Arts Council

Workshop helps prospective magazine writers get published

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The chasm between being a writer and being a published writer can seem daunting, but award-winning Nevada writer Brittany Bronson has navigated it well.

Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, The Times of London, and many other print and Web-based publications.

Bronson, a 2019 Artist Fellowship Grant recipient from the Nevada Arts Council, is offering a free workshop to help fellow writers get their works published.

Titled, “How to Get Published in a Magazine,” the workshop will take place on Sunday, Feb. 10 at noon at Imagine Studio, 3037 E. Warm Springs Rd., #200, Las Vegas. Those planning to attend should RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/2318307445081342/.

The workshop is being conducted in coordination with the Nevada Arts Council and the Las Vegas Writers Lounge, a pop-up studio where writers of all levels can come together to enhance their craft.

Leading the workshop is Bronson and C. Moon Reed, a staff writer for the Las Vegas Weekly. They will discuss how to build a following and get noticed by literary agents and publishers.

As the industry has evolved from print-only to […]

Arts Council exhibit features works of seven Nevada artists

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The works of seven Nevada artists whose drawings share a simple common denominator – the mark – will be on display at the Nevada’s Arts Council’s OXS Gallery from Dec. 31 to Feb. 22.

Curated by Paul Baker Prindle, an art professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, the exhibition “Making A Mark” features 18 pieces of art by Dennis Angel of Las Vegas: Galen Brown of Carson City; Gig Depio of Las Vegas; Miya Hannan of Reno; Eunkang Koh if Reno; Dennis Parks of Tuscarora and Sidne Teske of Tuscarora.

The exhibition addresses the history and practice of drawing by narrowing in on a few Nevada artists for whom “the mark” is foundational in their work. Whether the mark is the subject of their art or a means toward an end, the practice of applying ink, paint, chalk or carbon with fingers, a stylus, pencil, ben or even a brush is elemental to each of the works on view.

The exhibit illustrates the variety of outcomes that emerge from the practice of drawing.

“Making A Mark” is part […]

Nevada Arts Council awards 3rd quarter Jackpot Grants

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The Nevada Arts Council has awarded $8,316 in Jackpot Grants for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2019.

Designed to support first-time or sudden opportunity arts and arts learning/education projects initiated by artists, teaching artists, schools, nonprofit organizations and public institutions, the grants are awarded for projects scheduled to occur between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31, 2019.

This quarter’s recipients, amount received, and projects are:

Big Four Educational Theatre Foundation (Las Vegas): awarded $1,000 to support artist fees for live musical accompaniment for their upcoming musical, “Assassins” running Jan. 18 through Feb. 3 at the Las Vegas Little Theatre.

Bonnie Kelso (Las Vegas): awarded $867 to support the creation of the story and artwork for a 24-page, full color picture book for children ages 3-8.

Cameron Crain (Reno): awarded $840 to support the creation of a new screenplay concept titled “We are Family” which is a family comedy about a Reno couple taking their blended family of 6 on a vacation to Hawaii.

Douglas Jablin (Las Vegas): awarded $927 to support production and editing of an original video documentary entitled “Balabustas,” […]

Nevada Arts Council announces changes to grants program

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The Nevada Arts Council has revised its grants programs – new grants were added and other grant programs were updated to better serve Nevada artists, organizations and public institutions.

“These changes reflect thoughtful work on behalf of the Nevada Arts Council staff and the NAC Grant Committee,” said Tony Manfredi, executive director of the Nevada Arts Council. “It represents the current mission and goals of the NAC and the National Endowment for the Arts guidance of promoting artistic excellence and artistic merit. I’m so thankful and grateful to all those from around Nevada who offered their thoughts and ideas to this work.”

Following are highlights of grant changes. The complete list of new guidelines and details on each specific grant are available on the Nevada Arts Council website: https://www.nvculture.org/nevadaartscouncil/.

The Community Impact Grant is a new two-year grant for government agencies and public institutions which funds collaborative projects that address a demonstrated community challenge or need through an arts-based approach. The potential recipients must form a partnership project team that includes at least one formal organizational project […]

Poll finds Nevadans engaged in and supportive of arts

CARSON CITY, Nevada – Three quarters of Nevada adults attended a cultural event in the past year and an equal percentage believe the arts improves the quality of life in their communities, according to the poll “Americans Speak Out About the Arts in 2018.”

The poll also found near unanimous support for arts education in K-12 schools as more than 90 percent of those surveyed saying it’s important at all levels – elementary, middle school and high school.

Seven in ten Nevadans said that creativity enhances success in the workplace, while 60 percent said their job requires them to be creative, either individually or as part of a team.

The nationwide online poll of 3,023 adults ages 18 and older was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Americans for the Arts. The national sample was supplemented by a “boost sample” from eight states (about 300 people per state), including Nevada.  The poll has a credibility interval of ±2.0 percentage points, and ±6.5 percentage points for the state specific surveys.

“What makes the results of this study so compelling and significant is that it […]

Henderson artist’s work featured at Nevada Arts Council

CARSON CITY, Nevada (September 18, 2018) – As a young artist with limited resources, Donald Corpier Starr drew inspiration from images he saw in magazines and books, and models for his drawings in his fellow parishioners in church.

From an early age, he had the knack of bringing out the personality and character of each subject featured in his drawings.

Now a collection of Starr’s works is the featured exhibit at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City, and will be in place through Nov. 9. An artist’s reception and talk will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Titled, “Color the Emotion,” Starr’s exhibit consists of people who have piqued his interest over the years. His loving, character-infused portraits provoke a variety of reactions from the viewer. Starr uses positive/negative space to portray emotions in his portraits.

His philosophy for connecting with his audience is a simple one: “If I can create a pleasing image that creates a mood or emotion in the viewer and causes them to wonder ‘Who is this person?’ then I have accomplished my goal,” said Starr, […]

Teachers can register for Nevada Poetry Out Loud

CARSON CITY, Nevada (Sept. 7, 2018) – Registration is under way for the Nevada’s 2019 Poetry Out Loud competition and high school teachers and students throughout the state are invited to get involved.

Registration is open to all high-school aged Nevada public, private, charter, parochial and alternative schools and home school associations. Structured similarly to the National Spelling Bee, Poetry Out Loud is focused on literary heritage through memorization and performance of classic and contemporary works.

“The talent and confidence we see in students, who get on stage and make these works their own, is just really remarkable,” said Maryjane Dorofachuk, arts learning specialist for the Nevada Arts Council, a sponsor of the program. “These teenagers inspire and they learn that words matter.”

The Poetry Out Loud state champion earns $200, wins $500 for his or her school to support literary programs, and travels to Washington, D.C., to compete for $100,000 in scholarships and school prizes at the national finals.

Preparing for the competition, students get the chance to sharpen their analytical skills, discover new things and explore their creative side. The Nevada […]

Reception, artist talk highlights Basque tree carvings

CARSON CITY, Nevada – A reception and talk featuring Reno artist Jean Earl will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City.

The event, which is free and open to the public, starts at 5:30 p.m., with the artist talk scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

For more than half a century, Jean Earl, and her husband, Phillip, used clues from old maps, letters and books to hunt for and document Basque arborglyphs – distinctive figures carved by Basque sheepherders into aspen trees found in the high country meadows of the Great Basin.

The endeavor led to the book, “Mountain Picassos: Basque Arborglyphs of the Great Basin,” and an art exhibit of the same name, which has been featured at the OXS Gallery since late July. The exhibition ends on Sept. 7.

These figures, along with the names, dates, and sayings were carved in the early to mid- 20th century. Jean Earl evolved a unique method of preserving the carvings, using canvas and artists’ wax to create rubbings – two-dimensional representations of the carvings that are works […]

Nevada Arts Council awards literary, performing arts fellowships

CARSON CITY, Nevada (August 3, 2018) – The Nevada Arts Council announced Friday the awarding of $50,000 in fellowship grants to Nevada artists and writers.

Las Vegas jazz musician and composer Eugene Shapiro received the Arts Council’s $7,000 Fellowship Project Grant for his proposal to create a digital audio recording of his original jazz compositions, followed by a concert at The Smith Center in Las Vegas.

Four recipients in both literary arts and performing arts each receive grants of $5,000, with three additional recipients receiving honorable mention grants of $500 each.

The literary arts fellowship recipients are Ann Keniston of Reno (poetry), Mark Maynard of Reno (fiction), Sherry Rosenthal of Las Vegas (fiction) and Lindsay Wilson of Reno (poetry). Honorable mention recipients are Brittany Bronson of Las Vegas (nonfiction), Annie Reed of Sparks (fiction) and Amanda Skenandore of Las Vegas (fiction).

The performing arts fellowship recipients are Jennifer Grim of Las Vegas (music perfomer/flute), Troy Heard of Las Vegas (theater director), Ann Marie Pereth of Las Vegas (theater director) and Mykola Suk of Las Vegas (music performer/piano). Honorable mention recipients were Rosie Trump […]

Nevada Arts Council exhibit highlights Basque tree carvings

CARSON CITY, Nevada – Beneath the canopy of quaking aspen groves in the high desert of Nevada can be found an outdoor art gallery and a glimpse of Basque history in the American West.

Basque tree carvings, or arborglyphs, have long been of interest to historians, Basque scholars, foresters and hikers. Carved by Basque sheepherders tending their flocks across the Great Basin, the carvings are at the crossroads where art, culture and nature come together.

The carvings are the subject of the exhibit, “Mountain Picassos: Basque Arborglyphs of the Great Basin,” at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City. The exhibit debuted July 30 and will remain in place through Sept. 7.

The exhibit is based on the book of the same name by Reno’s Jean and Phillip Earl. For more than half a century, the Earls used clues from old maps, letters and books to hunt for and document “Mountain Picassos” – distinctive figures carved into aspen trees found in the high country meadows of the Great Basin.

These figures, along with the names, dates, and sayings were carved in […]

Traditional Japanese dancer Fumiko Duncan to receive Nevada Heritage Award

CARSON CITY, Nevada (July 10, 2018) – Fumiko Duncan, a traditional Japanese Tendo dance teacher from Henderson, has been selected as the recipient of the Nevada Arts Council’s Nevada Heritage Award for fiscal year 2019.

The award recognizes master folk and traditional artists of Nevada who, at the highest level of excellence and authenticity, carry forward the folk traditions of their families and communities through practice and teaching.

A certified master instructor, Duncan studied Tendo – a 20th Century style of Kabuki, in her native Japan with Miyoko Maruyama, who created Tendo dance in the 1950s.

For the past 12 years, Duncan has taught traditional Japanese Tendo dance to groups of Japanese American women at the West Flamingo Senior Center in Las Vegas. Students study and practice dance and the use of dance accessories including fans, umbrellas and flowers for two hours each week.

They meet between August 1 and March 30 to prepare for performances as the Tendo Baikoki group, which performs at Chinese New Year, the Aki Matsuri Festival, the Martin Luther King Day parade, the Henderson Heritage Parade and other […]

Nevada Arts Council Board elects officers

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The Nevada Arts Council Board of Directors elected members to new leadership roles at its most recent meeting.

Joe O’Neill was elected board chair, Gail Rappa as vice chair and Ryrie Valdez as treasurer for the board, which advocates on behalf of the arts and arts education in Nevada, and promotes policies and viewpoints to benefit members of the creative industry and residents throughout Nevada.

O’Neill, a member of the nine-member board since 2016, is a senior cultural specialist with the City of Las Vegas and is responsible for managing marketing, communication and grants for the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

O’Neill studied vocal performance and dance at the University of Alabama and began his career as a dancer and performer for Wald Disney World Entertainment. He is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals Emerging Leadership Institute and a graduate of the city’s Sponsored Employee Advanced Leadership (S.E.A.L.) Program.

Rappa is a professional artist, who lives in Tuscarora in Elko County with her husband and fellow artist Ron Arthaud and their two children.

Rappa creates one-of-a-kind wearable […]

Arts Council hosts artist’s talk, reception with Matthew Couper

CARSON CITY, Nevada – A reception and artist talk featuring NAC Fellow and Las Vegas artist Matthew Couper will take place at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City on Tuesday, July 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, Inc., the talk begins at 6:15 p.m. The event is open to the public and free.

Couper’s exhibition, “From Dust to Water” has been featured at the OXS Gallery since May 21, and will remain in place until July 13. The OXS Gallery is located at 716 N. Carson St., Suite A, in Carson City. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free.

In his exhibition, “From Dust to Water,” the Las Vegas-based Couper uses the language of symbols – skeletons and cacti, blenders and playing cards – to combine pictorial elements in witty and incisive visual narratives.

Social commentary is the emphasis in the Couper’s works, and he often uses Las Vegas iconography to get there, but these artworks aren’t just about the Valley. Their surreal content […]

Reno artist Paul Baker Prindle to discuss ‘Making a Mark’ exhibit

CARSON CITY, Nevada – The Nevada Arts Council’s traveling exhibition “Making a Mark” tells of the rich history of drawing through the example of a handful of Nevada artists.

The exhibit’s curator, Paul Baker Prindle, will be presenting a short gallery talk about the exhibition on Sunday, July 1 at the Student Galleries South inside the Jot Travis Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The talk will be followed by a reception for the both the “Making a Mark” exhibit and the new exhibit, “Sa Ra Lee: Contemplation through Art.”

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served and parking on campus is free for the evening. The Jot Travis Building is located at 1164 N. Virginia St., at the intersection of Artemisia Way and North Virginia.

In his talk, Baker Prindle will expand on the themes of the exhibition and answer questions from attendees.

Prindle is a Nevada Arts Council Artist Fellow in Visual Arts and has exhibited his work around the country, including New York; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Baton Rouge, La.; St. Louis, […]

Nevada Arts Council awards $10K in quarterly jackpot grants

CARSON CITY, Nevada (June 20, 2018) – The Nevada Arts Council has awarded $10,000 in Jackpot Grants for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019.

Designed to support first-time or sudden opportunity arts and arts learning/education projects initiated by artists, teaching artists, schools, nonprofit organizations and public institutions, the grants were awarded for projects scheduled to occur between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2018.

This quarter’s recipients, and the amount they received, are:

Eve Allen Garza (Reno), $925
Zoe Bray (Reno), $600
Keely Cobb (Reno), $731
Eureka Restoration Enterprise (Eureka), $700
Jeff Fulmer (Henderson), $908
Miya Hannan (Reno), $1,000
Alex Ryuta Hayashi (Las Vegas), $1,000
Scott Hinton (Reno), $915
Jeannie Hua (Las Vegas), $630
Ian Racoma (Las Vegas), $858
JK Russ (Las Vegas), $848
Elena Wherry (Las Vegas), $885.

The grants were first reviewed by a grants review panel on June 6 and received final approval from the Nevada Arts Council Board of Directors on June 11.

Las Vegas artist, photographer collaborate on exhibit

(April 25, 2018) Las Vegas artist Gig Depio and photographer Eugene Rolfe have collaborated for an exhibit showcasing Rolfe’s photographs taken in rural South Korea in 1976 at the Sahara West Library Gallery in Las Vegas.

An opening reception for “Korea ‘76” will be held Thursday, May 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the exhibit will remain in place through July 15.

This selection of images, curated by Depio, highlights the interweaving of American culture – and its underlying political and socio-economic influences – into the more traditional lives of people living in rural South Korea.

Rolfe, a photographer from Las Vegas, was an officer in the U.S. Air Force for 25 years was stationed at Osan Air Force Base in the Republic of Korea in 1976. Rolfe has always been interested in the diversity of people and their cultural history. He pursued photography in the mid-1970s as a means of capturing the uniqueness of rural life of the people of South Korea.

Depio, a Nevada Arts Council fellowship honorable mention grantee, presents the conjunctions of contemporary and historical forces in the […]