A master’s degree in any fine art, whether creative writing, music or studio art, can be a tricky thing. Students graduate with a valuable advanced education: polished technical skills and an in-depth understanding of theory, history and contemporary issues. But they don’t finish with the clear-cut career path of, say, a dentist or a lawyer.

To the uninformed observer stopping by University of Nevada, Las Vegas architecture professor Dak Kopec’s Health in the Built Environment course, the class may look like a lot of fun and games. Students with hula hoops around their waists try to navigate narrow spaces. Others move around the room wearing glasses that produce tremendous glare and compromise their vision.

An unseen musician plucks a cello in a halting, haunting melody as a seemingly drunken cameraperson flits between images of the Mojave desert at sunrise and artist Brent Holmes dressed as a pantsless cowboy. He stands alone, among the brush and distant mountains, smokes a cigar, eats a peach and dances. In time with the music, handwritten phrases appear on the screen, such as “A gluttony unfulfilled” and “a denless coyote.” Watching Holmes’ video performance piece “Abraxes” is like watching a poem come to life.

Nevada Humanities held a virtual panel discussion Thursday about the national debate over historical monuments and its relevance in Nevada, including controversy over figures such as Pat McCarran and Kit Carson.

Nevada Humanities held a virtual panel discussion Thursday about the national debate over historical monuments and its relevance in Nevada, including controversy over figures such as Pat McCarran and Kit Carson.

Ashley Hairston Doughty’s solo exhibition, Kept to Myself, is at the Barrick Museum at UNLV through Oct. 9. The exhibition highlights race and gender-based issues through various media, including pillows screenprinted with unsolicited comments the artist received on the streets while living in Chicago. Hairston Doughty moved to Las Vegas in June 2017 to teach art at UNLV.

This week Justin is joined by visual storyteller, Ashley Hairston Doughty. They talk about her latest exhibition, “Kept to Myself,” at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art and the concepts behind this multidisciplinary artist’s work. Listen in as we learn about Ashley’s history, her love for teaching, and how she shares her experience as a Black woman through the art that she creates.

How’s your new normal coming along? *Listens and nods in glum sympathy* Well, good news: It’s just been enlivened by a roster of safe, sane, and socially distanced fall happenings that prove Las Vegas is a master at adaptation. Here you’ll find drive-by theater, radio read-alongs, YouTube opera, Zoom poetry, and in-person art exhibits with plenty of elbow room. Mask up, wash them germy mitts, and enjoy your 2020 fall culture guide.

Leaders in Southern Nevada’s fine arts community retain an on-with-the-show spirit in the face of the pandemic, even if how, when, and where those shows go on remains a work in progress.

Leaders in Southern Nevada’s fine arts community retain an on-with-the-show spirit in the face of the pandemic, even if how, when, and where those shows go on remains a work in progress.

The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art hosted two new show openings on August 17, marking the beginning of its 2020-2021 season.

Dave Rowe gave his UNLV art students a timely assignment on their first day of class this summer: Build a protective barrier around your work table to protect against COVID-19 transmission.