Bringing Sin To Vegas With Dr. Laura Henkel
She’s vivacious, sexy and worldly.
She’s curated exhibits at the Erotic Heritage Museum in town.
She’s the owner of Sin City Gallery – a place to escape the doldrums of ‘conservative’ art.
She’s changing the artistic landscape of Downtown Las Vegas, but quietly.
And yes, she has seen more than 300 hours of adult films (more on this later).
The intriguing Dr. Laura Henkel, who landed in Vegas in 2008, did so with a bang as she helped conceive the Erotic Heritage Museum where she worked until 2010.
“I was very resistant to Vegas in the beginning,” said Henkel. “But now, it’s in my blood. I’m not a true native, but I’m definitely a citizen of Vegas and I take that to heart.”
It’s Henkel’s courage, ideas, concepts and knowledge combined that make her one of Vegas’ finest and most interesting citizens. She’s pushing boundaries for Vegas visitors and locals alike, plus she’s inadvertently changing the artistic landscape through her ventures, some of which include Sin City Gallery and ArtCulture PR.
“I would like Sin City Gallery to be the Sotheby’s and Christie’s of ‘erotica’ – sophisticated, sexy art,” she stated. “And, that’s the only time I actually use the term erotica.”
Officially created in 2010, Sin City Gallery is an intimate art gallery that offers some larger than life concepts that may have you blushing yet leaving you intrigued at the same time.
Henkel uses her education and previous experiences to curate exhibits at her gallery. She has doctorates in advanced study of human sexuality and museum studies. During her study she was required to view more than 300 hours of adult film footage. The Erotic Heritage Museum was something she did for her dissertation. Not something many folks can include in their repertoire of work history.
True to its name, Sin City Gallery is a place where you can see sinfully delightful artwork. Most might describe it as erotica, but, as Henkel states, that’s not an accurate description.
“I’m not comfortable with the term erotica, because I think it gives people a negative connotation,” she said. “I realize a lot of people want to put me in a corner for erotic art with Sin City Gallery. They just think that’s what I do, but I can offer so much more, not only to cultural organizations, but to artists.”
And thus ArtCulture PR was born. Now that Sin City Gallery has passed out of its infant stages, Henkel is adding marketing wonder woman to her already hulked out resume.
“I just really want to make an impact with the art,” she said. “To empower artists to do anything as long as they’re focused and put their mind to it.”
ArtCulture PR is essentially as it sounds – a marketing, public relations firm for artists. While Henkel began this business in January, she already has several clients from exotic locales like Moscow and Berlin.
“Having your own business is hard, you have to be really conscientious of how you invest your time,” she said. “But you have to invest in yourself.”
Another one of Henkel’s hopes, for which she’s quietly planting the seed among the Vegas community, is to host an international arts festival in town.
“We’re an undiscovered gem,” she said. “I’ll just 'say' that I want to see an international art fair here – I think Vegas is prime for that.”
When Henkel isn’t busy working, you can find her at her favorite local hotspots like Commonwealth, dancing the night away at Florida Café, noshing at a Frank Sinatra’s old stop inside Tiffany’s Café, the Chandelier Room in the Cosmopolitan and Huntridge Tavern.
“When you talk about a dive,” she said proudly of the Huntridge Theatre. “That’s a dive.”
No matter where Henkel goes, she seems to make an impact and she plans on keeping Vegas a permanent part of her life.
“I see one foot firmly planted in Vegas,” she said of her future plans. “And one foot everywhere else; I see myself as a world citizen.”
