exhibition of works by Peter Wegner, running from October to December at Godt-Cleary; Wegner's clever work explores the intersections of color and language.
The Contemporary Arts Collective in the Arts Factory offers the opportunity for members and others to put together innovative shows, something beyond the usual assortment of what-we've-done-lately. An intriguing possibility along these lines is DARK Gallery, described as "an interactive sound installation" composed of works by several artists, including curator David Curtis. DARK Gallery opens September 27 and runs through November 5.