Gallery Exhibitions

Opposing Forces Sculpture Exhibition 
On display through Thursday, June 15, 2023
Artist Reception: Thursday, April 20, 2023

People strive to do what they think they have to in order to feel like they are winning in the game of life. That may mean, get that job you want, make the right amount of money, own a house, go on vacations, buy a vacation home, buy a nice new car, or several, get married, or stay single, have kids, or stay alone without a care! Some think there is a win or lose game going on in the art world, just like in life, and it is about who you know and not what you know or what you make.

This exhibition aims to poke a bit of fun at this concept and to focus on the things that should be important in art. In this exhibition, the goal is not to win, but to present the strongest showing you can in order to be compared to another artist who is equally strong but different. This time, it will be about choosing the most interesting two works of art based on technique, formal strengths, aesthetics, and can stand up against one another and both come out on top.  

African American Heritage 2023: Our Mothers' Tongues
On display through Thursday, April 6, 2023

Curated by Lance LaMar Smith, "Our Mothers' Tongues" is the city’s annual exhibition focusing on artists from the local African American community. No matter what the artists' chosen medium is or their technique, they have strong voices and explore ideas concerning culture, gender, family, and the change of times and culture. Artists include: Gail Brito-Watson, Shereene Fogenay, Q’Shaundra James, Joseph Watson. A special thank you to Rogers Art Loft for loaning artwork from their collection or artists Kaitlyn B. Jones and Ayanah Moore.

Lunar New Year Exhibition: Year of the Rabbit
On display through Thursday, May 7, 2023

This is the 13th year of this annual invitational exhibition, which unites artists interested in exploring the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit through their art. Artists are asked to investigate Asian heritage and what the rabbit year means to Asian culture. While some artists keep their visual ideas simple, others learn and incorporate complex Asian folk tales or stories in their art. Artists also bring a mastery of technique and knowledge of the formal elements and principles of design to their art.

Junkanoo Bahamas “Road to 50” Exhibition
By Mario Lorne
Through May 20. Call for availability; hours may vary.
Free and open to the public.
West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702.229.4800.
The exhibition celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Bahamian independence as you experience the culture of Junkanoo and cultural icons of The Bahamas. The gallery will be closed June-August during the summer camp program.

On display March 10 – May 20, 2023
Opening Reception Friday, March 10, 2023, 6 – 8 p.m.

Once every two years, we ask a curator to put their own unique spin on inviting artists into an exhibition whose focus is on what it means to be Asian Pacific Islander. Cultural inclusivity is an important part of culture. Local and international artist Laurens Tan was asked to lead the effort to put the exhibit together this year. Here are some questions he asked artists who have work displayed in this year’s exhibition. In a global society, how are we different?  Does where we originate matter anymore?  Do we assimilate so there’s little to distinguish us? Can our cultural past make our plight somehow different? Do we celebrate our origins? Why does it matter?

First Street Art Trail
495 S. Main St., Along First Street
Available to view at all times.
Free and open to the public.

Windows on First: "Kindness, Neighbors, Art"
An installation by Sapira Cheuk
Through July 25, 2023
Artist reception April 20, 2023, 5 - 7 p.m.

From the Artist:

In Kindness, Neighbors, Art, I draw from my experience as a transplant to Las Vegas. This city has shown me hospitality and kindness, especially in the art community. Prior to relocating, I received comments about how Las Vegas is a tough place to live. While the desert climate is harsh, I find life here filled with small kindnesses and welcoming strangers. I translate this experience into figures that support and intertwine with each other. The hanging paintings are vignettes of stories filled with gentleness, compassion, and warmth. While this work draws from my personal experience, I hope the abstracted figures will resonate with similar stories from viewers and visitors.

Sapira Cheuk is an ink painter and installation artist interested in proprioception, ways of knowing through the body, and how these modes of knowledge reflect or internalize external experiences. Cheuk has exhibited works in numerous shows, including those at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Orange County Contemporary Art Center, Center for Contemporary Art Texas, Masur Museum, The Netura Museum, Yellowstone Art Museum, Rochester Contemporary Art Museum, and Culver Center for the Arts. Cheuk works for the Nevada Arts Council, serves as the Art Editor for the museum of americana, and teaches at the College of Southern Nevada. She received her Bachelor or Arts degree at University of California, Riverside and Master of Fine Arts degree from California State University, San Bernardino.