ARTS:

Strapped Las Vegas Art Museum plans to shutter

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas Art Museum closing next week (2-20-09)
New, on display, from L.A. (12-12-2008)
With Lumpkin’s exit, museum must be ‘creative’ to survive, interim director says (12-5-2008)
Museum gift shop will be missed, but it’s gone for good reasons (12-3-2008)

Las Vegas Art Museum

The financially strapped Las Vegas Art Museum is closing its doors Feb. 28.

After three months of trying to keep the 59-year-old institution afloat in the dire economy, board members and staff said Friday they have run out of options.

The board had cut the museum’s budget to less than $1 million for the year and laid off workers.

“We’ve tried everything to keep this afloat. It’s just a challenging time,” said Patrick Duffy, president of the museum board. “The economic climate has eliminated several of our donations” and reduced others significantly.

Public funding accounts for just 3 percent of the museum budget, and in a valley of 2 million people, the museum’s membership was just over 1,000.

“It’s just a lesson in the fact that no serious museum will be possible without public support,” said former executive director Libby Lumpkin, who came aboard in 2005 and helped turn the institution into a respected contemporary art museum. She resigned Dec. 2 when the board announced the budget cuts. “Maybe I missed the readiness of Las Vegas to move in the direction of an urban metropolis.”

The staff and board will meet next week to discuss the future of the art in the museum’s collection. Officials also will talk with the National Museum of Art, which recently announced it was giving 50 works from the Vogel collection to the Las Vegas museum.

The Las Vegas organization formed in 1950 as an art league. In 1974 it became a fine art museum, and in 1997 it moved into the Sahara West Library at 9600 W. Sahara Ave.

Under Lumpkin, the museum presented such exhibits as “Southern California Minimalism,” which included works by Robert Irwin, John McCracken, and James Turrell; “Las Vegas Diaspora: The Emergence of Contemporary Art from the Neon Homeland,” featuring artists who had studied at UNLV with Dave Hickey; and architect Frank Gehry’s models, sketches and drawings for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

What will now be its final exhibit, “L.A. Now,” curated by art critic David Pagel, features work by Los Angeles contemporary artists.

“We had a lot of really great ideas. We wanted to be able to share them with the community,” said Alex Codlin, interim executive director. “We cut the budget significantly and thought we’d stay one step ahead of the economy. I’ve spoken with people at other institutions around the country. They’re in the same boat. They just maybe have more established donors or bigger endowments.

Duffy said the museum will keep its name so that it can re-emerge when the economy improves. “We’ll dig ourselves out of this. It’s not a possibility, it’s a probability,” he said. “The arts aren’t dead in Las Vegas. One entity that’s gone does not a cultural community make. We’ve got great gallerists, very passionate gallerists. We’ve got people here who are very passionate about art. It’s just not fair to the community to launch insignificant shows, especially after what we’ve had in the last couple of years.”

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By MAGSNY1999

2/21/09 at 6:53 a.m.

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close it and open up a World-Class institution over at the Union Park. Vegas has only been a "community" for the last 10-20 years or so. So I am patient but lets the ball rollin on some culture and other types of jobs here in the valley. and lets make this a true world city
By RPJ

2/21/09 at 3:31 p.m.

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"Vegas has only been a "community" for the last 10-20 years or so."

Actually, Las Vegas was much more a community in the 1970s and the early 1980s than it has been at any time since. Hundreds of thousands of warm bodies do NOT a community make.

Any Las Vegas-area art museum belongs in the Downtown Arts District. But, again, without a strong vision by a funding foundation, at least the minimal support of local government, and a reason for locals and visitors to visit, any museum will find it hard to survive.

Sadly, we had more art in and around Las Vegas when Charles Hunsberger was running the Clark County Library District. I could step into any area library at that time and be guaranteed to see an exhibit, or a performance, of something interesting.

Visions and visionaries -- that's what Las Vegas culture needs.
By mattythejunkman

2/22/09 at 12:28 a.m.

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what about a joint venture with mayor oscar goodmans plans for a mob museum maybe both together could hold ground in these tuff times expose our tourist and locals to past,present and contempory art get tourist and locals looking at one and seeing the other
By sogetthis

2/22/09 at 10:49 a.m.

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"what about a joint venture with mayor oscar goodmans plans for a mob museum"

Well, since Goodman is a cultural moron who's simply looking to drum up some more publicity for himself and glorify his mob client base, that's probably a no-go.

see http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb...

"I don't see a museum for art as necessary downtown," Goodman said. "The masters are on the Strip. There's also a round-trip plane fare to Los Angeles. It's not necessary to have an art museum. I want a mob museum."

Best of luck to anybody who tries to foster any real culture in this town.
By James_P_Reza

2/22/09 at 12:13 p.m.

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Since when does an "art museum" = "real culture," and a museum that explores the honest cultural history of Las Vegas does not? That is the kind of snobbish premise that serves to simultaneously insult the authenticity of Las Vegas while upholding the so-called "virtues" of the cultural elite. You don't see anyone up in arms over the Mormon Fort museum, and the Mob played as large a role here as the Mormons.

Would having a world-class art museum next door be nice? Sure. But I have no problem getting in my car and driving to La Brea when I've seen all the exhibits in the multitude of small, heart-felt galleries in the Arts District - galleries that are always changing and constantly holding exhibit openings.

Las Vegas has plenty of culture, just not the "right kind" that the culture snobs point to as suggesting "real." I've been hearing it for too long, and I'm tired of it. "Culture" is defined by a locale, and it swells from the ground up. One can choose to do something to participate in it or not, but to criticize from a lofty perch while looking down at Las Vegas helps nothing. There's plenty of ready-made snobbery for folks to jump into all around the United States, if they desire.
By sogetthis

2/22/09 at 2:14 p.m.

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Your response is typical of the defeatist attitude that continually undermines cultural activities and institutions of all kinds in Las Vegas, by suggesting that any aspirations to something greater are elitist and undesirable. You and the likes of Goodman are the ones seeking to exclude certain types of culture and institutions from Las Vegas by saying, "we don't need it here."

Furthermore, it is hard to believe that a mob museum borne out of a crusade by the mayor, with his colorful past, and built with pork spending doled out by this city council will provide "real culture", and be anything more than a superficial glorification of Goodman's client base and its forefathers.
By James_P_Reza

2/22/09 at 2:28 p.m.

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It is your approach that is wholly elitist, not mine. I agreed that an art museum would be nice, but not exclusionary to a History of Las Vegas Museum. Your approach relies on the definition of culture as defined by other locales, not in the generally accepted definition of culture as being born of a particular civilization.

Defeatist? Hardly. I've spent the better part of my time here advocating culture in one way or another, with my time, my donations, and my various business ventures. Las Vegas was built by doers, not complainers.
By Ginger_Bruner

2/22/09 at 10:41 p.m.

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As a life-long Las Vegan, artist, arts supporter, and granddaughter of one of the founders of what became the Las Vegas Art Museum, I am saddened by the difficulties being encountered by the LVAM. The situation caused by our current economic situation, as well as the malaise of residents of our valley in general, has caused plenty of problems for many non-profits in Las Vegas.

I do believe in having a fine art museum in Las Vegas. I am ecstatic that we have so many gallery owners downtown who are stepping up with some truly forward looking art, as well as all the work done over the years by museums and galleries at UNLV, the CAC, and other entities who have worked toward bringing fine art to Las Vegas.

This does not negate the fact that it's about time to have a world class art museum in Las Vegas. School children cannot just take a few hours to go to Los Angeles, see some art, and be back for lunch. I am very lucky in that I spent a significant amount of time at the Art League, precursor to the LVAM. It broadened my world, but at the time, it was no LACMA.

Have a mob museum, that's part of our history. Some would say a golden period in Las Vegas' existence, but that doesn't mean a true Fine Art Museum isn't needed in our community.
By davidcurtis

2/23/09 at 4:27 p.m.

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All the people whom have boasted what a GREAT place Summerlin is need to find their wallets.

LVAM is your museum. Own it.

It is also a Tenant of a public-funded building.

To say it is closing tells me two things:

1. People in Summerlin need to find their wallets. (It's that rectangular leather thing crammed up your backsides that used to have more money it it before that last binge drinking episode.)

2. Show some local art. It costs zero dollars.
Hell, CAC could curate it even.

PS Las Vegas is a mob museum. Building one is redundant.