The Nevada Arts Council selected six talented visual artists for its 2025 Visual Artist Fellowship awards. Each artist blends their artistic practices with the societal, environmental, and cultural influences of Nevada and beyond.

The fellows are:

2-Dimensional

• Linda Alterwitz
• Lolita Develay
• Frances Melhop
• MJ (Jung Min)

3-Dimensional

• Krystal Ramirez
• Peter Whittenberger

The Artist Fellowship Grant from the Nevada Arts Council recognizes individual artists living in Nevada who demonstrate excellence in their work. Since 1989, the Nevada Arts Council has recognized 232+ fellows in Visual, Performing, and Literary Arts who demonstrate excellence in their field. The fellowship program was designed to encourage the pursuit of artistic excellence by providing financial support to outstanding artists. Nevada Arts Council Fellowship grants can be awarded at any stage of the artists’ career development. By recognizing and rewarding artistic accomplishments instead of educational experience, these fellows promote public awareness and appreciation of how Nevada artists contribute to the economic, civic, cultural, educational and health benefits in Nevada and its communities. In odd fiscal years, the grant is open to visual artists and in even fiscal years, it is open to performing and literary artists.

2-Dimensional Artist Fellows

Linda Alterwitz

Linda Alterwitz is an interdisciplinary artist using photography, collage, and interactive methods. Her practice focuses on envisioning the unseen rhythms of the human body and our relationship to the natural world. Alterwitz sees art as a catalyst for change, highlighting the transformative power of creative expression in addressing societal challenges. By integrating the authenticity of science and the communicative power of art, she creates a bridge between the visible and the unseen, inviting the viewer to reimagine our connection to one another and the world around us.

The Las Vegas-based artist has exhibited widely in traditional exhibition and site-specific installations at institutions including Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, CA – part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide Getty Initiative; Barrick Museum of Art in Las Vegas, Nevada; Hilliard Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana; New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Yixian Photography Festival in Yixian, China; Krakow Photomonth Festival in Krakow, Poland; and Ringcube Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.

Alterwitz’s work is held in permanent collections including Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona; Getty Research Institute; Hilliard Museum of Art; Nevada Museum of Art, Center for Art & Environment archives; Nelson Atkins Special Collections Library; Santa Barbara Museum of Art Fearing Library; Rochester Institute of Technology, Wallace Library; Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and the Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work has received numerous awards.

My projects are often participatory, engaging hundreds of people within my community as collaborators. When presented as an installation comprised of many photographs viewed together, a transformation takes place, giving reference to a world that focuses not only on individuality, but also on shared human experience.

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Lolita Develay

Lolita Develay received her Master of Fine Arts in Painting from University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2014. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and born in Pearblossom, California, she is a painter and artist whose chromatic paintings are integrated with statements on access and social values. Develay’s oeuvre embodies a dynamic blend of geographical influences, cultural intersections, and social consciousness. With themes of beauty, sexuality, race, and spirituality, her work serves as a mirror to the complex state of American life.

 I believe art has the power to bridge divides and strengthen civic life because it helps foster understanding and empathy for a broad cultural swath. My art provides expansion of cultural notions by engaging with viewers and encouraging creativity and critical thinking. 

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Frances Melhop

Frances Melhop is a visual artist, curator and gallery director, born in Christchurch, New Zealand. She lives and works at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Melhop works in tactile mediums such as photography, printmaking, hand embroidery, sculpture and oil paint exploring the tensions between the virtual and physical ways we experience the world. Her focus is on human presence and absence in our screen and material lives, along with imperfection and evidence of the human hand.

Melhop has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide at notable institutions such as Autry Museum in Los Angeles, California; Brownsville Museum in Brownsville, Texas; Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio; Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky; Gertrude Herbert Institute in Augusta, Georgia; and Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2020 as founder, curator and artist, she opened Melhop Gallery °7077, at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, representing 12 national and international artists. She also curates themed group shows with other invited exceptional artists. For the past six years, she also taught in the art departments of University of Nevada, Reno, Western Nevada College, Truckee Meadows Community College and Lake Tahoe Community College. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from University of Nevada, Reno, and a CAS in Curatorial Practices from Zurich University of the Arts.

‘Common Threads’ is a series of monotype prints of beloved dresses of friends with stitched interventions. Every artwork considers women’s autonomy today and the fluctuating control of our own bodies. The stitched figures in this series of life-size imprints, are an expression of joy and freedom.

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MJ (Jung Min)

MJ (Jung Min) is an artist from South Korea who specializes in visual studies. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from KookMin University in Seoul, Korea, and an Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Currently based in Las Vegas, Nevada, MJ is a dedicated educator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she continues to inspire new generations of artists.

Her artistic practice is rooted in an innovative exploration of materials, seamlessly merging traditional techniques with contemporary concepts. Through her work, MJ navigates the complex intersection of form and meaning, drawing deeply from personal and cultural narratives. Her work critically examines the interplay between individual desires and societal expectations. Using black hair as a metaphor, she delves into her perspective on beauty, particularly in relation to the uncomfortable feelings that have shaped her identity.

Through my work, I aim to explore and reveal the beauty found in uncomfortability, inviting viewers to confront and reflect on their own experiences of tension and unease. This creates a powerful emotional and intellectual space for dialogue, which is crucial for building a more connected and empathetic community in Nevada.

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3-dimensional Artist Fellows

Krystal Ramirez

Kyrstal Ramirez is an artist and photographer from Las Vegas, Nevada. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and recently completed her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at Stanford University. Her artistic journey has been diverse, encompassing various roles and experiences within the creative industry. Following her graduation from UNLV, she ventured into a spectrum of full-time positions that allowed her to explore multiple facets of creativity. Ramirez’ expertise spans commercial photography, art direction, graphic design, photojournalism, videography, social media management/marketing, web design, and art instruction. She served as lead designer/artist at a local boutique hospitality company, curating content for diverse platforms across its establishments. Additionally, she became the first woman of color to assume the sole staff photographer position at a prominent Las Vegas media company.

Ramirez’ professional journey enabled her to establish a broad network, collaborating with entities such as Vox Media, Anxy Magazine, NPR, and The Intercept. Even amidst this commercial career, I remained committed to nurturing her artistic practice. Her work has appeared in galleries and museums across the United States, including the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada; Barrick Museum of Art in Las Vegas, Nevada; NMSU Art Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico; SOMArts in San Francisco in California; and Gallery 400 in Chicago, Illinois. She is an educator and adjunct instructor at UNLV, while retaining her focus on studio practice, exploring new creative dimensions, and contributing to the ever-evolving art landscape. 

Art education is crucial in fostering creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression. By leading art classes my artistic practice can enrich the education of young adults, helping them gain new skills and perspectives. 

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