Laura Henkel

Laura Henkel
Born 6 February 1967
Miami, Florida
Website www.laurahenkel.com

Laura Henkel (born 6 February 1967) is a sexologist[1][2] and gallerist.[3] She is best known for her work with museum curation[4][5] and for her Downtown Las Vegas arts venues.[6][7]

Education and background

Born in Miami, Florida, Henkel spent her formative years in Irving, Texas. She later attended John F. Kennedy University where she earned her B.A., Liberal Arts. She continued her studies at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco, and was awarded a Doctorate in Human Sexuality and a PhD in Erotology.

Curation and galleries

Erotic Heritage Museum

After demonstrating expertise in the appraisal and sourcing of vintage erotic items, Henkel was asked to open and curate the nonprofit Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The project initially became her Ph.D dissertation and later involved the professional curation and management of a 17,000 square-foot arts and history exhibition area and an additional 7,000 square-feet of revolving art installations.[8][9][10] She was periodically sent by museum management to parts of Europe and Asia to collect, appraise, and transport items for official EHM exhibits.[11][12]

The facility received international recognition, named one of the World's 12 Sexiest Museums in 2010.[13] Under Henkel's direction, the museum was also host to a variety of art-related functions, including an uncensored Shakespearean presentation[14] and a variety of performance art shows.[15]

Sin City Gallery

Laura Henkel's "Sin City Gallery" began as Laura Henkel Fine Arts, a small contemporary gallery which continued Henkel's exploration of human sexuality through the arts.[16] The space would later rebrand as Sin City Gallery,[17] becoming an internationally recognized venue with exhibits and installations across a variety of mediums by artists including Hajime Sorayama,[18][19] New Zealand videographer JK Russ,[20] fine art photographers Bunny Yeager,[21] Steve Diet Goedde,[22] and Justice Howard,[23] among others.[24][25]

In 2013, Sin City Gallery was awarded "Best Gallery in Nevada" from the nationally considered American Art Awards.[26][27]

12 Inches of Sin

In 2010, Laura Henkel began the "12 Inches of Sin" annual juried erotic arts show and competition as an effort to promote her Sin City Gallery.[28][29] With its call for entries judged by a panel of international experts of the field,[30][31][32][33] the show quickly gathered a worldwide following and brought artists from all over the globe into the Las Vegas Arts District,[34] beginning with 40 submissions of art from five countries in its first year and growing to 300 submissions and 20 countries in its fourth.[35]

In 2015, Henkel folded the success of the "12 Inches" venture into a fully funded Kickstarter campaign, raising funds for the publication of a coffee table book featuring various works of the show in a four-volume set entitled "12 Inches of Sin: So Much Art You Can Barely Fit It All In".[36]

Other curation

As arts curator and appraiser, Laura Henkel has independently organized and managed a number of educational lectures, exhibits, and art installations, including the 2013 cross-cultural US opening of South Korean sculptor Wook Jang Cheung,[37][38] which she coordinated through Chinese liaison Shunmei Jin.[39]

Henkel's educational lectures includes the 2014 "Queerly Provocative" panel, a discussion of LGBTQ community issues as they relate to the world of art.[40][41]

References

  1. ↑ "Laura Henkel: Las Vegas Sexologist Talks About the Intellectual Stimulation of Her Unique Museum". Vegas Seven. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Scientific Advisory Board". South Asia Institute for Human Sexuality. 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "These Women Are All Business". DTLV (Downtown Las Vegas). 26 March 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Paid to Ponder and Gather Erotic Art". Reuters (US Edition). 10 September 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Porn Museum Nestled in Sin City". Los Angeles Times. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sin City Gallery Named Best in Nevada". 18b: The Las Vegas Arts District. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Q&A: Dr. Laura Henkel". Parlay Magazine. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Erotic Heritage Philosophy". The Las Vegas Sun. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Embracing Erotic Art". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Inside the Erotic Heritage Museum". YouTube/Las Vegas Weekly. 24 September 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Curator of the Erotic". Las Vegas Weekly. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Q&A Laura Henkel: Unashamed to Explore Eros, Museum Gives People 'Permission to Be Themselves'". The Las Vegas Sun. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Visit the World's 12 Sexiest Museums". ABC News. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Shakespeare with a Wink and a Nudge". The Las Vegas Sun. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "'Burly-Q' to the Weekly: What Do You Mean, Not a Lot of Burlesque?". Las Vegas Dance Insider. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Small Space, Big Dreams". Las Vegas Weekly. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "A Sin By Any Other Name". Vegas Seven. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Heavy Metal". issuu. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Sorayama's Sexy Cyborg Pin-Ups Do Vegas". The Creators Project. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Artist JK Russ' Video Celebrates Female Empowerment". Vegas Seven. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Bunny Yeager, Pin-Up Pioneer: Sin City Gallery Celebrates the Model/Photographer". Las Vegas Weekly. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Photographer Steve Diet Goedde Gets Inimate in 'New Works at Sin City Gallery". Las Vegas Weekly. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  23. ↑ "From Kink to Ink: A Former Fetish Photographer Gets Rude". Vegas Seven. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  24. ↑ "Allan Teger Returns to Sin City Gallery with 'Bodyscapes'". Las Vegas Weekly. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "François Dubeau's Seductive Simplicity". Culture of the Senses. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "American Art Awards: Best in State 2013". American Art Awards. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "President of American Art Awards Names Sin City Gallery Best in Nevada, 2013". Highlight Hollywood. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Gallery to Feature Art Outtakes from '12 Inches of Sin' Show". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Art Exhibit Challenges Ideas of Eroticism". National Public Radio. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Call for Art Invites Opportunity to Exhibit: '12 Inches of Sin' at Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Arts Commission. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Artist Call Detail: 12 Inches of Sin International Juried Art Exhibition". California Arts Council. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  32. ↑ "12 Inches of Sin and Le Salon des Refusés du Péché 3rd Annual International Juried Art Exhibition". 18b: Las Vegas Arts District. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  33. ↑ "Call for Art Entries: 12 Inches of Sin 2015". ArtSlant Worldwide. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  34. ↑ "12 Inches of Sin Opening Exhibition". Las Vegas Arts Commission. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  35. ↑ "Q&A: Dr. Laura Henkel Discusses '12 Inches of Sin' Kickstarter Campaign". XBiz: Adult Industry News. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  36. ↑ "Kickstarter: 12 Inches of Sin, Volumes I - IV". Kickstarter. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "Wook Jang Cheung in Vegas". Asian American Press. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "Wook Jang Cheung's Surreal Silver Sculpture at Crystals". Las Vegas Weekly. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  39. ↑ "Korean Artist's Journey Begins At Crystals". Schulman Says: Direct from Vegas. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  40. ↑ "The "Provocative" Posse". Paint This Desert. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  41. ↑ "Suzanne Shifflett Brings 'The Sum of All Its Parts' to Sin City Gallery". Las Vegas Weekly. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

External links

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