Cultural exposure comes to us through many mediums: music, literature, film, photography and more. These mediums are lenses to an artist’s inner world. They provoke questions, ignite curiosity and challenge us to rethink what we know by presenting us with perspectives beyond our own. Their power is transformative and unifying.
Here in Las Vegas, spaces for authentic artistic expression must often fight to exist. That’s a big part of the reason why the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District chose to reinvent the idea of the public library with vibrant spaces devoted to performance, community events, and maybe most notably, visual art.
The Library District’s embrace of devoted gallery spaces began in the early 1970s, and over time has steadily grown into a deeper, more ambitious commitment than simply putting art on walls. Its gallery program is about outreach, connecting with the community and ensuring free, unencumbered accessibility to art for all.
“We’re always trying to improve … welcoming in more artists, welcoming in more viewers,” says Darren Johnson, gallery services manager for the Library District. “It’s about giving the art a footprint in Las Vegas and helping the community have more of a comfort with art and understand that it belongs to them as well.”
The Library District’s galleries are spread across 12 branches, from East Las Vegas to Whitney. The Sahara West Library alone boasts three galleries with a massive 6,000 square feet of total space, blurring the line between library and museum.
With 80 exhibits annually, these galleries provide a platform for local, national and international artists, creating moments to engage with the public through visually and conceptually stimulating pieces.
”What I really enjoy is learning about new artists in Las Vegas,” says Johnson. “There’s so much talent here and because we do so many shows, I’m able to show such a diverse range of artists. I feel like that makes the educational experience of seeing the art and being with the art in these different neighborhoods even more valuable.”
The exhibits range from portrait photography to conceptual paintings, sculptures and everything in between. Art is submitted and shows are pitched for consideration by the creators themselves, which not only lends a hand to artists who are looking to get their feet wet, but also reflects the scene’s current evolution.
”It’s pretty fun to see the younger generation taking up the arts now, like Scrambled Eggs, the art collective,” says Johnson. “We’ve got a good group of older artists now who are still involved. … That communication between generations and everything that each art group builds and passes on to the next is important.”
Having witnessed the ebb and flow of the Valley’s art scene, Johnson and the Library District’s mission remains clear: to continue supporting those who have creative ambitions.
“Since we’re museum-deprived right now, not a lot of Las Vegans have experience with art,” says Johnson. “So my hope is us being out in the neighborhoods helps them see the benefits.”
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