Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/753186
Follow me on Instagram at @andreabennettink and on vegasmagazine.com/thevegasedit. ANDR EA BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN (MCKINNEY-JAMES); BY JOE DURKIN OF MOTION STILLS MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL GAL EVENTS (WYNN); BRYAN STEFFY AND AL POWERS (FRIEDMAN) Recently I attended a lecture at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art entitled "Town and Country: Painting and Modernity from Realism to Expressionism," given by Claire C. Whitner, assistant director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of collections for the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. The show, which examines how artists depicted 19th century Europe's rural and urban areas during great social, economic, and artistic change, is fascinating in its own right (read more about it on page 50). But to my surprise, Whitner observed that Las Vegas seems a particularly apt location in which to stage an exhibition about the rise of the modern city. Vegas is "a place that has not only been upheld as the quintessential postmod- ern city since the 1970s, but has continued to serve as the lens through which to theorize the changing international urban landscapes in the 21st century," she pointed out. Always evolving, reinterpreting, and reinventing, Vegas offers new interpretations "of how spectacle and visual primacy continue to be components of the urban experience." It's almost too perfect, she rightly pointed out, that our micro- Paris, Venice, and even New York City are inscribed within Las Vegas. This is why I live in and love Las Vegas. Sure, we push the limits of architecture, fashion, and often, good taste. But in many ways, that makes us a testing ground for urban change. We're the runway to realway of urban planning. In the pages of our #Insta-Vegas cover story (page 84), we offer you that lens Whitner men- tioned, quite literally, throug h which to see our changing city, through our characters, our landscape, our fashion, our unique aesthetic. Happy Holidays, CLOCKWISE: Elaine Wynn, Sophia Song, and I caught up before Jenna Morton's birthday party hosted by Michael Morton at their beautiful home in The Ridges (passed White Castle sliders...genius!); I served on the hosting committee for the opening of RH Las Vegas (the dress is from Patina Décor), and met up there with RH CEO Gary Friedman; one of the women I admire most in our community, Rose McKinney-James, was the keynote speaker at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open's sixth annual Kick Off Your Heels Luncheon. 30 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM #THEVEGASEDIT In the last month, I've been massaged with candlewax; eaten my weight in vegan meat; gone on what I thought was a comprehensive oyster happy hour tour (there's more work to be done!), detoxed in a hyperbaric chamber, and did upside down yoga as part of #thevegasedit, our new page on vegasmagazine.com. Want me to try something and give you the inside scoop? Email me at thevegasedit@ greengale.com. Your ideas (for which you'll get credit!) could inspire what we cover in the magazine and on our site. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF