First Friday
Nicole Moffatt
The Creative Force
January 26th, 2012
In late February, Nicole Moffatt will become the exhibition coordinator and assistant to the curator for the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. It’s a managerial job that carries a lot of responsibility—from exhibition planning to helping develop a smartphone app. At 26 years old, the Las Vegas native is emerging out of the blue as a player in the local art scene. Read more »
Faces of First Friday
Sketchy Toons
Popeye Wong’s eye-popping pinups earn him female fans
December 1st, 2011
Perhaps you’ve encountered his sensual drawings of the female form displayed on a table outside the Funk House during First Friday. Popeye Wong’s illustrated pinups and “eroticartoons” are impossible to miss. They’re racy, yet hardly more titillating than a Victoria’s Secret catalog, at least the illustrations he presents to the First Friday crowd. And like the famous lingerie company, the majority of Wong’s customers and clients are women. Read more »
Faces of First Friday
Plush It
Artist Sarah Flake tweaks her soft toys with a touch of angst
November 3rd, 2011
A chocolate-brown pit-bull puff, reminiscent of Our Gang’s Petey, has a cute yet razor-sharp underbite. A fluffy albino lab rat has an unsettling third eye that contrasts with adorable pink ears and tail. Mr. Bones, a green-boned skeleton, has a slightly fractured skull. Indeed, Sarah Flake’s plush toys always come with a little angst. Read more »
Arts
A First for First Friday
On the eve of its ninth anniversary, the downtown art event gets a face-lift. Here’s what’s in store.
October 6th, 2011
What will the under-new-management, for-profit First Friday look and feel like when it debuts Oct. 7? It will probably be quite similar to pre-hiatus First Friday, with better parking. But that’s just the start. Read more »
First Friday
Meet the Old Boss: Cindy Funkhouser
October 6th, 2011
It all started with a trip to Portland, Ore. That’s where Funkhouse owner Cindy Funkhouser found the inspiration for what would become First Friday in 2002. Read more »
Downtown
Seven First Friday Fixes
September 15th, 2011
Four members of the Zappos team, including CEO Tony Hsieh, recently purchased First Friday from the nonprofit Whirlygig Inc. Can they retain the authenticity of the festival while helping it to grow? Here are some pointers. Read more »
Arts
The Battle of First Friday
July 21st, 2011
The news that our city’s monthly downtown Las Vegas arts celebration will shut down until October has sent the followers of our urban arts scene into a feeding frenzy—everyone appears to be eating each other. Read more »
Faces of First Friday
Flesh and Feathers
Kevin Chupik’s diptych series explores visual link between birds and babes
June 30th, 2011
Plumage, Kevin Chupik’s new show at Brett Wesley Gallery, is as dazzling as the feathers of the most exotic avian. It presents split-canvas diptych paintings of birds and women’s body parts, reducing them both to aesthetic objects and demonstrating how far apart and close together we are as species. Read more »
