Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art— Spirit of the Land
Mystery Ranch (2022). Photo by Mikayla Whitmore.
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, March 25 to July 23, 2022
Opening Reception, 5-8 pm, Friday, March 25.
Searchlight Community Center
Searchlight, Nevada, March 25 to July 23, 2022
Reception and Community Workshop: 1-3 pm, Saturday April 30.
Laughlin Public Library
Laughlin, Nevada, April 10 to June 25, 2022
Opening Reception, 1-3 pm, Sunday, April 10.
More information at www.spiritoftheland.org.
Spirit of the Land is a love letter to the plants, animals, geology, history, and people of the East Mojave landscape at the southernmost tip of Nevada. Displayed in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art and at two satellite venues, the Laughlin Library and the Searchlight Community Center, the exhibition features work by more than 40 artists, musicians and writers, and scores of community members who have chosen to celebrate the country around Spirit Mountain, the highest peak in the Spirit Mountain Wilderness.
Curated by Kim Garrison Means, Checko Salgado, and Mikayla Whitmore, the exhibition features work from tribal artists, artists from regional communities, artists from Las Vegas, and national artists who are familiar with the East Mojave landscape.
Highlighted in the Laughlin Library exhibition is artwork from Ft. Mojave Indian Tribe painter Paul Jackson, cyanotype prints from middle school and high school students at Equipo Academy in Las Vegas, and postcard-sized artworks created by regional artists and community members.
Spirit of the Land reflects on the continuing spiritual importance of this revered wilderness area and the past and future of nearby rural communities such as Searchlight, Nelson, Cal-Nev-Ari, and Ft. Mojave, all of which are searching for pathways that will carry them forward into a sustainable future. Through painting, photography, sculpture, video, and more, the exhibition offers visitors glimpses of the complex beauty of this unique desert terrain.
The exhibition also gives viewers an opportunity to investigate the current land issues of this region, such as the long-term strengths of landscape tourism, the threats posed to threatened species and local economies by large-scale industrial proposals, and local and national efforts to turn 450,000 acres of the region into a permanently protected public area, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
Support for this exhibition is provided by Nevada Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nevada Conservation League, Clark County Parks and Recreation, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the Wilderness Society, the Searchlight Betterment Organization, the Conservation Lands Foundation, and the Las Vegas Special Projects Native Plant Nursery.