Creative Pursuits
Painting Light Into the Desert
Priya Shah's year-long residency at the Neon Museum is rewriting how Las Vegas sees its own history.
Featuring Priya Shah · June 15, 2026
“Neon was never about nostalgia for me. It was the first language this city ever spoke.”
A Studio Made of Signs\n\nPriya Shah spends most evenings in a yard of dead neon. The Neon Museum gave her a key and a folding table; she brought a sketchbook and a pair of welding gloves.\n\n## A New Visual Vocabulary\n\nHer first installation opens in March. The pieces stitch broken letterforms from defunct casinos into new shapes.\n\n## The Year Ahead\n\n"Neon was never about nostalgia for me. It was the first language this city ever spoke."
Priya Shah is a multidisciplinary artist and the 2026 Neon Museum artist-in-residence.
#art#neon#heritage#residency
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