The public is invited to attend “Altered States: Artists Re-imagine the Book,” an art exhibit curated by Los Angeles-based artist and designer Joseph Shuldiner. This exhibit will feature 11 national and international artists who have created altered books in a wide range of media. As one of several local events organized to coincide with the Vegas Valley Book Festival, the Altered States exhibit opens on Friday, Oct. 16, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Reed Whipple Cultural Center, 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North. There is no charge for admission to the exhibit or reception.

Shuldiner selected the artists and works with the use of printed books as a criterion. “With the rapid digital sea-change happening to printed material, this exhibition consists of pieces that choose printed existing books as a point of departure,” Shuldiner explains. “Transformed through the use of such techniques as collage, cutouts, drawing, painting and sculpture, the altered books present an opportunity to shift perception, inviting the viewer to see an everyday object as something entirely new.”

Exhibiting artists are Tor Archer, Alisa Banks, Doug Beube, Elile Brown, Shannon Freshwater, Jessica Holada, Lisa Kokin, Alexander Korzer-Robinson, Guy Laramee, Emily Sandor and Jill Sylvia.

Presented by the city of Las Vegas, the exhibit continues through Jan. 2, 2010, funded in part by a grant from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Reed Whipple Cultural Center and the exhibit are open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. Please call (702) 229-1012 for more information on the exhibit.