City of Las Vegas

Mayor Oscar B. Goodman

City Council

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese, Ward 3
Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, Ward 1
Councilman Steve Wolfson, Ward 2
Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow, Ward 5
Councilman Steven D. Ross, Ward 6
Councilman Stavros Anthony, Ward 4

City of Las Vegas Arts Commission

Office of Cultural Affairs
401 South Fourth Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Office (702) 229-5256
Fax (702) 383-1129
www.lvartscommission.com

Arts Commissioners:

Joshua Abbey, Chairman
Arlene Blut
Nancy Deaner
Patrick C. Duffy
Stephen Grogan
Elizabeth B. Herridge
Dana Lee
Rob McCoy, First Vice-Chair
Maura K. Parrott, Second Vice-Chair
Vicki Richardson
Candy Schneider
Jack Solomon


Michael Ogilvie

Public Art Project Coordinator:

Phone Number: (702) 229-5256


Joshua Abbey, Chair

Joshua Abbey is the Executive Director of the Las Vegas based Desert Space Foundation. The non-profit foundation produces diverse cultural programs including the Las Vegas Celebration of Jewish Film, an annual Jewish film festival now entering its 8th year. Joshua was appointed by Governor Guinn to serve on the Nevada Arts Council and Mayor Goodman appointed him to the Las Vegas Arts Commission where he currently serves as Chair. Joshua earned his Master's degree in film producing from the American Film Institute in Hollywood. He is the original founder of the CineVegas film festival and has worked as the Cultural Program Director for the Las Vegas Jewish Federation and the Las Vegas, Clark County Library District.
Work of the Desert Space Foundation can be seen at www.desertspace.org.

Arlene Blut

Arlene has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota and a Communications degree from UNLV. She has spent most of her 37 yrs. in Las Vegas involved in the arts either fundraising or in the development of the visual and/or performing. She was one of the founders of the only professional theater in Las Vegas where she also worked as an actress.
When the theater closed, Arlene became Development Director of Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art. She designed, developed and implemented the public relations program which placed NICA in the national spotlight. She has served on many arts and philanthropic boards, most recently the Neon Museum, where she was active for ten years. Among her awards are the Heart of Gold Award from the Heart Association and the 1997 Community Achievement Award in Arts and Entertainment from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Most importantly, Arlene is deeply committed the cultural development of our state through the education of our children and providing them with the resources needed.

Nancy Deaner

A native Nevadan, Nancy Deaner is Manager of the Office of Cultural Affairs for the City of Las Vegas. She started with the City 17 years ago as staff to the Las Vegas Arts Commission and Director of Galleries. Nancy has both her BFA and MFA degrees. A long time arts administrator, teacher, and artist, Nancy sits on several boards and commissions.

Patrick C. Duffy

Internal and External Customer-centric Executive
Patrick C. Duffy is an industry leader in value engineering a company's internal staff and external customer relations with great satisfaction. Yielding a staff that is all about the "Customer" while having an eye on bottom line impact.
His latest role as former Sr.Vice President with Rhodes Homes has enabled the company to grow within the community through sound business and philanthropic decisions. A heightened sense of customer urgency to the clients wants, needs and desires set the path for both he and his staff as industry leaders in Best Practice of delivering, "Priceless Customer Service."
Placing 30 plus years in the field of Retail Fine Jewelry he set out to see how Best Practices can be woven into any form or facet of business with significant results. It was a winner. He developed the concept of "have too / want too" differences in peoples; both staff and customer base. His accomplishments in Motivational speaking to public audiences on the above topics are well received and respected.
Patrick has become a fixture of philanthropy in the Las Vegas Community. Utilizing creative thought that renders creative and beneficial solutions. He and his friend Wally Goodman have graciously begun to build the Las Vegas Art Museum's permanent collection with a significant gift from their collection. Patrick's involvement as a Board member with LVAM helped to create the Vision, Mission and Value statements.
His sense of Design together with a keen eye for Museum Quality Art has been written about extensively and is reflected in the Goodman-Duffy Collection; of which documentation will be part of the Smithsonian Institute, Archives of American Art.
Mr. Duffy's actions in both Philanthropy and Art are noted on a national scale from University museums to cities across the country, with gifts given, accepted and placed in museums from New York to Honolulu.
Currently, Mr. Duffy serves on the Board of Opportunity Village and the Las Vegas Art Museum. He recently has been appointed by the City of Las Vegas as Arts Commissioner; as well as City Appointed Trustee of the NEON Museum. He maintains an involvement with many various committees throughout the city.
Patrick is a dynamic leader who enjoys seeking the very best in every relationship, both business and especially personal, leaving his mark as a transformer with every step forward.

Stephen Grogan

Stephen Grogan is an executive involved in multi-investment operations and management including: vineyards, olive oil production, private art collections and land use development for equestrian projects. He is also involved in the development and marketing of newly invented casino games. From his past careers, Mr. Grogan has been a playwright fellow, a magazine editor, management consultant and director of several public corporations. In his political career, he has been a Planning Board member and elected city official representing a constituency of 500,000 citizens. He served on numerous civic boards and agencies. Recently released, he is the author of "Vegas Die", a mystery based on the Mayor of Las Vegas being the #1 suspect in a mob murder.

Elizabeth B. Herridge

Ms. Herridge is an art historian specializing in Modernism and Color Theory. Prior to her appointment in 2003 as Managing Director of the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas, she had a 17 year career on Wall Street. Her last position was as a Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Co. Inc., New York. Ms. Herridge has worked as an educator and archivist in a number of museums including the Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, the Museum of Arts and Design, New York and the Las Vegas Art Museum.
Ms. Herridge has a Bachelor's degree in French from Wellesley College and a Master of Arts Degree in Connoisseurship and the Art and Auction Market from Christie's Education in New York.
In addition to her work with the City of Las Vegas' Arts Commission, Ms. Herridge also serves on the Las Vegas Philharmonic's Board of Directors.

Dana Lee

Dana S. Lee is a 1984 graduate and member of the first graduating class of the Vivian Webb School in Claremont, California. She received a Bachelors of Arts in Art History from Brown University in 1988 and a Masters of Arts Management from the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1993. Dana lives with her two children and husband Gregory in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After college Dana lived in Manhattan where she started her career in advertising at Della Femina, McNamee. Thereafter, she held positions in fashion public relations working for Harriet Weintraub and Associates, in museum development at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and was a consultant for the international branding and corporate identity firm, Landor Associates. While in graduate school, Dana interned at The Andy Warhol Museum where she oversaw the museum's pre-opening development research. Upon moving to Las Vegas in 1997, Dana worked for Mirage Resorts where she was responsible for corporate advertising, special projects and the brand identity development of Bellagio Resort, its restaurants and retail outlets.
Dana is a past trustee of The Meadows School, former board member of The Nevada Ballet Theatre, past secretary of the board of The Las Vegas Art Museum, and is a trustee of The Webb Schools of California. She is a founder and President of The Nevada Women's Philanthropy. In addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys cooking, hiking, travel, and art.

Rob McCoy

Rob McCoy is Director, Public Affairs for Embarq Corporation. A native Las Vegan, he began his career as a television news reporter and anchor and then joined the corporate world where he has provided valuable expertise to several companies in the areas of Public & Media Relations, Crisis Communications, and Marketing Communications.
Rob is currently president of Southern Nevada Public Television and is a member of the boards of Nevada Arts Advocates, Salvation Army and Foster Grandparents. Rob has both a Bachelor and Master of Science Degree in Communications from LaSalle University and is also a graduate of the Martin School of Radio & Television Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he retains professional certifications from Harvard, MIT and Cornell.

Maura K. Parrott, Second Vice Chair

Maura Kenny Parrott studied art history and French as an undergraduate at the University of Nebraska and the University of Bordeaux, France. Her interest in public art began while interning at the Shelden Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, NE, where she researched, mapped, and documented artworks and artists for a public sculpture tour. She subsequently interned at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha and at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC before completing her MA in art history at The George Washington University. She has lectured for the Smithsonian Resident Associates program on 19th century art and helped document paintings for the Phillips' collection catalogue. Ms. Parrott was employed at the National Gallery of Art, Division of Research on the Collections, working primarily on a provenance database project. Since 1998 she has served as Information Specialist for the Alternative Medicine Foundation, a detour forged by parenting experiences. In 2001 she was appointed to the Cultural Arts Commission of Rockville, Maryland. After relocating to Las Vegas in 2002, she volunteered for the Las Vegas Art Museum and served on the Southern Nevada committee of the National Scholastic Art Competition for middle- and high-school students. She was appointed to the Las Vegas Arts Commission by Councilman Larry Brown in 2006, and currently serves as 2nd Vice Chair.

Vicki Richardson

Vicki Richardson is owner and director of Left of Center Art Gallery, a non-profit gallery whose focus is education through the arts, mentoring and nurturing emerging artists, and community involvement. A resident of Las Vegas for 28 years and a teacher in the Clark County School District for 18 years, she has been recognized as a Master Teacher and has received awards for teacher training by UNLV and the school district. Vicki was selected to design the high school art curriculum and was chairman of the art department at both Rancho and Cheyenne High schools.
Mrs. Richardson received her undergraduate degree from Fisk University in Nashville and her master's degree from the University of Chicago. She is a recipient of the Governor's Art Award and has been recognized by the Chamber of Commerce for her community contributions.
Vicki has acted as juror for the Nevada Arts Council for several years and participated as a panelist in many of their conferences. She has served as a board member for the Las Vegas Art Museum and is a member of several local arts organizations. She has served as second vice chair for the Las Vegas Arts Commission and is currently president of J.V. Ventures, which operates several food and beverage businesses at McCarran Airport as well as the new Premium Outlet Mall.
Mrs. Richardson is dedicated to promoting and encouraging artists as well as nurturing and developing future artists and art audiences. An artist herself, she exhibits her own work as well as participating in designing and facilitating many public art projects.

Candy Schneider

Candy Schneider is six months shy of being a native Nevadan. Recently named as the Director of Education and Outreach for The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Candy's entire professional career has been focused on arts education and working with the community to enhance education. Prior to joining The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Candy worked for the Clark County School District for 33 years, first as a visual arts teacher, then as the administrator of the visual arts, and finally as the assistant director in the School-Community Partnership Program.
Over the years, Candy has served on a variety of local, regional, and national boards and committees including the National Art Educators Association, Getty Center for Arts Education, National Endowment for the Arts, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Partners in Education, Nevada State Education Curriculum Standards, Henderson Cultural Plan, Nevada School of the Arts, Las Vegas Centennial City of 100 Murals, Lied Discovery Children's Museum, VSA Nevada, and a host of Clark County School District committees. In March of 2007, Ms. Schneider was selected by the National Art Education Association to receive the Nevada Art Educator of the Year Award.
Ms. Schneider served on the Board of the Nevada Arts Council as an appointee of the Governor from 1995 through June of 2007. She served as chairman of the NAC Board for five years, and worked to ensure the accessibility of the arts for all Nevadans. Candy's work on the NAC Board focused on increased support for arts education, individual artists, arts organizations, and policy issues. As the appointed representative of the Nevada Arts Council, Candy also served as vice-chair of the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs, which is responsible for reviewing and awarding $3,000,000, in grants each year to preserve and maintain Nevada's historic sites to serve as cultural centers throughout the state.

Jack Solomon

Jack Solomon has been a leading art dealer for over four decades. He founded Circle Fine Art Corporation in the early 70's together with his wife and business partner, Carolyn Solomon. The Solomons gradually built Circle into the nation's foremost producer and seller of quality limited edition multiple fine art which they sold through their nationwide chain of 34 Circle Galleries. Circle won a number of awards and honors, including selection by Forbes Magazine as one of "America's 100 Best Small Companies".
The Solomons sold Circle in 1993 as part of their plan to retire. But during their three years of contracted non-competition that was part of that sale, the Solomons realized "Retirement is too boring". As soon as their non-competition agreements expired in 1996, they formed their new company, S2 Art Group, Ltd. Jack Solomon is Chairman and CEO; Carolyn is President and COO.
Over the past eleven years the Solomons built S2 into a multi-million dollar global art business enterprise. In 2001 S2 moved its global headquarters from New York to The Las Vegas Arts District. S2 is housed in the 22,000 square foot S2 Art Center building. The building also houses the S2 fine art lithography atelier, which is the largest and one of the most prestigious facility of its kind in the world.
Mr. Solomon has authored five published books on art and artists, including "Erte at 90: The Complete Graphics" (Dutton), a coffee table size art book which was translated into five different languages and has sold over 65,000 copies.
Mr. Solomon is past President of the Fine Art Publishers Association of New York, an industry trade group. In addition to being Mayor Goodman's appointee to the Las Vegas Arts Commission, Mr. Solomon is the immediate past President (2001 – 2005) of The Las Vegas Arts District Neighborhood Association where he continues as a board member. He also and serves on the board of The Las Vegas Boulder Plaza Sculpture Park Foundation.
Mr. Solomon is listed in "Who's Who in America".