The Café will be closed for remodel from Aug 12 through Sept 5, 2024. | Due to construction, Museum parking may be limited at the time of your visit. Look for additional parking in free or metered spaces along nearby streets.

Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer on Neon Nevada

Join Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer, authors of Neon Nevada, for a discussion surrounding the influence of neon signage on the development of Nevada’s unique culture. 

About Neon Nevada:

Published in 1994, Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer take readers on a journey across the state of Nevada on a quest to discover and illuminate Nevada’s neon. Full-color photographs and historical commentary bring the state’s hues of neon to life.

Praise for Neon Nevada:

“This is not merely a coffee table book; it’s an immersive journey through time, a celebration of art, culture, and nostalgia.” —Nick Vedros, president, the LUMI Neon Museum

“The book is a testament to the largely unknown sign designers and tube benders who have made and continue to make Nevada’s magnificent commercial landscape all aglitter!” — Alan Goldman, Blue Plate Productions, producer of the documentary film “Glowing in the Dark”

Cross-Pollination, Groundwork, and The Journey: Guillermo Bert and Vivian Zavataro in Dialogue

Artist Guillermo Bert and guest curator Vivian Zavataro come together to discuss art, process, the exhibition Guillermo Bert: The Journey, and life. The duo met back in 2021 when they started planning Bert’s mid-career retrospective and connected over a shared passion for art, activism, and decolonialization. Join us to learn more about Bert’s practice, Zavataro’s curatorial approach, and the conceptual development of The Journey.

Artist Talk: Elisheva Biernoff on Reservoirs of Time

Biernoff shares details of her artistic practice and insights into the memories and discarded personal histories imbued in found images. 

Elisheva Biernoff: Reservoirs of Time features the small-format paintings by the San Francisco-based artist Elisheva Biernoff, which are inspired by enigmatic photographs she encounters and collects that impact her in one way or another. 

Presented as part of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Distinguished Speaker Series

Exhibition Premiere – Cannupa Hanska Luger: Speechless

Join Cannupa Hanska Luger as he discusses Speechless and explores themes surrounding communication, human agency, colonial history, language, and implements of control through an Indigenous lens. 

Starting at 8pm, DJ Miss Ginger performs a live set in the Nightingale Sky Room with a special appearance by Cannupa Hanska Luger. Enjoy panoramic views, extended gallery hours and a cash bar. 

Presented as part of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Distinguished Speaker Series.

Art Bite: Apsara DiQuinzio on Adaline Kent

Join Apsara DiQuinzio, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, for the closing program associated with Adaline Kent: The Click of Authenticity, the first major retrospective of Kent’s work in more than sixty years. DiQuinzio will discuss Kent’s life and work, rooted in modernism and the natural world.   

 

Works in Progress: Artist Sydney Cain (aka sage stargate)

Sydney Cain (aka sage stargate) (she/them), is a visual artist born and raised in San Francisco, CA. Their work reflects encounters with unseen realities. Cain’s work draws on their ancestry at the confluence of landscape, afterlives, and spiritual well-being of Black people. Join us as Cain discusses their practice and current artist residency in Nevada. Cain’s work, And They Are Not Afraid of the Night Because They Are the Color of It, 2021 is part of the Museum’s permanent collections and was on view in the 2022 exhibition In Frequencies

Opening Talk: Artist April Bey in Dialogue with Carmen Beals

April Bey’s art explores themes of imagined and alternative futures for marginalized people that contrast with and challenge histories of colonialism. Join artist April Bey and associate curator Carmen Beals as they explore Bey’s themes of Afrofuturism and visions for alternative futures driven by science fiction and fantasy in contemporary art as seen in Bey’s exhibition: Atlantica, The Gilda Region
 
Doors open at 5:00 pm with a cash bar. 
 
 
 
A program of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Distinguished Speaker Series

Rations and Fashions of WWII

The Second World War was the dominant force impacting fashion of the 1940s. Civilian clothing was impacted by the rationing of materials as the need for uniforms took precedence. Join us for a discussion with Megan Bellister, Curator of Learning and Engagement, on ways in which necessity and limitations led to innovation in fashion in the U.S. and abroad. 

Morse Code and How it Helped Win WWII

Join us for an exploration of the history and technology of Morse code with radio technology enthusiast and US Army Veteran Woody Brown, and learn how Morse code came to be used and helped the Allied Forces win the Second World War.

Artist Guillermo Bert in Conversation with Alma Ruiz at First Thursday

Guillermo Bert makes artworks that explore the endurance of immigrants who have left their home countries behind. Rooted in his personal story, his primary focus has been the experiences of people and families who enter the United States along the U.S. – Mexico border. The exhibition Guillermo Bert: The Journey presents a mid-career survey and includes artworks in a variety of traditional and contemporary media that are drawn from the entirety of Bert’s career, as well as new works produced exclusively for this exhibition.

Guillermo Bert joins us in conversation with independent curator, Alma Ruiz. Following the talk, guests are invited to visit the galleries and join the Museum’s monthly Members’ event, First Thursday. Enjoy live music, drinks and panoramic views in the Nightingale Sky Room as we celebrate the opening of Guillermo Bert: The Journey.