Southwest, Spring Valley areas ripe with arts and culture options

There is no culture in Las Vegas, right? Ask a local artist, and you’ll find out that assumption is wrong.

“I get mad when I hear Las Vegas has no culture,” said Spring Valley artist Lynne Adamson Adrian. “I think we are really growing in that respect. All the work going on to support the Arts District is just one example. We also have The Smith Center, which takes us to another realm.”

Adamson Adrian said the last downtown First Friday arts festival was the perfect example of how the community feels about local art.

“We were overwhelmed in our little gallery,” she said of the Wonderland Gallery inside The Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd. “There were times when I don’t think I could have gotten to the door we were so full. It’s wonderful to see that kind of support.”

Support for the arts isn’t confined to downtown or the Cultural Corridor. Virtually every neighborhood in Las Vegas has its arts offerings, and Spring Valley and southwest Las Vegas are packed with culture from theater to gallery offerings.

Southern Highlands resident Troy Heard, who is the producing artistic director of the Onyx Theatre, 953-16B E. Sahara Ave., said theater offerings in the southwest and Spring Valley at venues such as Las Vegas Little Theatre and Super Summer Theatre are notable.

“The longevity of LVLT and Super Summer (over 30 and 40 years, respectively) is a testament to how necessary they are to our community. The past five years has seen the quality of their productions rise, as well as the relevance of their selections,” he said, citing productions of Sarah Ruhl’s “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” on the Las Vegas Little Theatre mainstage and “Legally Blonde” at Super Summer Theatre.

In a recent email to supporters, Super Summer Theatre chairwoman Adrienne O’Donoghue said the support of more than 40,000 patrons in 2015 resulted in a great season.

“What an incredible year 2015 was for Super Summer Theatre,” she said. “We celebrated our 40th anniversary. We had record attendance at our May opening weekend. Our August show, ‘Tarzan,’ was nearly sold out even before it opened.”

This year’s summer season is set to feature “Beauty and the Beast,” “Memphis,” “Bring it On,” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

In addition to Super Summer Theatre’s outdoor meadow performance venue at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, the organization recently began offering classes for all ages and camps for youths in its rehearsal space, Super Summer Theatre Studios, 4340 S. Valley View Blvd.

For those who prefer indoor entertainment, Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive, launched in 1978, with a mission to “increase the awareness of theater arts in Southern Nevada, provide quality productions and to offer educational, hands-on opportunities in all facets of theater production,” according to its website, lvlt.org.

In addition to providing contemporary theater productions primarily for adults, the theater plans to bring back its LVLT Youth Academy with camps for kids 6 to 12 years old, culminating in weekly performances June 13 through July 1. The academy also offers internship opportunities for youths 13 to 18.

Children and young adults can also pursue theater experiences through the Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, which operates out of the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 Brush St.

Rainbow Company classes share storytelling, improvisation and theater arts skills with students ages 4 to 18. An audition-only ensemble of 40 is selected each year for in-depth training and productions.

“The ensemble teaches kids all areas of theater — front of house, back of house; you name it,” said Nancy Deaner, director of the city of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, at a December event celebrating Rainbow Company’s 40th season. “Theater is a wonderful vehicle for kids to learn about everything, not just the arts. They learn about math. They learn about social sciences. They learn about everything through the theater. It’s a one-stop shop for arts.”

The same could be said for the Charleston Heights Arts Center. In addition to theater courses for youths and adults, students can learn a variety of dance styles from hip-hop and jazz to ballet and ballroom. The center also offers courses in visual arts, with classes for youths and adults in drawing, handmade books, painting and even pinatas.

The center’s theater hosts concerts by local and touring musicians playing everything from classical brass to rock violin. The center’s gallery hosts shows featuring local and nationally recognized artists. “Force of Nature,” the exhibit set to be on display through April 20, features the work of Elizabeth Blau, Orlando Montenegro-Cruz and Rossitiza Todorova. Next up, Ginger Owen and Vicki Vanameyden plan “Heritage Habitats,” an exhibit framed around nostalgia and memory, to be displayed June 24-Oct. 1.

The center’s gallery is but one in the southwest and Spring Valley areas.

The Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., houses a variety of exhibits in the Big Springs Gallery inside the Origen Museum. Up through April 3 is the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards featuring artwork and writing from local students.

The adjacent Nevada State Museum plans to show biologist Sharon K. Schafer’s black and white photography exhibit “Becoming Animal: Standing Witness for the Sentient Wild” through Aug. 31.

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District also hosts gallery shows in local libraries.

Through April 24, the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd., plans to display Sean Russell’s “Infrared,” a show of lake homes, docks and shorelines in Big Lake, Minn., photographed using a modified digital camera that only captured deep red, magenta and infrared light.

Through June 14, the Windmill Library, 7060 W. Windmill Lane, is scheduled to show “More Than a Vessel,” an exhibit of sculptural works based on the cup crafted by the artists of Clay Arts Vegas.

March 31-May 22, the Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., is slated to show “The World Through My Eyes,” Shalini Shah’s photos of nature and culture in Las Vegas and Tanzania, Africa.

For those looking to acquire art, southwest Las Vegas is home to Art Encounter, 5720 S. Arville St., Suite 119, a fine art gallery packed with what the website calls “investment-grade works by renowned and emerging national and international artists.” The gallery offers art appraisal services and sells work by the likes of Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and more. It also offers VIP transportation to bring out-of-town clients in from the Strip.

“They offer limo service, and I’m an outsider artist,” Adamson Adrian said. “I can offer info on bus service.”

Southwest Las Vegas artist Celestia Ward said she feels like the area is a great place for an artist to be based.

“As a working artist who grew up in Vegas and has resided in all quadrants of town, I find southwest Las Vegas is the best for me,” she said. “ I often work providing live caricatures to corporate events on the Strip, which is close by but not so close that it encroaches on my daily life. Places I get supplies — like Kelly Paper (3655 W. Sunset Road) or Desert Art Supply (2750 N. Green Valley Parkway) — are nearby.”

Artists from all over town also flock to the Blick art supplies store in the southwest at 6300 W. Charleston Blvd.

Blick hosts demonstrations, workshops and occasional art shows featuring patron work. The last show featured paper bag art. Next up, patrons are invited to bring in ready-to-hang cat-inspired art. In addition to getting an opportunity to show and potentially sell art, participants will be rewarded with a 10 percent discount with an additional 10 percent if they post the art and tag the store on social media.

Ward said that, aside from art supply accessibility, working out of the southwest is inspiring.

“Mountain’s Edge or Red Rock are fantastic relaxation spots that provide awesome views of the desert to recharge the eyeballs,” she said, adding that being able to hop on Interstate 15 to Los Angeles is pretty convenient, too, for work and for play.

Other areas of town are fun to visit, but for living, Ward said the southwest is perfect.

“The Downtown Vegas scene is fantastic. It’s like a small slice of Burning Man whenever I peek in there … and I might be happy living there if I were in my 20s,” she said. “Summerlin is great for golfing or taking a friend to paint ceramics. But for a working artist in your 30s, 40s, 50s, etc., the southwest just has what I need.”

Contact View contributing reporter Ginger Meurer at gmeurer@viewnews.com. Find her on Twitter: @gingermmm.