top of page
Professional teaching artists Brent Holmes and Ashanti McGee, of the Nuwu Art Collective, are leading art classes that weave traditional African and African American storytelling with various materials (textiles, print, etc.). Sprat and IndigenousAF are sponsoring these free classes, which run from April to May, 2023. Seats are open to anyone wanting to explore their inner artist, old and young. Sign up today!
Brent Holmes is a renowned artist, curator, and cultural animator whose work pushes the viewer and the limits of the possible. The son of an entertainer, Holmes is thoroughly traveled, yet has never completely identified with any single place as home… that is, until Las Vegas, where he now lives, works and plays. He holds no degrees and most likely never will. Holmes is a multi-disciplinary artist with immense range. His collection of work displays a deep affinity for words, the body and its senses. He often uses culinary art to entertain the intellectual pallet and utilizes his body and performance for story-telling that is rooted in African American history, struggle, and brilliance. Holmes has exhibited his artwork locally, nationally, and internationally, including at Light & Space Contemporary (Manila, Philippines), the Torrance Art Museum in California, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Winchester Cultural Center in Las Vegas, and the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, where his work is part of the permanent collection at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Brent is a co-organizer of RADAR, a POC and Queer led community-based group that focuses on anti-hierarchical and un-curated live performance. He also runs Mesa Gallery out of his studio at Nuwu Art.
Ashanti McGee is an artist, curator, teacher, mother, grant writer, volunteer, and community organizer. For two decades, she has promoted the arts among groups at the local, state, and regional levels. As part of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), Ashanti is a leading advocate for a number of projects and has met with congressional members on Capitol Hill to advocate for arts initiatives in the U.S. West. She specializes in outreach for the arts, environment, public lands, and African American and Native American communities. Ashanti is also a freelance grant writer with expertise in the arts, culture, and literacy grant writing. She has worked or volunteered with Love for Literacy, Outdoors Nevada, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, the Cultural Alliance of Nevada, the Metro Arts Council of Southern Nevada, the Contemporary Arts Center in Las Vegas, and the Harrison House located in the historic Las Vegas Westside. Ashanti is an adviser for the Weaving our Cultures Arts Festival (WoCAF) in Las Vegas and has curated multiple arts festivals and shows, including at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. She is also a respected artist with a background in painting, drawing, illustration, and sculpture.
bottom of page