Last Friday, Dec. 6, the Master of Fine Arts students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas held an open studios night. Andrea Heerdt dropped by to find out what they’re working on. She caught up with five of the program’s 12 MFA students and asked them to describe their current work. The biographical notes we included here are condensed versions of student bios provided by UNLV. 

UNLV’s Master of Fine Arts candidates show off their recent works Friday at the Open Studios event.

The buzz in residential real estate is all about sustainability, and the good news is there are a plethora of ways to improve the efficiency and durability of a home.

The latest exhibition of work by Yasmina Chavez reminds me how protean she is, how flexible, how much she surprises you.

Southern Nevada–based artist Justin Favela’s work embodies the qualities of Las Vegas by affirming the startling originality of smart near-copies. Last spring, I visited Favela in his temporary studio at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Reliably buoyant, Favela can shed light on seemingly any aspect of the folklore of contemporary Las Vegas. The complex and teeming overwhelm of the city imbues his work. In the studio, he mused on Siegfried and Roy’s late white tiger, the four-hundred-pound Mantecore, who bit Roy onstage at the Mirage and left him paralyzed.

A new sculpture behind the Strip pays tribute to old Las Vegas and the entertainers who helped put Las Vegas on the map.

The UNLV Fine Arts program is celebrating Beethoven's 250th Birthday with a series of concerts this Friday night at Southern Nevada Music (Rainbow) and this Sunday at 4pm held at UNLV Doc Rondo Hall!

As a senior at UNLV, Christina Castellanos earned a chair in the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Consider the times for a moment: We relax by watching Marie Kondo throw away suitcases of clothing and pantry-makeover companies get Netflix deals. So it’s pretty tempting to believe a higher consciousness (or just an air of superiority) is waiting for us after we throw away all our possessions to live humble-braggy in a well-lit loft with a citrine mortar and pestle and 24 plants.

Consider the times for a moment: We relax by watching Marie Kondo throw away suitcases of clothing and pantry-makeover companies get Netflix deals. So it’s pretty tempting to believe a higher consciousness (or just an air of superiority) is waiting for us after we throw away all our possessions to live humble-braggy in a well-lit loft with a citrine mortar and pestle and 24 plants.

All morning, excited people stream in to gather free comic books. In the back of the store, patrons huddle by a table as comics are signed by their creators. A few fans dressed as comic book characters mingle with civilians in comic logo-laden T-shirts, while others huddle in conversation or stalk the racks in search of new finds.

They might not get judged by Howie Mandel any time soon (or maybe they will!), but UNLV has its share of professors as talented outside the classroom as they are in it. We checked in with four academics who are dicing, dancing, acting, and hip-throwing their way across the valley and the world in pursuit of excellence in a second sphere. So who’s going to get the million-dollar prize and the headlining gig on the Strip? We have no idea. But here’s who’s headlining on Maryland Parkway.