On
Wednesday Dec. 12th 2007, I attended another NAA Luncheon at the Gold
Coast Hotel! One of the main speakers were, Mayor Oscar Goodman, professing that
Las Vegas is the "Best place in the world for the arts?" Yeah Right, Mr. Mayor,
and it could be, if you would get the City to put some money “where your mouth
is”!
The NAA,
Nevada Arts Advocates, a 30-year non-profit org., which donates, 5 grants of
$1000 each to 5 high school students in 5 categories of the arts, each year,
organized the event. What does a young artisan do with a grand these days? …I
spent 2 years on the Board of Directors for this org., operating on a shoestring,
and admire the passion of a few die-hards here, Like Angie Wallin, Executive
Director & President, Anita Laury. Some of their funds are spent on luncheons
and parties to entertain Senators, and persuade them to get funding for the
arts, from the Federal Govt. hee hee…Oh but! There’s a WAR going on? The Govt.
doesn’t have any money for the arts?? Hello! The organizations “claim to fame,
was a bill they actually got passed in the year 2000. It’s the SB171 bill,
that’s supposed to provide grant money for the arts. Guess how much is in the
account in the last 8 years? ZERO! Time for a new plan, my friends!
www.nevadaartadvocates.org
ARTS 4
Nevada, a new organization, instituted by Susan Boscoff, head of the Nevada Arts
Council & Tim Jones, Co- Chair, may actually be well worth supporting.
www.Arts4nevada.org check it out!
Their
objective is to UNITE ALL the arts in the State…Thank u…
GREAT
IDEA! Vegas sure needs the help of the north at this point! Because one branch
here, does not know what the other is doing! They are all busy, just surviving.
For
example: Sept. 29th 2007. That Saturday night, ARTV AWARDS held its
International event! The Opera, Ballet, Symphony, & Las Vegas Art Museum, all
had their annual events, on the SAME evening…Do u think we can start with an
Event scheduling calendar, so one organization, knows what the others are doing?
Divided we fail!!!!!!
Enter,
MAYOR Goody! He has to be the best comedian I know, and perhaps he is one of the
best hosts, for any show in the City of Entertainment. BUT, when he speaks of
the ARTS in Vegas, he should be thanking the people who are really making it
happen. Like the private sector, contributing, volunteering, promoting, and
presenting, on a global level, to bring in the high-end collectors & tourists.
How much credit should the City get for this? Not much, as far as I can see…LAS
VEGAS EVENTS, who is supposed to help generate support for worthy artistic
projects that promote tourism, does NOT have ONE penny for the Visual /
Fine ARTS projects.
The ARTV
AWARDS brings in over 1000 HIGH profile Tourists from all over the world, to Las
Vegas for
our TV productions, and events, alone. Its all done right here, we are th
e
only platform of its kind in the NATION! Do they recognize this? Many Art
Galleries also cater to high-end tourists. These art collectors pay big bucks to
come here, buy artworks, stay in suites, and shop “till they drop, play high
limits, drink & hire Limo drivers and leave peacefully, without any collateral
damage to our City. Lets get our priorities in order…. WE need to support our
own cultural infrastructure…why do we have to import the arts, like everything
else here? Arts organizations, like ART Expo, from OHIO, for instance??? They
come to Vegas, take the money and leave.
We can do
these productions ourselves, and keep the money here. After all, creative talent
is the one thing we have plenty of and that draws other artists anyway.
Do u think
that the City, Mayor, Las Vegas Events, The Las Vegas Review Journal, would
recognize this as an primo asset, for the City to promote as a prime tourist
attraction? No, so lets spend more tax dollars on imports of culture, instead of
being kind to our own… Who’s running the arts here? A bunch of colorblind
schizophrenic monkeys?
The City
did donate a 4.77-acre parcel of land downtown for the new PERFORMING Arts
Center, soon to break ground in late 2008. Of course, the funds came from the
donations in the Private sector. The Reynolds Foundation put up 50 million
dollars. Another 7 million annually will be raised from a taxes imposed on car
rentals? Nice partnership, but what will they do when this beautiful complex
opens? How do they pay the rent? Import B’way shows competes with the Strip?
Most tourists go to NY for Bway. They come to Vegas for Vegas…Why not develop
our own resources? Invest in our own best projects!
Since
2005, ARTV, has Awarded 24 Recipients from around the world…Eight of them are
from the State of Nevada…That’s 1/3 of the talent…Do you know who they are?
www.Artvawards.com
The new
SMITH Center will be a wonderful institution, for the children of our community,
for the visitors and our life “ beyond the strip! Some very highly selected
international cultural programs must be in the mix for our local community to
enjoy, but it should be the home of our own talent, dance, music, and drama and
visuals artisans, to showcase and PROMOTE our Arts in Vegas. Support for the
States cultural infrastructure, should be primarily have the utmost importance.
www.lasvegasnevada.gov
Then
there’s the downtown “Arts District. ” Many of these local artists were lured
down there under false pretenses. Appears, they have been used for “
distracting from the dead bodies” in the area, just to help real estate
developers, cash in on the Verticals they built…Or rather, a potential “Sports
Park” they would like to build. Please! The artists who did invest in the Holsum
district are now abandoning the area. No foot traffic, can’t serve wine to a
collector, without paying a $1000 permit on First Friday, the only time of the
month people actually visit…At a press conference several months ago, the Mayor
was asked about the complaints from the local fine arts community being driven
out by a potential Sports Park! He remarked, that if they built a SPORTS PARK,
“the artists can hang out in the restrooms”, very nice, your Honor. That kind of
attitude in New York City years ago, caused artists to SQUAT in the Chelsea and
Soho buildings, that’s how that began…
So the
next time, the Mayor wants to speak about the ‘State of the Arts in Vegas”
please provide more incentives/ support/money/partnerships/plans…because the.
Orgs are struggling. The artists are starving, and the private sector, arts for
profit professionals, who are doing the real hard work, and putting out the
promotional bucks, are really so tried of the Rhetoric…. Match us, dollar for
dollar, and then we can really be the “ The Best Cultural Arts Center in the
World”! This label won’t be truly valid until we develop our own artistic
productions, right here at home, and put them to use. ONLY then can we claim
such a title on the World Stage of the Arts!
Happy Holidays!
ARTPEACE
Audrey Roberts
