“Looking again” is what gallery owner Nancy Good wants you to do when experiencing art at Core Contemporary. Core Contemporary is more than just a gallery. It is a space for discovery and learning. All people are welcome here. Core Contemporary affirms its commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and cultural awareness.
Located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, Core Contemporary offers a unique art experience. The 2,200 square foot gallery provides an engaging setting. You can experience remarkable art and meet working artists. Core Contemporary hosts immersive educational forums. It even hosts private events.
Core Contemporary also supports an artist-run nonprofit. This nonprofit is Core Arts Concord Inc. or CACI. CACI provides opportunities for working fine artists in Las Vegas. It creates diverse arts and culture experiences for the local community.
Nancy Good closed Core Contemporary in December 2024 after seven years. It was located in New Orleans Square in the Commercial Center property. Other independent spaces have also left. Core Contemporary opened in May 2018. It showcased local artists of every genre. The gallery also hosted exhibits about social issues. These included gun violence and freedom of speech.
Nancy Good is now an artist in residence in Arts Square. She offers mentoring to emerging artists. Good said she wanted to provide a safe space for art. Artists could share their stories without worrying about commercial viability.
Core Contemporary was primarily self-funded. Good said the system failed these kinds of spaces. The value of her work was over half a million dollars. This is because she never took a salary.
The area declined after the owner died. Property management changed. There was no regular security. Tenants started leaving. There was vandalism and a fire. The county bought the property. They planned to create another arts and culture district. But they did not partner with the people already there.
Good feels the hospitality industry failed the arts community. People from all over the world found Core Contemporary. They were looking for contemporary art. They wanted things that were not the norm.
Good curated edgy shows. She feels the gallery was a success based on its mission. It was a safe space for difficult topics. Core Contemporary recognized the power of art to begin discussions. Good proved there is a way to curate these topics. Everyone can talk about it. It is not against any group. It is about the human experience.
Forgotten Artifacts was an exhibition at Core Contemporary. Las Vegas artists used cast-metal sculptures. They imagined a hopeful landscape of human inexistence. The show drew on speculative fiction and memoir. It built a museum of future fragments. The artists eschewed monumentality.
Another exhibition at Core Contemporary was “Soma”. This was a solo exhibition by Laura Esbensen. Esbensen explores processes of mutilation and survival. She recognizes each work as a metaphorical body. Esbensen’s sculptures and paintings captured Nancy Good’s imagination.
Core Contemporary denounced systemic racism. It was committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The gallery stood with the community in opposing xenophobia and racism. Core Contemporary honored the voices and lived experiences of all members of its community. It fostered a sense of belonging.
While Core Contemporary’s physical location may be closed, its mission lives on. The gallery’s commitment to art remains. It continues through its artists and community.