Art and urban renewal: public and private developments in Las Vegas

This paper examines the use of art in urban redevelopment projects and its role in the construction of place. The focus is on the introduction and demise of art galleries and museums on the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown and the centrality of art to the marketing of recent high-profile mixed-use developments. The concern is with sites that reveal the complex relations between private investment, local government and the various publics who inhabit urban spaces. Research methods for this paper include interviews with local art critics, curators, artists and cultural commentators and an analysis of the discursive textual production of developers and government institutions. An article based on this conference paper has been submitted to the journal 'Place Branding and Public Diplomacy' for peer review – awaiting feedback