THE NEON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES DATES FOR ARTIST TALK AND OPEN STUDIO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

Neon Museum 2020 National Artist in Residence, Victor Ehikhamenor working on recent artwork. (Photos courtesy Victor Ehikhamenor)

THE NEON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES UPCOMING DATES FOR ARTIST TALK AND OPEN STUDIO WITH ARTIST IN RESIDENCE VICTOR EHIKHAMENOR

Artist Talk to be Held Nov. 5, Open Studio to be Held Dec. 17

Downloadable Photos Available Here

LAS VEGAS (October 2020) – The Neon Museum announces upcoming dates for 2020 Artist in Residence Victor Ehikhamenor’s artist talk and open studio events. The Nigerian-American artist, photographer and writer Ehikhamenor was selected by the Museum from a list of 110 applicants earlier this year. His residency takes place from Oct. 26 through Dec. 18 and is sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the state of Nevada. During his residency, Downtown Las Vegas high-rise condo tower, Juhl, is providing the artist with a live/work space that includes a studio visible from the street so the public can watch him work. Ehikhamenor will also have workspace at The Neon Museum’s Ne10 Studio.

The programming schedule follows:

Artist Talk via Zoom and Facebook Live
Date: Thursday, Nov. 5
Time: 12 p.m. (PST)/ 3 p.m. (EST)
Cost: Free
Description: Members of the community are invited to hear Ehikhamenor speak about his work process and plans for his residency. His work references the assortment of iconic Las Vegas signs in the museum’s exhibitions and archive; it also includes collaborations with members of the Las Vegas community, who provide poems, statements and short stories. Ehikhamenor interprets these elements through large-scale drawings interwoven into sculpture and installation work. His work also incorporates the medium of neon tubing.
Zoom: RSVP now to be one of only 100 participants in this Zoom discussion, which includes a Q&A session. Please RSVP using this link: https://tinyurl.com/y6xwgajl
Facebook Live: Art aficionados also have the option of watching the discussion via The Neon Museum’s Facebook page on Facebook Live:  https://www.facebook.com/NeonMuseum

Open Studio with Victor Ehikhamenor
Date: Thursday, Dec. 17
Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
Location: Ne10 Studio, 1001 West Bonanza Road, Las Vegas, NV 89106 and online
Cost: Free
Safety Protocols: A limited number of people will be allowed in the studio and masks are required.
Description: Designed for the benefit of Southern Nevada residents, the open studio event provides an opportunity to experience and see the new work created by Ehikhamenor during his residency. Guests can anticipate a fresh perspective on Las Vegas culture and the Neon Museum collection.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Victor Ehikhamenor is a Nigerian-American artist, photographer and writer. He has been prolific in producing abstract, symbolic and politically motivated works. A 2016 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow, Ehikhamenor was one of three artists to represent Nigeria at the first Nigerian Pavilion in the 57^th Venice Biennale in 2017. His work has been featured in numerous biennales, including the 5th Mediations Biennale in Poznan, Poland (2016) and the Biennale Jogja XIII, Indonesia (2015), and exhibited in London, Lagos and Washington D.C. Throughout his career, Ehikhamenor has maintained an interest in signs, symbols and language. The patterning that defines his work is a form of gestural abstraction reminiscent of written language.

As a writer, he has published both fiction and critical essays with academic journals, mainstream magazines and newspapers around the world including New York Times, BBC, CNN Online, Washington Post, AGNI and Wasafiri. He is the founder of Angels and Muse, a thought laboratory dedicated to the promotion and development of contemporary African art. In 2013, Ehikhamenor collaborated with Nigerian fashion designer Ituen Basi to create the Ekemini collection which has been featured in Vogue Italia, and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion show. Ehikhamenor received his MFA from the University of Maryland, College Park. He maintains a studio in Lagos, Nigeria and Upper Marlboro, Maryland. http://victorehi.com

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. On its 2.27-acre campus, the Neon Museum houses an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard (“boneyard” is traditionally the name for an area where items no longer in use are stored); the North Gallery, home to the nighttime augmented-reality, audiovisual spectacle, “Brilliant!”; the Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center, housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby. The museum collection also includes 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. Click here for tour schedules and pricing information. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Vanessa Thill/Erika Pope
The Vox Agency
vanessa@thevoxagency.com, erika@thevoxagency.com
(469) 226-4723, (702) 249-2977

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