Making an IMPACT

Olympians of art engage in fabulous feats of aestheticism -- all that's missing, sports fans, is a foot-long smothered in mustard and kraut, and a few brewskies.

"We don't get to spend as much time as we would like together to know what each other's programming has to offer for the community, so we said, let's do something about that," says Darin Hollingsworth, executive director of the Liberace Museum.

The home of The Sequined One's legacy will host what Hollingsworth hopes is the inaugural edition of a free annual fair Sunday called IMPACT -- as in, Imagine Museums, Performance Arts and Culture Together -- in which organizations from every far-flung corner of the Las Vegas cultural community will unite for a day of artistic solidarity. They'll not only dazzle the public with performance firepower -- including live presentations -- but fire up each other as well.

"We hope for a large general public attendance. And based on an all-volunteer collaborative effort, this will be so organic, arts professionals informally talking to each other, that I think it will introduce us to new organizations we were not familiar with."

Expressed in their mission statement as a "call to action," IMPACT aims to spotlight "the city's best and highest caliber museums, galleries and performance groups to showcase the depth, breadth and richness of culture in Southern Nevada."

"Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future." -- Sophocles

You said it, Soph, and to prevent such a fatal blow to the soul, IMPACT will, among others, boast the presence of (deep breath here): the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Art Museum, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Ballet Theatre, the Atomic Testing Museum, Metro Arts Council, Nevada Public Radio, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians, the Performing Arts Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Desert Springs Arts and the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs.

"In any of the arts, you never stop learning."

-- Claire Bloom

If Claire's correct, Sunday should be an educational feast with performance appetizers: Robin Reinarz, solo cellist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, will string together some sweet sounds; the Nevada Ballet Theatre will delve into discussions of dance; the Las Vegas Art Museum will mount displays of its creative exhibits; and roaming fair-goers will be serenaded by the Celebrity City Chorus as they visit with various arts group volunteers in the Liberace Museum's cabaret space.

"Must we be put to shame by much smaller and poorer countries, by Ireland, France, Austria or Sweden, who have understood that a nation's support of the arts is a matter of both national pride and cultural survival?"

-- Theodore Bikel

Teddy's cry for cultural cred is even harder to hear amid the Las Vegas din.

"We have a wonderful hospitality industry, but we also have an incredibly rich performing and cultural arts community, which has a hard time getting their noses above the noise level in this city to get into the hands and consciousness of our local community," says Cindy Fox, Nevada Ballet Theatre's marketing director and an event co-organizer.

"When you see things like a panel discussion about the business community and they say one of the detriments of being here in Las Vegas in terms of employee recruitment and retention is that we don't have a cultural community, it's shocking. We hope IMPACT is the first step to change that."

"In the arts, the way in which an idea is rendered and the manner in which it is expressed is much more important than the idea itself." -- Jacques-Louis David

Jack-Louie's right, whether it's an impressionist painting or a ... marching band?

"Las Vegas Marching Arts Inc. will be here," Hollingsworth says. "I didn't know there were so many high school marching bands in this city, and that's how students get introduced to instrumental music. Their organization will be a wonderful catalyst to bring those students into the cultural fabric of the community. And if you look at the list of participants, there are other organizations flying just under the radar screen. Desert Springs Arts was birthed out of a church, and they've had some amazing performances that I've only gotten acquainted with since we started doing this. We think IMPACT could grow to need a venue as large as Springs Preserve, with an amphitheater."

That would make quite an IMPACT.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.

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