Las Vegas artist Brent Holmes and chef Natalie Young pair art and chuck wagon food for 'The Black Cowboy' on November 5

What happened

Las Vegas artist Brent Holmes and chef Natalie Young are teaming up for a November 5 event called The Black Cowboy, the Las Vegas Sun reported. It takes place at 6 p.m. at Young's Echo Taste & Sound, and admission is free. The evening pairs Holmes' Jones Ranch Egypt exhibition with a chuck wagon style meal.

According to the Sun, the show will stay at Echo for a week after the event and then move to The Process Studio. Nicole Holt of The Process Studio, who curated this version of the exhibition, suggested replacing the usual wine-and-cheese opening with an experience that covers all the senses.

The art behind the event

Jones Ranch Egypt

Holmes grew up on a Texas cattle ranch, and the Sun describes him as both an artist and a proper cowboy. Jones Ranch Egypt is a series of ink-and-paper images that he has been refining for roughly the last five years. The Sun reported that the work speaks up for Black cowboys who have been left out of history and myth.

An Afro-Western approach

"I'm co-mingling African iconography with Western iconography in a sensibility that I'm loosely referring to as Afro-Western," Holmes told the Sun. He said the series celebrates what he sees as two stolen histories. One is the taking of African artifacts and culture over the last 500 years. The other is the way the presence of African Americans in cowboy culture has been obscured.

The history Holmes draws on

The story of Bass Reeves

The Sun's story points to Bass Reeves, a lawman born in 1838 who was an expert marksman and detective. He spoke the languages of multiple Indigenous tribes and made more than 3,000 career arrests. Reeves inspired the fictional Lone Ranger, a character that dominated radio and television from the 1930s through the 1950s, but that character did not carry his name or face because Reeves was Black.

"That's why he worked alone, because he didn't have the support of his white peers," Holmes said of Reeves. Holmes added that Reeves spoke with Indigenous people because they accepted him more than his European-born counterparts did.

The food and the conversation

A chuck wagon menu

Young plans to serve her own chuck wagon spread, the Sun reported. The menu includes biscuits, beef jerky and mushroom jerky, collard greens and mustard greens, and her chicken. She will also talk about Black cowboys and their influence on American eating.

How Young learned about Black cowboys

Young, who grew up in Colorado, told the Sun she never learned about cowboys as a child and did not know there were Black cowboys until about 10 years ago. That changed in Houston, where she saw a trail ride and a big parade featuring Black cowboys with their chuck wagons.

She noted that ranchers had enslaved people watching their cattle, which she said is part of the history behind the word cowboy. "We can take that and give honor where honor is due, and recognition where recognition is due," Young told the Sun.

Event details

The Black Cowboy runs at 6 p.m. on November 5 at Echo Taste & Sound, and it is free, according to the Sun. More information is listed at echotastesound.com. Readers looking for other local cultural gatherings can browse our community coverage, including the recent Día de los Muertos celebration downtown.

What to watch next

• The Black Cowboy event takes place November 5 at 6 p.m. at Echo Taste & Sound, with free admission.
• Jones Ranch Egypt will remain on view at Echo for a week after the event.
• The exhibition will then move to The Process Studio, where Nicole Holt curated this version of the show.