The Arts District in downtown Las Vegas still has art, though they are overmatched now by all the restaurants and bars and other shops near Charleston Boulevard and Main Street.
But there’s one place downtown that is quietly becoming a hub for art and it’s only about a mile away.
It’s called The Rogers Studio Gallery. It’s another idea from the Beverly Rogers Foundation, which also has The Lucy complex —lofts, a book store and performance space— on 6th Street.
The studio gallery, about a block from The Lucy Complex, houses the works and the studio of the resident artists. Eight to 10 of them are picked each year and they live in the Art Loft in the Lucy complex a block away.
Lance Smith is an artist and the director of the Rogers Art Loft residency program. They joined artist Ross Takahashi to talk about the program with State of Nevada host Joe Schoenmann.
Smith said they are very interested in making sure local artists know the space is for them, as well. The program has had artists from the U.K. and around the Americas.
Through two to eight weeks, Smith said the artists have three components to their residency.
"Every artist has an artist talk/community introduction, so the community can get to know the artists or some kind of just intro themselves, talking about what they're doing. … The next part is community event. This is another way for the residency to connect with the community. Every artist has to run a workshop. … Finally, every artist that comes through has a culminating event, which is basically a fancy word for an art show at the end of their residency to kind of talk about and display whatever they did while they were here," they said.
Takahashi grew up in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, but later moved to Las Vegas. He said the city's blend of cultures and backgrounds helps produce cultural hubs.
"There's so much for so many people to gather information from. And then we're fortunate enough to be living in an area that is surrounded by such iconic natural beauty, that if the city isn't facilitating some of those inspirations, it's very easy for artists to explore outside of that, and gather so much from the beauty that is surrounding us in nature," he said.
Compared to other residencies, he said the Rogers program provides much more, including housing and full funds for their work.
"The best thing that the Rogers Art Loft does above anything else within the community is highlight artists who are internationally acclaimed or outside of Vegas and bringing them into the community and showing and highlighting that there is an arts community that is growing and is fairly successful within the city," he said.
If you're interested in visiting, the gallery has special hours through the end of the month: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., or email admin@rogersartloft.com for an appointment.
Guests: Lance Smith, director, Rogers Art Loft program; Ross Takahashi, artist, resident at Rogers Art Loft
