Karen Castaneda
Melvin Ennis Recreation Center
Parkdale Recreation Center
I am Karen Castaneda, a Las Vegas resident originally born and raised in New York City. I am a free-lance visual artist with a purpose for community engagement. My mission is to engage and unify communities through the healing power of artmaking. I intend to use my leadership and artwork as an invitation for connection; connection between persons, as well as between oneself and our own human experience.
I intend to bring vibrancy and joy to our recreation centers by creating and installing a jumbo-sized bouquet of desert flowers. One of my favorite things about the Vegas desert are the rare sightings of our beautiful desert flowers. When these unique flowers bloom, they bring an exciting element of surprise that creates a sense of joy and delight. I aim for the giant desert bouquet to produce joy for the viewer as well as for the children that will be creating it.
Hue
Wetlands Park
Winchester Dondero Cultural Center
“As a Las Vegas-based multidisciplinary artist and cultural worker, my connection to this city and its vibrant immigrant community runs deep, having grown up in this city as an immigrant in a close-knit Chinese immigrant community. My work, situated at the intersection of concept, activism, and community care, is a testament to the power of art in fostering connection and understanding.
One of my ongoing projects, the Cloud House, exemplifies my commitment to community engagement. Located in the garage of my suburban desert home, it serves as a free community art space, reflecting the skies above Las Vegas and paying homage to global ancient monuments. The Cloud House is a dynamic space, offering a range of activities from sewing workshops to music shows, all aimed at empowering visitors to explore their artistic potential.”
Brent Holmes
Whitney Recreation Center
Moapa Valley Community Center
Brent Holmes is an arts professional with over fifteen years of experience in publication design. Holmes has designed for major publications throughout the Las Vegas valley, including Desert Companion, The Las Vegas Weekly, and Las Vegas magazine. Committed to engaging with the community of artists and non-profits in the Southwest, Holmes has written about the arts, humanities, and social structures for top publications such as Hyperallergic and The Believer. Holmes has extensive gallery and museum experience ranging from curatorial projects to programming.
“My goal for the projects is to instruct young people on the use of found objects in the design of artworks. The sculpture will also be a lesson in African art history focusing on the act of mask-making. the goal will be to design one or more masks in the style of African artisans.”
Emily Relf
Cambridge Recreation Center
Clark County Museum
I am an artist and educator now pleased to consider myself a Nevada resident. I teach at Marion E. Cahlan Elementary School, a Tier 1, Title 1 school serving a majority Latinx population as a K-5 Art teacher. Although I’m currently focusing on cyanotype as my main medium, I have a background in site specific installations in the countries of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. My initial idea for participation in this project is to combine my love of cyanotype, family connection, and installation with repurposed materials. I’m loosely calling it “Repurposed History,” to try to sum up my theme. I would like to see cyanotype make its mark on site specific installation. This type of work is extremely accessible to children of all ages and helps define, or redefine what as it and could be, and who as artist is or could be.
Emily Robinson
Paradise Community Center
Desert Breeze Community Center
Emenro is a 20-year-old self-taught stop motion animator. Working with clay, wire, and everyday household items, Emenro creates tiny film sets, theatrical puppets, and short films. Emenro has always been immersed in the world of stop motion and film. From early childhood to now, she has created numerous stop motion projects and films in her bedroom. Over the years, she has experimented with Claymation and crafting theatrical puppets. Emenro's work is a captivating journey into nostalgia, dreams, memories, and the cosmos. Whether it's crafting clay family photos or reimagining swimming pools, each creation is a testament to her boundless creativity and dedication to the medium.
Shereen Sun
Hollywood Recreation Center
Walnut Recreation Center
“I became an art teacher myself, because I wanted to help other students who had fallen through the cracks to find something that they are passionate about and good at. I graduated with a master’s in teaching and held California teaching credentials in both Elementary School and the Visual Arts. I’ve worked predominantly with at-risk communities and approach art from a therapeutic lens.”
My project would teach them how to reimagine the world for the better. I would utilize recycled materials and create little waste. I’m considering works in hyperbolic fiber (quilts, crochet) as well as papier mâché.
Joan Paye
Helen Meyer Community Center
Bob Price Recreation Center
Joan Paye is a social practice artist raised in the desert Southwest amid the rocks, Acequia Madre and mesas of New Mexico. She has resided in Las Vegas, NV for over 17 years. Las Vegas is the basecamp for the Art Barn Workshop LLC, which facilitates mobile creativity outreach events, in partnership with local organizations and artist Adventure Guides.
Prior to the pandemic and retirement from corporate marketing, Paye launched passion project; Art Barn to You, delivering mindfulness creativity workshops throughout the Southwest via Corporate Wellness and Diversity initiatives and neighborhood and community connection events.
Now, as a social practice artist, her mission is to invite others to connect, create and celebrate their individual creative language while celebrating the entire process, not just the result.
Ross Takahashi
Pearson Community Center
Spirit Mountain / Searchlight
Ross Takahashi is a US based sculptor and award-winning art educator. His work focuses on human cognition, ecological impacts, and the current climate crisis. Emergence, growth, preservation, death, and decay are harmonious elements of nature that humanity attempts to control.
“The lesson plan would focus on eco-art and would educate students about creating sculptural art using recycled and sustainable materials. The lesson plan would also focus on connecting students to the natural world”
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