Recent News

Arts Council director to receive Nevada Humanities award

CARSON CITY, Nevada (March 22, 2017) – Nevada Arts Council Executive Director Susan Boskoff will be honored with the Nevada Arts & Humanities Award for Public Service during the 2017 Nevada Humanities Awards Ceremony on Thursday, March 30 at the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City.

Nevada Arts Council Executive Director Susan Boskoff, right, interviews National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu in Reno, Nevada on March 10, 2017. Guy Clifton/Nevada Arts Council

Nevada Arts Council Executive Director Susan Boskoff, right, interviews National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu in Reno, Nevada on March 10, 2017. Guy Clifton/Nevada Arts Council

Boskoff leaves the agency on March 31 after 24 years at the helm of the Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. During her tenure, Boskoff increased the agency’s capacity to support Nevada’s cultural workforce, and expanded access to and public participation in the arts and arts education for residents of all ages and abilities across the state.

Under Boskoff’s leadership, a majority of the Arts Council’s core programs were launched, including Poetry Out Loud, Nevada Touring Initiative, Nevada Circuit Riders, Office Exhibition Series, Nevada Heritage Award, and an annual conference, presently called Arts @ the Heart. She established the Las Vegas office, illuminated the impact of the arts in educational and economic policy development, redesigned the grants program, and initiated biannual Arts Town Meetings to explore the state of the arts in Nevada’s metropolitan centers and rural towns.

“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition and award,” Boskoff said. “I share it with an arts industry that contributes significantly to the quality of place and experience for all Nevadans.”

The award, presented by Nevada Humanities and the Nevada Arts Council, recognizes her career in public service. Boskoff is one of seven individuals being honored from around the state for outstanding contributions to Nevada’s communities using the tools of the humanities to strengthen and enhance lives.

Also being honored are:

  • UNR teachers Cheryll Glotfelty and Gailmarie Pahmeier, who will receive the Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award, a prize jointly awarded by Nevada Humanities and the Nevada Arts Council.
  • Patrick Gaffney, an arts and culture administrator and journalist based in Las Vegas, and Marilyn Melton, a lifelong community advocate in Reno, with the Judith Winzeler Award for Excellence in the Humanities;
  • Photographer Linda Dufurrena of Denio and writer and philanthropist Steven Nightingale of Reno with the Friend and Champion of the Humanities Award.

All seven awardees will be on hand to accept their awards during the ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion Nevada Room Annex on March 30, with a reception at 5 p.m. and program beginning at 6 p.m.

The award presentations will be preceded by a presentation of photography, poetry, and prose by Linda Dufurrena and Carolyn Dufurrena, featuring the people and traditions of rural Nevada. The program is free and open to the public, however Nevada Humanities requires that attendees RSVP to its Reno office at 775-784-6587 as space is limited. For more information about Nevada Humanities visit nevadahumanities.org or call 800-382-5023 in Reno or 702-800-4670 in Las Vegas.