Aaron Berger is a lover of the arts. He appreciates it, studies it, shares it, supports it and for more than 25 years has built his career around it. Berger is currently the executive director for Neon Museum, his fourth executive director position with a museum. He studied art history in college and earned an MBA, and after graduation he plied his trade in cities like Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. “Balance of left brain and right brain is what I love about being in museums because it’s really a combination of both (degrees),” says Berger.
His studies and past work experience are what helps him succeed in his new position at Neon Museum, which he accepted this summer.
“My job entails overseeing and directing the programming and fundraising initiatives, exposure of the museum, day-to-day operations, staffing and most of all creating a really memorable experience for our visitors,” he says. “There’s no place in Las Vegas that is more iconic than the Neon Museum. The thing that I love about Vegas is that it changes—every year it’s a different landscape. But here at the museum, we’re preserving those changes, so you get a chance to have that connection, that history. It a great way to connect with the city.”
The Moulin Rouge sign, Berger says, is his favorite because of its history. “Living and working in the South, I was very aware of the history of the civil rights movement,” he explains. “So, when I came to the museum and learned about Moulin Rouge and its importance in the civil rights movement—that’s when I knew this was a true museum and something I wanted to be a part of.”
Berger works toward expanding the museum’s importance in the community, and one can easily see that Berger himself is inspired by the history and art he oversees. “Art is always and will always be core to my human being without a doubt.”
Highlight: Stardust Sign
It’s one of the most popular and Instagrammable signs in the museum, says Berger. The Stardust sign dates to 1958 and now appears in the Neon Boneyard as it was last seen shining on the Las Vegas Strip before the hotel was imploded in 2006. It measures 216 feet long and 27 feet high, and when it was first built featured 11,000 light bulbs and 7,000 feet of neon. The Stardust sign is just one of more than 200 signs guests can snap pictures of and learn the history behind when touring the museum. Some of the city’s oldest neon signs come back to life by way of innovative technology in the museum’s North Gallery.
Benefit: Find the QR code to learn the history of the 11 icons of the Las Vegas Luminaries mural on the North Gallery wall.
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