NEON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES FALL ARTIST IN RESIDENCE:
MIKAYLA WHITMORE
Free Public Program Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17
On Saturday, September 17, the Neon Museum North Gallery will be the site of “Surreal Signs,” an art installation and public engagement program presented by Fall Artist in Residence Mikayla Whitmore. The event is free to the public, but limited space is available for three separate sessions to be held at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Reservations are required.
Funded in part by grants from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, this residency calls for the artist to create a project incorporating the outdoor space at the Neon Museum’s North Gallery. Whitmore’s winning proposal incorporates making a miniature version or surreal diorama of the Las Vegas Strip. During the public workshop, guests will be invited to build miniature signs based on real Las Vegas marquees currently on the Strip or housed in the Neon Museum. Using simple materials, including cardstock, watercolors, markers, glitter and glue, guests can replicate existing signs or transform them into their own, unique vision.
“I’m interested in finding visual ways to merge past and new imagery in a city that is constantly overwriting itself,” explains Whitmore. “The Las Vegas Strip is famous to the world, but as a Las Vegas native, it’s personal to me. As an artist and member of this community, this residency represents a chance to champion the city’s past, present and future.”
To participate in “Surreal Signs,” click here. For more information, call (702) 387-6366.
About Neon Museum Artist in Residence Mikayla Whitmore
Las Vegas native Mikayla Whitmore received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a concentration in photography. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows throughout Las Vegas as well as in California. Her work addresses the transience and unreliability of memory and photography’s role in the capture, shaping and loss of memory.
Reservations are required for this free public event. To reserve your ticket, go to www.neonmuseum.org/happenings or call (702) 387-6366.
ABOUT THE NEON MUSEUM
Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs for educational, historic, arts and cultural enrichment. It has been named “Best Museum” by Las Vegas Weekly, one of “Sin City’s Best Retro Sites” by MSN, “No. 1 Las Vegas Museum Sure to Entertain and Educate” by USAToday’s 10best.com, “One of the Top 10 Coolest Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do” by Forbes.com, one of the “Top 10 Historic Spots in Las Vegas” by Vegas.com; one of “15 Most Fascinating Museums in the U.S.” by VacationIdea.com; and earns a consistent 4.5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor. In addition to an approximately two-acre Neon Museum campus, which includes the outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard, the museum also encompasses a visitors’ center housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby as well as nine restored signs installed as public art throughout downtown Las Vegas. Public education, outreach, research, archival preservation and a grant-funded neon sign survey represent a selection of the museum’s ongoing projects. Both the Neon Boneyard and the La Concha Visitors’ Center are located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.NeonMuseum.org.