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Kwanzaa Celebration

Kwanzaa Celebration And Rites of Passage Graduation

Saturday, Dec. 28

2 to 4 p.m.

Free and open to the public

West Las Vegas Library Theatre

951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

In the spirit of Nia, the community will celebrate the third day of Kwanzaa, “Ujima” – collective work and responsibility – meaning to build and maintain our community together, making our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and solving them together. The event will feature an African libation, the West Las Vegas Arts Center Drum Ensemble, an elder community honor and the graduation for girls and boys in the Rites of Passage program.

Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language that is the most widely spoken African language. Nia means "to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community, in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."       

The annual Rites of Passage program graduation also will be part of the event. It is offered to boys and girls ages 10-16 beginning in September. During the 13-week program, participants learn to become responsible, caring adults, independent thinkers and outstanding citizens. Community elders are encouraged to support the youth as they prepare for their crossing-over ceremony. This mentoring program helps youth cope with the struggles they face in everyday life -- school, home and community. They develop mental power, social relationships, consciousness and identity, based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa -- Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work, Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose and Faith.

Call the West Las Vegas Library at 702.507.3980 for more information on the program or event.

Arts Education

Join us for Spring I classes Jan. 13-Feb. 22, 2025, at the Charleston Heights Arts Center! Register for classes here.

Storybook Adventures

Ages 4-6
Saturdays 9-9:45 a.m.
Explore storytelling and creative play!

$42

Performance Fundamentals

Ages 7-9 
Saturdays 10:30-11:30 a.m. OR Wednesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Develop performance skills using voice, body and imagination.

$42

Youth Acting Workshop

Ages 10-12 
Saturdays 12-1 p.m. OR Wednesdays 4-5 p.m. 
Dive into character and scene creation with fun warmups and theatre exercises.

$42

Teen Acting Workshop

Ages 13-17
Wednesdays, 6:30-8 p.m. 
Hone acting skills with improvisation, character development and scene study.

$60

Art Making

Ages 18+

Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Learn skills in painting, drawing, sculpting and more. Supplies will be provided.

$54

Live Arts Collective

Ages 8-25

Thursdays 4-7 p.m., Fridays 4-7:45 p.m. and Saturdays 12-6 p.m.

Learn from expert faculty and master classical and contemporary techniques.

$75

Introduction to Music Recording Technology

Ages 15-18

Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m. 

Jan. 16 to Feb. 20

$150

In this six-week course, students will discover the new Charleston Heights Arts Center Multimedia Lab while learning beginner and intermediate-level recording techniques on popular digital audio workstations like Garageband, Logic Pro and Ableton Live. Students will gain an understanding of audio interfaces, signal level, effects processing, MIDI, mixing & bouncing and marketing/self-promotion in this project-based learning environment. The course will culminate with a final music project tailored to each student's music preferences. No prior knowledge of recording equipment is required to take this class.

Artist Opportunities & Events

We Were There! Our Trail of Tears!

Finding My Heritage: Cherokee Freedmen, A Visual Account

An Installation by Donald Corpier Starr 

Reception: Saturday, Dec. 21, 2-5 p.m.

On display through Feb. 28, 2025.

West Las Vegas Arts Center Gallery

947 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

"My father’s family were Cherokee freedmen, who were former black slaves of the Cherokee Nation. Growing up in the Starr household, I did not know his history until well after his death. He was born in 1902 and never spoke of his childhood growing up in the Indian Territories in the early 1900s. In 1866, there was a treaty with the Union and the Cherokee Nation when the Civil War ended. The treaty mandated Cherokee freedmen be recognized as members of the Nation. Cherokee freedmen descendants weren’t recognized as true Nation members until 2017, after a long class-action court battle in the Cherokee Nation and United States court systems. We, as Cherokee freedmen, have a long hidden history as chattel slaves in the Cherokee Nation.  This exhibit is my attempt as a Cherokee artist of freedmen descent, to uncover my father’s hidden Cherokee heritage through my art.”

Calls For Artists

Lunar New Year Art Exhibition - Year of the Snake

Deadline Dec. 30, 2024

We are issuing a call for artists to submit artwork for the 14th annual Lunar New Year Art Exhibition 2025, celebrating the Year of the Snake. This exhibition will showcase contemporary and traditional art inspired by the cultural and symbolic significance of the snake, representing transformation, wisdom and intuition.

Selected artists will exhibit their works of art at the Mayor’s Gallery, where the exhibit will be open to the public from January 2025 through April 2025. Artists of all mediums are welcome to submit.

Click here to see more information on the theme: Year of the Snake.

Aerial Gallery Artwork License

Deadline Feb. 6, 2025

We are seeking to license images of original artworks for the Aerial Gallery Banner Exhibition of vinyl banners along First Street, as part of the First Street Art Trail. Artists are encouraged to submit site-specific artwork, which directly responds to the neighborhood along First Street and themes presented by curator JK Russ, visually and/or conceptually.

The Aerial Gallery Banner Exhibition is a program aimed at bringing more visibility to the arts downtown. It is a strategic effort to enhance the urban streetscape by bridging the Arts District and Fremont Street via the First Street Arts Trail, as it passes by several key parts of the city's infrastructure. This program shares with the public a graphic reminder that Las Vegas is home to a dynamic community of working artists.

Please note the city of Las Vegas will add branding graphic design to the banners, which will obscure a small portion of the artwork near the bottom.

Guest Curators

Our Public Art and Gallery Program seeks individuals interested in submitting their qualifications for fine art gallery exhibition and temporary public art project curation. We hope to explore new ideas and perspectives by inviting guest curators to share their process and vision for our community’s public spaces.

#DiscoverLasVegas

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