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When Katherine Gianaclis passed away on March 7, 1999, the
property on the Boulder Highway went to two of her sons, Randy and
Joey Kantor. Joey, having promised his mother that he would open her
gallery for her, went one step further. He opened the Katherine
Gianaclis Park for the Arts.
The KGPA operated for two years between 2002 and 2004, providing
Las Vegas with shows and events uncommon for the area. The KGPA
presented mini-circuses like The Yard Dogs and Circus Contraption,
freak shows like the Know-Nothing Family Zirkus/Zideshow, and even
conceptual events like the Sociometry Fair and the Professor 8000%. It
hosted the first Beckett Festival with Ernest Hemmings and Test Market
and even opened up it's doors for filmmakers to create their films.
The film component of the park gave birth to the always fun "Sh*thoof"
Film Festival also known as "Scheissenhooven." It was also briefly the
home office of the Laservida Arts Cooperative, a cutting-edge arts
group that included artists and supporters of the arts like Joe
Cartino, Julie Brewer, Kirby Brownell and Christopher Reitmaier.
In this section you will see some of the posters and flyers for
events held at the KGPA. There were many more events produced but not
listed here. If anything, these images show the energy in Las Vegas
for something more. There was no First Friday at the time and the
notion of free, open, spontaneous creation was almost foreign to the
people of Las Vegas. The KGPA helped change that by opening it's door
to anybody with an idea or a concept. Freedom was the name of the game
at the KGPA until it was forced to close its doors in 2004.
It has been written that the KGPA "kick-started" the modern arts
movement in Las Vegas. The philosophy of the KGPA was to allow freedom
and creativity to flow. The artwork of Katherine Gianaclis was a
powerful force and inspiration in ushering this new day.
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