To NFT or not to NFT? That is the question, and more, for Arts and Tech in our Creative Economy

Join Eat More Art Vegas at Art Square for a panel at Tech Alley, 3/18/23.

Join Eat More Art LLC and cNFTcon for a blockchain conversation.

"Culture War Rubble or Creative Renaissance?" Was our headline for the recent recap of the City of Las Vegas' Arts and Culture Summit last month. The Creative Economy will reign supreme in our time at the dawn of the third millennium, but to what end? Will it be an era of advancement fueled by human inspiration in concert with technological discovery, or a rush toward a dark age with ill-informed exploitation of creative enterprise in competition with AI fads and Big Tech?

Creative workers need to learn as quickly as they can about blockchain, NFTs, cryptocurrency, and AI not only to survive financially, but to advance and improve our condition as a society. I have studied and taught enough about Shakespeare's age to know that a renaissance does not come until the Artists of the world grab hold of innovation and make it work for them. I grew up in Silicon Valley in it's early years and I have learned hard lessons about what a double-edged sword the tech industry is to our creative ecosystem. Arts workers who learn early survive and create opportunity. Eat More Art Vegas is on a mission to make that easier for local artists to do just that.

Learning about tech is easier in person where you can ask questions face to face. Here are two opportunities:

Join Eat More Art LLC, cNFTcon, and the UNLV SBDC at Tech Alley, Saturday, 11 AM at Art Square Theatre for an open panel discussion and free networking opportunity. Come earlier for coffee, or stay after for Coastal Mediterranean hors d'oeuvre and networking.

Click here for more info or just show up at Art Square at 11am!

Attend cNFTcon this September 29th through October 1st, 2023. Attendees will learn a number of topics in the space including the basics of blockchain, artificial intelligence, NFTs, DAOs, staking, digital ID, security, Metaverse, and how all of these will change or impact business, government, education, economy and entertainment. Partners include the UNLV Office of Economic Development, zenGate Global, Clay Nation, Forgotten, IAMX, and Beyond Rockets.

BOULDER CITY’S DAM SHORT FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS FEB. 16-20

The Dam Short Film Festival’s lineup includes over 150 short films, more than 30 programs, Q&As with the filmmakers, and more

Movie lovers can once again enjoy Nevada’s largest film festival in person after two years of virtual-only experiences. The 19th Annual Dam Short Film Festival will screen 153 short films over a 5-day period February 16-20, 2023, in the Elaine K. Smith Center in downtown Boulder City, Nevada.

Audiences will experience a record 31 thematic 60- to 90-minute program blocks with categories including Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Horror, International, Sci-Fi, Nevada, Music Videos, Love & Romance, and Underground. This year’s festival features films from a wide variety of countries like Iceland, China, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, Netherlands, France, Poland, and many more. As a bonus, the festival will repeat four of the most popular programs on Monday and screen every single award-winning film in two special programs.

“We are beyond thrilled to once again present our excellent and diverse programming to live audiences who can share their love of short films together,” said Lee Lanier, Co-Founder and Director of Continuity. “We’re grateful to the public that made our virtual festival a success the last two years and ecstatic to be back in person to showcase the quality and unique short films in our 19th Annual Festival, continuing to run as one of our community’s favorite cultural events!”

Boulder City and its small-town charm will welcome visitors for the five days of festival fun. The short films will be enjoyed with state-of-the-art digital projection in the Elaine K. Smith Center located at 700 Wyoming St, Boulder City, NV, 89005.

In addition to the screenings and filmmakers' Q&A during each category block, the Festival will feature a filmmaker Meet-n-Greet, Coffee with Filmmakers, and Dam Mixer. The Sunday night in-person Awards Presentation will also be live-streamed so everyone can tune in to find out which films win the various audience-determined awards.

Tickets are $12.50 per film block or $150 for the full five-day pass; $45 a day passes for Thursday and Monday, and $50 a day passes for Friday and Saturday are also available. Tickets can be purchased HERE. For the full schedule of selected films, visit damshortfilm.org.

Dam Short Film Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was founded in 2003 by Lee and Anita Lanier. The pair developed a love of short films while traveling to numerous film festivals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Lee has worked in film production and computer animation since 1989 and directed a half-dozen short films. In 2008, the festival moved to the historic Boulder Theatre. John LaBonney served as festival director from 2012 to 2019, expanding the scope of the event and reaching sell-out crowds. Today, the Dam Short Film Festival has become a traditional Southern Nevada cultural event that attracts thousands of visitors to Boulder City each February. The festival has welcomed scores of filmmakers from all over the world and has screened several thousand unique independent short films during its history. For more information visit damshortfilm.org; like on Facebook @damshortfilm; and follow on Twitter @damshortfilm and Instagram @damshortfilm.

Dam Short Film Festival is supported, in part, by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the state of Nevada. Funding to support this organization has been provided by Nevada Humanities through Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Throughout its 19 years, Dam Short Film Festival has screened more than 2,500 films – giving local, state, national, and international filmmakers a platform to showcase their films, and audiences access to these unique and original stories.

TASTE Vegas Arts - Eat More Art Vegas Jan 2023 Digest

Check out our first TASTE Vegas Arts Digest of 2023 for a creative start to your New Year! #EatMoreArt #VegasBornArts #vegasculture

TASTE Vegas Arts here!