About
The Nevada Arts Council
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, was created as a state agency in 1967. With offices in Carson City and Las Vegas, Nevada Arts Council programs serve as a catalyst to stimulate artistic, creative, cultural, and economic activity across the state, enliven its breadth of communities, ensure lifelong learning in the arts for all Nevadans, and to encourage public and private support for the arts.
The agency has a staff of 13 full-time program and administrative staff and a nine-member board whose members are appointed by the Governor. The Nevada Arts Council is divided into six programs as accessible portals for our constituents and members of the public alike, Artist Services, Arts Learning, Community Arts Development, Folklife, Grants, and Public Initiatives. Through these program areas, the agency provides grant funding, offers professional assistance to the state’s creative industry (artists, educators cultural organizations, and schools), and coordinates statewide outreach programming, initiatives and activities for Nevada residents and visitors. Nevada Arts Council grants, programs, and services are guided by a statewide planning process and a strategic plan.
Mission
To ensure that arts and creativity will continue to grow and play an ever-increasing part in the economic vitality, cultural development, quality of life, and educational experience of the residents of the State of Nevada.
Vision
A Nevada in which arts and creativity are understood for how they enrich the lives of all residents, enhance the livability of our communities, and contribute to the state’s economic vitality.
Goals
- Arts Education – conduct workshops, mentorships, professional development opportunities, regional and statewide convenings, and funding for contemporary and traditional artists, non-profit and cultural organizations, and public institutions. In addition, increasing arts education and arts integration into the curriculum of Nevada’s Pre-K-12 schools and promoting lifelong learning through use of arts and creativity in the social development, health, and healing for all Nevada citizens.
- Economic Vitality – addressing Nevadans access to arts and creativity through the recovery and sustainability of artists and arts organizations by creating funding opportunities, promoting cultural tourism, collaborating with government and business, improving creative infrastructure, developing financial viable creative districts, and supporting cultural awareness, understanding, and preservation.
- Healthy Communities – collaborating with partners to increase the understanding, use, and financial support of arts and creativity to aid in the healing, wellbeing, quality of life initiatives, and aging of Nevada’s residents.
What We Do
The NAC encompasses six program areas that work together and independently to effectively serve our diverse statewide constituency.
Honors and showcases the work of Nevada’s contemporary literary, performing, and visual artists to the public through exhibits, grants, and outreach programs. Provides resources to artists for career development. Helps Nevadans understand the vital role that artists contribute to a creative workforce.
Supports the goal of lifelong learning in the arts by promoting and expanding quality arts education opportunities for all Nevada citizens. Has three program focuses that include Arts Education, Arts Integration, and Arts for Social Development.
Supports Nevada’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations, municipalities, public institutions, and tribal governments with programs and services aimed to elevate the arts and cultural infrastructure and organizational capacity statewide.
Supports the folk and traditional arts activities of individuals, organizations, and communities through grants, consultations, producing and documenting projects and exhibitions, and technical assistance.
Reflects a significant commitment by the State and the Federal Government to support the creation of arts and access to the arts for its citizens.
Oversees Nevada Arts Council Board engagement, partnership initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and special projects that promote Nevada’s arts industry, support the agency’s mission and goals and strengthen the state’s cultural infrastructure.
Strategic Planning
The Nevada Arts Council engages in a formal planning process to gather feedback about the agency’s programs and policies, assess the needs of Nevada’s arts industry, and investigate the state of the arts in Nevada’s communities. Through a combination of community meetings, focus groups, and individual conversations, Nevada Arts Council staff and board engage in a dynamic statewide conversation on the arts. The Agency also distributes an online survey to the public. The information gathered during the planning process informs the agency’s strategic plan, results in new programs and services , and forges new relationships. The strategic plan guides the work of the agency and is shared with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of Nevada.