Thanks to Shanna Fennell, the President
of Cultural Dimensions, Las Vegas will finally
experience its first art exhibit that will feature nationally acclaimed African- American
artists. "As far as I know and what has been said to me, this event will be the
city’s first of its kind," said Mrs. Fennell. Shanna is also the wife and
business manager of one of the host artists, Albert Fennell.
After participating in a few Las Vegas art shows five years ago, Albert and Shanna felt
that Las Vegas was an "open" market for commercial and fine art. Determined to
confirm that this strong hunch was true, Shanna decided to take a mini-tour around town,
speaking with residents and art merchants about the nature of the city’s cultural
diversity. To her surprise she not only fell in love with the potential of the fastest
growing metropolitan city in the country, she realized that she and Albert could do quite
well here. Before she knew it, the talks about relocating to Las Vegas became
more and more real. In September of ‘98, the Fennells decided to move from San Diego,
California to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Shanna knew that
trying to break into Las Vegas’ market, regardless of how virgin it was, would be
very challenging. Even with the large number of people relocating to Las Vegas every
month, not to mention the recent influx of African-American professionals, she knew that
the city could definitely use a boost in the cultural department. As it stands today, I
must admit, the cabinets do appear a little bare. So her first assignment on her long list
of "things to do and accomplish" was to bring African-American artists from all
over the world to showcase their works of art. |
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Shanna began to toss the idea around and before she could sit
down at the computer to put her concept to paper, she started to receive lots of support
and an array of compliments from businesses and the general public. Staying true to her
word, on October 15th,  16th and 17th, 1999, Cultural Dimensions will present the
Las Vegas National African-American Artist & Designer Art Exhibit at the Las Vegas
Hilton - Pavilion I & II. The event begins on Friday (15th) at 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Also
on this day, a VIP Reception will take place at 6 p.m. and the winners of the Jr. Artist
Awards competition will be announced. The art exhibit will continue on Saturday (16th),
from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. and on Sunday (17th), from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. For more information
contact Shanna Fennell  at Cultural Dimensions (702) 871-7733.
Some of the acclaimed
artists that will be displaying their original works of art, sculptures, and their line of
collections are: Alex Beaujour (Texas), Manulita Brown (California), Arthur Dawson
(Florida), Leonard Freeman (Texas), Kenneth Gatewood (California), Selma Glass (Georgia),
George Knox (Virginia), Henry Porter (Georgia), Margaret Warfield (Georgia), and Ron &
Adel Whiterspoon (New York).
Not only is Las Vegas
honored to have such an event take place in the midst of its glimmering lights, it is
extremely proud to announce that two of the renowned artists participating, presently
reside here: They are Albert Fennell and Annie Lee. LVN |
