Chris Lanier is the new City Artist
The city of Reno announced in January that Chris Lanier is the new City Artist for 2024.
Lanier works in several media including digital animation, web production and comics. He is a professor of digital art at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, and a contributing writer for Double Scoop (where, full disclosure, I am the founder and editor) and the Capital City Arts Initiative.
As part of Lanier’s City Artist activities, he’s scheduled to have a solo exhibition at the Metro Gallery in Reno City Hall beginning March 28, and he plans to curate a group exhibition there in summer.
Jesse James Ziegler is the new Reno Poet Laureate
The city of Reno also announced in January that Jesse James Ziegler is the new Reno Poet Laureate for 2024-25.
Ziegler is the creator and manager of Monday Night Poetry and vice president for the Spoken Views Collective. He is a member of the Sierra Literary Cooperative and the spoken word/poetry contributor to Reno Arts News.
“Poetry is the language of bridge building, activism, catharsis, edification and love,” said Ziegler, according to a news release. “I intend to further the art form in our region through community building and community service.”
Artist Galen Brown has died
Galen Brown, the Carson City artist known for his ambitious, abstract drawings, died on Jan. 10.
Brown was born in Reno in 1959, and raised in Kings Beach, Calif., on Lake Tahoe’s north shore. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute.
He often drew obsessively meditative concentric circles with pencil on pieces of matboard up to 12 feet across; they sometimes took years, or even decades, to produce. Brown had a solo exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art in 2019 and was represented by Melhop Gallery º7077.
Burning Man announces 2024 temple
Burning Man announced the 2024 temple design on Jan. 17 on the Burning Man Journal.
The structure, slated to be constructed this summer, is the “Temple of Together” by Caroline Ghosn. It will include a central chamber with communal seating; a private indoor space for reflection, meditation and communion; and four open-air shrines with seating and shade. The structure’s design incorporates neo-Gothic, Art Deco and futuristic aesthetics.
Pioneer Center unveils new bike rack sculpture by Mike Burke
The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts unveiled a new bike rack sculpture by Mike Burke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 5.
The bike rack is shaped like a somewhat abstract upright piano; the white keys are rectangular shapes to which bikes can be locked. Among Burke’s other local outdoor sculptures are the “Pollinator Garden Sculpture” in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, “Rising Together” in Somersett West Park, and “Slinky Dog Bike Rack” in the Biggest Little Dog Park.
Another bike rack by Los Angeles artist Jeanette Degollado is slated to be installed at the Pioneer later this year.
New performing arts hub to open this spring
Sierra Nevada Ballet announced that it will open a new performing arts hub, the Nevada Performing Arts Collective, in collaboration with other groups, including Steinway Piano Gallery and Music School, the Sierra School of Performing Arts and Silver State Storytellers.
Organizers envision the project as “a unified space where ballet, musical theater, filmmaking, writing and piano seamlessly come together.” Plans include a space for showcasing visual arts as well.
The collective will be located at 500 E. Moana Lane, in Reno. Organizers are planning a grand opening event for May. To learn more or to contribute to the project’s capital campaign, visit sierranevadaballet.org.
Las Vegas announces new art museum
The Las Vegas City Council has approved “an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Las Vegas Museum of Art to continue working on plans for a 90,000-square-foot, three-story art museum in Symphony Park at the southwest corner of South City Parkway and Symphony Park Avenue.”
According to ArtNews, the new project is not affiliated with the Nevada Museum of Art, whose plan for a major Las Vegas museum was scrapped in 2020.
KTVN Channel 13 in Las Vegas reported, “Philanthropist Elaine Wynn, whose foundation is a major player in this project, spoke at the meeting, saying the problem in the past was not having enough art for the space. To ensure that’s not a problem this time around, Wynn said they’ve partnered with” the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The Reno Arts and Culture Commission seeks new members
The Reno Arts and Culture Commission has two vacancies open. One is allocated for an arts educator; the other is an at-large position that is open to anyone. Applications are due Friday, Feb. 16. To apply, fill out the boards and commissions application at www.reno.gov/government/boards-commissions.
Save the date for a new statewide arts conference
The Nevada Arts Council plans to hold a new statewide art conference at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Reno from May 30 to June 1. The conference will be open to the public. To see announcements as they are released, follow @nvartscouncil on Instagram.