Recent News

Artist Harold Akyeampong honored with Nevada Arts Council Folk Arts Fellowship

October 3, 2022 | Category: Arts Council, Folklife

The 2022 recipient of the Nevada Arts Council’s Folk Arts Fellowship is Harold Akyeampong of North Las Vegas. Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, he moved to Las Vegas from New York City. His passion for Ghanaian ceremonial music, dance, folktales, and rituals has been shared with students and audiences at the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, City Lore, the Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and many other prominent arts and cultural organizations. 

 

Akyeampong’s work in Nevada as a Ghanaian African dance teacher and performer, drum master, choreographer, ethnomusicologist, producer and citizen folklorist has been focused in “hands-on” school and community-based workshops that explore the profound impact of African music on world music styles. He presents the creative, rhythmic, and musical aspects of Ghanaian music-making as a vital, integral, and essential element of community life. 

 

“Growing up in rural Ghana, it was common to see young people following, helping and learning from master performers in a community,” Akyeampong said. “This was how the knowledge and love of local folklore and folklife and folk arts was passed down to me.” He pursued those interests with study at the Institute of African Studies’ School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana in Legon-Accra and later at the State University of New York.  

“I continue to participate in this art form because it shows and validates my identity, my sense of pride, and provides the opportunity for a career as a cultural ambassador—teaching and performing for both Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian audiences and students as a way of encouraging global multicultural understanding and appreciation,” he said. 

 

The Folk Arts Fellowship celebrates the vitality of Nevada’s Folk and Traditional Arts. It recognizes artists living in Nevada who demonstrate excellence in their work. Folk arts are maintained within communities defined by cultural connections such as a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation, or geographic area. They include traditional hand-crafted objects, ceremonial costumes, music, dance, rituals/celebrations, and verbal arts. 

 

For more about Nevada Arts Council grants visit the agency’s web page on grant offerings. 

 

Proposed Updates to Artist Fellowship Grant

June 24, 2022 | Category: Uncategorized

The Nevada Arts Council is soliciting comments regarding proposed updates to the Artist Fellowship Grant guidelines starting in Fiscal Year 2023. Over the past year, the Artist Services program area has been conducting outreach meetings and webinars to collect feedback from artists across the state. Based on this feedback, Nevada Arts Council staff worked collaboratively to update the Artist Fellowship Grant guidelines to align with constituent needs and better serve our arts community. To review the proposed updated guidelines CLICK HERE.

Per NRS 233B.061, the guidelines for the FY23 Artist Fellowship Grant guidelines will be posted for public comment for a minimum of 14 days, then a workshop will be held to solicit comments from interested persons. After this workshop, the Nevada Arts Council Board will hold an open public meeting to consider all public comments and vote on the approval the FY23 Artist Fellowship Grant guidelines. Interested persons may share comments at the workshop (see details below) or send comments in writing prior to the workshop to grants@nevadaculture.org or Nevada Arts Council Office, 716 N. Carson Street, Ste. A. Carson City, NV 89701. Please use “Grant Comments” in the subject line.

Workshop to Solicit Comments on Proposed Updates to FY23 Artist Fellowship Grant
DATE/TIME: Monday, July 11th at 10:00 am
MEETING LOCATION:
Nevada Arts Council
716 N. Carson St., Suite A
Carson City, NV 89701

Virtual Meeting Access:
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87832428732?pwd=WCTe3Bdu2-zBx8lWTEA5ADWNu4ivll.1

Meeting ID: 878 3242 8732
Passcode: 567579

See MEETING AGENDA for more information

FY23 Arts Learning Project Grant Panel to be held July 6-7, 2022

June 22, 2022 | Category: Uncategorized

On July 6 and 7, 2022 a grant review panel will be held for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Arts Learning Project Grant. The Nevada Arts Council received 37 eligible applications associated with the FY23 Arts Learning Project Grant. Each applicant requested up to $7,000 for a total request of $224,414.14. The FY23 Arts Learning Project Grant is designed to support arts learning activities, teaching artists residencies, and teacher/teaching artists training. These arts learning activities provide unique opportunities for students and people of all ages to work with practicing artists. Funds must be used for conducting lessons/workshops (in-person or online/virtual) and/or educational performances at schools or community facilities.

For more information on the panel meeting and details on how to attend see the PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE.

The FY23 Arts Learning Project Grant panelists are:

Ken Bolinsky is a stage director with seventy-seven productions under his belt, covering the gamut of educational, community and professional theatre. With credits ranging from New York’s Off-Broadway to Chicago’s Off-Loop, he is a member of two theatrical Unions: Stage Directors & Choreographers Society and Actors’ Equity Association. Ken holds an MFA in Directing from Syracuse University, a BS in Elementary Education from Bloomsburg University and is a licensed arts educator who taught theatre on both the secondary and post-secondary levels for three decades. As an educational consultant he’s worked with national, regional, state and local educational and arts organizations to develop standards-based curricula, instructional formats and assessment methodologies in the arts, a highlight being his work with the groundbreaking SCASS Arts Project. Most recently, Ken delineated the set of theater elements and principles which provides the conceptual underpinning for the Educational Theatre Association education and professional development programs. He has served the Mississippi Arts Commission as State Coordinator of the NEA’s Poetry Out Loud initiative for the past fourteen years.

Ash Dahlke is a mixed media artist and educator currently working in Bisbee, AZ. She received her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Arizona in 2019 and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater in 2015. Her work has been exhibited at the University of Arizona Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, and Tubac Center of the Arts. She currently serves as a 2D Instructor at Cochise College and as Board President of Border Arts Corridor, an arts non-profit serving the communities Douglas and Agua Prieta, SON.

Kelly Moon is a retired English teacher from Elko, Nevada. She has taught a variety of subjects including AP Literature, drama, and creative writing. During her thirty-six-year career, she served on numerous state and district committees and has worked with training and teaching teachers in professional development and writing. Her passion for literature and writing allowed her to work with students in Elko County’s Poetry Out Loud program, with two students competing in the national competition in Washington, DC. Her poetry was published in Desert Wood: An Anthology of Nevada Poets, and she was a recipient of the Arts in Education Professional Development Grant from the Nevada Arts Council. Kelly continues to give back to the arts’ community by working with the Western Folk Life Center on local arts’ events including the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and working with Elko High School’s new Preforming Arts Center training teachers and students on facility usage and running events. She is an avid reader and writer.

Erika Paul: San Francisco Bay Area born, raised and educated career local, national and international music artist Erika Paul writes songs, performs, teaches and records on piano and vocals in jazz, blues, world music and original music worldwide. With over three decades of experience in music performance and certified excellence in private music instruction, she performs and instructs as a soloist and in ensembles to inspire, empower, engage, and educate audiences of all ages through creative interpretations of classic American Jazz, improvisation and original music. Her performance and teaching highlights include preparing high school students for a jazz clinic concert with world-renowned Jazz  Master and legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in Tahoe City in 2001. She has toured the west coast presenting live interactive jazz concert assemblies for over 100,000 children in 150 schools to date and provided over 20 residencies and workshops for Washoe County School District’s K-12th grades including classroom teacher training clinics in jazz improvisation. With her trio, Erika has been on the roster for the Pioneer Center Youth Program since 2010 and performs for special events, festivals and regular club and restaurant concerts, oftentimes featuring her own private students to give them professional performance experience. Her approach to teaching and presenting music includes classroom residency discussions, plans, and easily attainable goals including History of Jazz and it’s social/cultural influences, creative music listening and performance and simple songwriting skills. She emphasizes creative expansion of themes and interaction using rhythm, melody, harmony, creative interpretation through standard and free-form song poetry and movement.Erika has created, produced and recorded more than 15 cds of jazz, blues, and original music including a children’s album introducing 100+ years of American Jazz styles to children and the young at heart that is currently No. 1 on the national library educational music circuit.class=”searchHighlight”>Erika has also arranged two of her original children’s songs for Kjos Music Company’s beginning solo piano series and teaches instrumental and vocal jazz masterclasses and recitals for all ages with her bassist husband and partner in music.

Shambrion Treadwell is the founder and creator of Do & Be Theatre Arts Company, founded on October 1, 2019. She is a Las Vegas Valley award-winning actor and educator originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Ohio University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre Performance. Shambrion is a Teach For America Alum and has a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is currently a Propel Fellow through Opportunity 180, where she is placed at Citizens of the World Charter Schools as an Assistant Principal. Shambrion is passionate about educational equity through the lens of the arts and social justice.

FY23 Project Grant for Artists (Cycle A) Panel to be held June 29-30, 2022

May 25, 2022 | Category: Arts Council, Arts Council|News, News Releases

On June 29 and 30, 2022 a grant review panel will be held for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Project Grant for Artists (Cycle A). The panelists will discuss and score 41 applications. Each applicant requested up to $3,000 for a total request of $122,300. The FY23 Project Grant for Artists (Cycle A) supports supports individual artists in the production and presentation of artistic projects. The PGA is awarded twice a year for projects that take place during a specified six-month period. Examples of eligible projects include art exhibitions, performances, readings, concerts, the creation of art, recording, filming, portfolio creation, and marketing/ promotional activities related to an arts project.

PGA funds are divided into two six-month grant cycles:

  • CYCLE A: Activities July 1–December 31, 2022
  • CYCLE B: Activities January 1–June 30, 2023

For more information on the panel meeting and details on how to attend see the PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE.

The FY23 Project Grant for Artists (Cycle A) panelists are:

Adam Cates holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and a BA in Theatre. He is currently the head of education & development at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno where he also produces several performance programs. Prior to the pandemic, Adam called New York City home for 20 years where he worked as a creative artist and educator in musical theatre, opera, and dance. He has directed and/or choreographed for Santa Fe Opera, Juilliard Opera, Hartford Stage, Theatre Under the Stars, Theatre Aspen, Gulfshore Playhouse, Arkansas Rep, PCPA, Bard Music Festival, Anchorage Opera, Music Theatre Wichita, Memphis Playhouse on the Square, Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center, The Chance Theater, and others. Adam was a creative associate for the award-winning Broadway musicals A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Anastasia, and Anything Goes, and regionally at Goodspeed, Paper Mill Playhouse, The Old Globe, Alabama Shakespeare, Kansas City Starlight, Seattle Opera, and more. He has held NYC faculty positions at Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, and Rosie O’Donnell’s Theater Kids, and has been a guest artist-in-residence for institutions across the USA including Texas State University, UC-Irvine, UNCSA, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Theatre Arts Preparatory School in Las Vegas and UNR in Reno. He is the author of the best-selling guidebook for young performers The Business of Show and co-authored The World According to Snoopy (Concord Theatricals). As a performer, Adam appeared in several national tours, television shows, Disney productions, cruise ships, and regional theatre and opera.

Kathleen Kuo is a Program Manager with Nevada Humanities. She has previously worked at the Archives of Traditional Music, Mathers Museum of World Cultures, and the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation in Bloomington, Indiana. Kuo holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Chicago, an MA in Music from Tufts University, and completed her doctoral exams in Ethnomusicology at Indiana University.

Juliana Rico (she/they) is an award winning, nationally showcased, queer, Latinx, visual artist, educator, consultant, and academic. Their artistic practice focuses primarily in photography and video around topics of identity and representation having earned their BFA in Photography from San Jose State University and MFA in Creative Photography from California State University Fullerton. Rico is a passionate advocate for social justice, student success, diversity, equity, and authentic representation in educational and arts and culture spaces. She believes all underrepresented and marginalized groups who have felt unseen no longer have to accept the narrative placed on them; they can write their own. With this in mind, she co-launched OnlyIn LLC in 2020 and began producing Art in Motion Podcast in 2021, focusing on sharing the stories of BIPOC creatives. She is a full-time professor teaching photography and visual media literacy at Pasadena City College who mentors community members through community organizations.

Professor Patricia Vázquez is a native of Las Vegas, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, who has been teaching composition and literature at the College of Southern Nevada for twenty-four years. After graduating from Chaparral High School in 1984, she went to Arizona State University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Painting (1990) and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature (1995). With a specialization was in Latin American Literature, her thesis focused on the work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. A number of her painting are currently on exhibit and the Level Up Gallery on the second floor of the C building on the Henderson campus of the College of Southern Nevada. Her more recent scholarship has been devoted to the work of Dante. At the MLA Conference on January 9, 2022, she delivered a paper dissecting the wild cat, la lonza, from Canto I of the Inferno. After her sabbatical in Italy in 2018 , Vázquez published an article, “Dante’s Cannibal Count: Unnatural Hunger and Its Reckoning,” in the Spring 2020 issue of Arion, an academic journal published by Boston University.

Vivian Zavataro is the Director & Chief Curator of the Lilley Museum of Art, at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is a museologist who specializes in contemporary art, transhistoricity, and art mediation. She has traveled widely working for museums, galleries, and contemporary art exhibitions in order to broaden her knowledge and experience of the art world. Her goal is to facilitate interaction between art and the public. Diversity, inclusion, and creativity are essential aspects of her practice.

FY23 Project Grant for Organizations Panel to be held June 1-2, 2022

May 17, 2022 | Category: Arts Council, Arts Council|News, News Releases

On June 1 and 2, 2022 a grant review panel will be held for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Project Grant for Organizations. The panelists will discuss and score 28 applications. Each applicant requested up to $7,000 for a total request of $185,559. The FY23 Project Grant for Organizations supports the arts and cultural activities of organizations and public institutions. Funds may be used to support the execution of one arts and culture project or a series of related activities. Examples of eligible projects include art exhibitions, performances, readings, and festivals.

For more information on the panel meeting and details on how to attend see the PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE.

The FY23 Project Grant for Organizations panelists are:

Jackie Clay is the Executive Director for Arts for All Nevada at the Lake Mansion Arts and Cultural Center. She holds a BA in History from the University of California, Davis and a MA in History/Historic Resources Management, from the University of California, Riverside.  She was the Director/Curator of the Sutter County Museum, in Yuba City, California before moving to Reno to take the position of Curator of History at the Nevada Historical Society.  She went on to co-own the gift and art boutique, ClayNichols, and later used both her museum and retail expertise at the Nevada Museum of Art as the Director of Retail and Reception Services. Her 35-year career as history curator, museum director, and retail entrepreneur has conspired to bring her to Arts for All Nevada in the directorial role of managing an organization that is both a provider of arts education programming and historic house museum.

Miguel Gonzalez began exploring photography in 1979 from his father in a small home built darkroom in the back of the garage. His father photographed the Chicano movement in the late 60s through the seventies. He often collaborated with other Chicano artist in San Antonio, TX and wrote several unique formulas for color photography. This influenced Miguel to understand exposure, composition, and conventional darkroom techniques. Of which he committed much to memory, and commonly practices today with his old 35mm camera that was built before cameras had light meters. Miguel’s technical proficiency increased through the 1980s. He started to write his own formulas for color photographs. With his own formulas, he hand developed photographs yielding brilliant colors and black and white portions on a single print. This inspired the current bicultural concept Miguel practices today. With the traditional skill of analogous photography and exploring digital imaging, Miguel continues to express biculturalism by combining two different mediums symbolizing being American and Mexican indigenous heritage.

Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo is a visual artist, poet, and facilitator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her artwork has been exhibited across the United States and her poetry is published widely. Elizabeth earned a BFA in Art (Pictorial Art) and a BA in French from San José State University. She served as 2021 Creative Ambassador of the San José Office of Cultural Affairs. She was Co-Editor of the 2020 issue of Culture Counts Magazine by Culture Counts Reading Series of San José State University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Poetry Center San José and Manager of Roots Artist Registry, as well as Director and Editor of La Raíz Magazine.

Morgan Spencer is the owner of MSPEN, a Strategic Planning, Grant Writing, and Marketing business based in Watertown, New York. Morgan has a passion inspiring, motivating, and empowering people to tap into their creative side. Her hobbies include painting and crafting natural soaps, lotions, and other natural healing products.

Mary Beth Timm is an anthropologist and Museum Director at Lost City Museum in Overton, NV. She earned her Masters of Arts in Bioarchaeology in 2009 from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 2009, she came to Las Vegas to enroll at University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ PhD program in Anthropology. After completing the coursework, she began her career as a southern Nevada archaeologist and museum professional at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Moving through museum positions, she spent three years (2013-2016) in Utqiagvik, Alaska (Point Barrow) at the Inupiat Heritage Center. In 2016, she returned to the warmth of southern Nevada and a Curator position at Lost City Museum. In 2018, she was promoted to Museum Director. With over twelve years of museum and archaeology experience, Director Timm engages communities to protect archaeological sites and collections through collaboration-based programs. Director Timm is committed to diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible (DEIA) museum experiences for public audiences through collaboration with non-traditional storytellers such as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and non-binary, trans-gendered, and gender non-conforming individuals. Notable achievements in this arena include hosting the first African American curated exhibit in Overton in 2020, teaching undergraduate students about world cultures and cultured gender expressions at College of Southern Nevada (2017 to present) as well as securing programmatic funding through Nevada Humanities (2021) to include more Indigenous storytelling within exhibitions and programming at Lost City Museum.

FY23 Operating Support Grant Panel to be held May 4-5, 2022

April 26, 2022 | Category: Arts Council, News Releases

On May 4 and 5, 2022 a grant review panel will be held for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Operating Support Grant. The panelists will discuss and score 19 applications for the FY23 Operating Support Grant. Each applicant requested between $5,000 and $25,000 for a total request of $160,000. Operating Support Grants strengthen Nevada’s arts infrastructure by supporting general operations of non-profit arts organizations throughout the state. The most competitive applicants offer ongoing high-quality outreach programs and arts services or artistic programming in their communities. Operating Support Grant funds support basic operating expenses such as administrative salaries and benefits, payroll expenses, insurance, facility space rental, utilities, and contracted and professional services. This 1-year opportunity was created for arts non-profit organizations who are NOT currently part of the 2-year FY22/23 Operating Support Grant cohort. Due to COVID-19, all FY20/21 Operating Support Grants were extended into FY22/23. All organizations will need to re-apply in Fiscal Year 2024 for the standard 2-year grant cycle.

For more information on the panel meeting and details on how to attend see the PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE.

The FY23 Operating Support Grant panelists are:

Adriana Rios (she/her) was most recently Director of Programs at the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), where she oversaw a suite of leadership development and grant making programs servicing a national community of Latinx artists, arts administrators, cultural workers and organizations. Prior to joining NALAC, Adriana worked in the programming departments for various organizations, including the Princess Grace Foundation and the Tribeca Film Institute. She has served on panels for the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Fusion Film Festival and currently serves on Grantmakers in the Arts Support for Individual Artists Committee. She is a graduate of New York University’s Film & Television Production program and currently resides in San Antonio, Texas (the unceded lands of the Coahuiltecan, Jumanos and Tonkawa peoples).

Arika Perry is a professional visual artist, and Executive Director of St. Mary’s Art Center, located in Virginia City, Nevada. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture from Kansas State University. Prior to focusing on her art career and managing a nonprofit, she was Vice President of an international real estate company and led a global project management team focused on building specialized and pioneering offices around the world for a Fortune 20 client.

Humberto Marquez Mendez (he/him) attended Willamette University and received a B.A. in Sociology with a focus in American Ethnic Studies. His professional experience centers racial equity and spans project management, community engagement, education, social services, and arts and culture. He currently works at Metro, the regional government agency of greater Portland, where he designs and implements community engagement strategies that are grounded in racial equity and shift decision-making power to communities who continue to be excluded from government processes. He was previously the Community Engagement Manager at the Regional Arts & Culture Council where he prioritized collaboration with artists of color and advanced initiatives that contributed to a more equitable arts landscape. Humberto identifies as a queer indigenous immigrant and grew up in a family of artists and indigenous cultural bearers that influenced his pride for his cultural and racial identity. He has felt the direct impact of the arts as a tool for change, resilience, and celebration and is committed to advancing equity in the arts and culture sector and beyond.

Katie Hazard (yes that’s her real last name) is the Associate Director of Art Management and head of the Burning Man Art Department. She oversees the selection, placement, and installation of over 400 artworks annually in Black Rock City and beyond, including serving as Chairperson for the art grant selection committees. Burning Man art has been Katie’s passion since 2000, and her profession since 2013. Prior to joining the year-round Burning Man staff, she pursued her love of art and culture through her work with museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, and as a Senior Grant Manager at Harvard University. She holds a degree in Art History from the University of Notre Dame, and was a founding member of an arts festival and an artist workspace in New England. Katie is also a certified yoga teacher and has been a practitioner of Buddhist meditation for more than a decade. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and one-year-old son.

Nevada Arts Council hires two specialists to strengthen arts and creativity in Nevada

February 7, 2022 | Category: Arts Council, Arts Council|News, News, News Releases, News Releases, News Releases, News|Arts Council, News|Arts Council>News Releases

CARSON CITY, Nevada — The Nevada Arts Council has hired Erica Hill as a Community Arts Development specialist and Sapira Cheuk as an Artist Services specialist.

 

Hill will assist nonprofit arts organizations and municipalities with program development, grant offerings, and support functions to strengthen Nevada communities through the arts. She is based out of the Carson City office.

 

Hill graduated with a master’s degree in anthropology from San Francisco State University and has several degrees that include a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from California State University, Chico and two associate of arts degrees. She has experience as a curator, gallery docent, educator, and community outreach coordinator, as well as experience in non-profit management.

 

Cheuk will assist Nevada artists with professional development, grant offerings, tour visual artwork across the state through the Nevada Touring Initiative and support the Nevada Poet Laurate Program. She is based out of the Las Vegas office.

 

Cheuk also serves as art editor for the Museum of Americana and founding board member for CORE Arts Concord in Las Vegas. A practicing artist, she has taught in the art department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has more than ten years of experience in public administration with the State of California. She received her Bachelor of Fne Arts degree at the University of California Riverside, and a Master in Fine Art degree from California State University, San Bernardino.

 

“We are thrilled to have Erica and Sapira join on our team,” said Tony Manfredi, Nevada Arts Council executive director. “Both are passionate about how arts and creativity positively impact our communities and citizens, and both bring programmatic, organizational and collaborative skills – and exceptional enthusiasm – to support their roles and the agency.”

 

EDITORS: For an image of Erica Hill, click here.  For and image of Sapira Cheuk, click here.

 

The Nevada Arts Council is part of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state through leadership that preserves, supports, strengthens and makes excellence in the arts accessible to all Nevadans.

Free presentation of Broadway play ‘American Son’ Jan. 8-9 in Las Vegas

December 27, 2021 | Category: Arts Council, Arts Council|News, News, News Releases, News Releases, News|Arts Council, News|Arts Council>News Releases

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Arts Council and Broadway in the Hood present “American Son,” as part of Nevada Touring Performance Initiative, a pilot program designed to promote increased exposure for all Nevadan performing artists. The kick-off performances are Jan. 8-9 at the West Las Vegas Library Theatre.

A 30-minute talkback session with the cast and crew will follow certain performances, which are sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council and offered free to the public. The Jan. 8 and 9 performances are in partnership with National Law Enforcement Appreciation week, sponsored by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation. After the shows in Las Vegas, Broadway in the Hood will take “American Son” on tour throughout Nevada with performances currently scheduled in Boulder City, Reno and Carson City.

“The Nevada Arts Council is proud to support this production, which addresses complex social issues and can hopefully start a community dialog,” Tony Manfredi, Nevada Arts Council executive director said. “The arts play a vital role in public discourse, and Nevada is fortunate to have so many talented artists to help elevate these important conversations.”

“American Son,” a drama about a mother searching for her missing teenage son, opened on Broadway in 2018. A film based on the play starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee was released on Netflix in November 2019.

In 2020, Broadway in the Hood performed “American Son” to more than 5,000 middle school and high school students, teachers and staff to address the goals of the Southern Nevada Any Given Child Initiative, which is focused on ensuring all K-12 students have access to quality arts experiences.

The Jan. 8 and 9 shows at the West Las Vegas Library Theatre are free, but show-goers will need tickets; for tickets, click here.

EDITORS: For a promotional image of the play, click here. For an image of the promotional poster, click here.

The Nevada Arts Council is part of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state through leadership that preserves, supports, strengthens, and makes excellence in the arts accessible for all Nevadans.

Nevada ‘Folklife’ photo exhibit offered in Spanish at Las Vegas museum

October 18, 2021 | Category: Arts Council, Arts Council|News, News, News Releases

LAS VEGAS — An innovative photo exhibit celebrating cultural identity at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, now is being offered in Spanish.

“Find Your Folklife,” or “Descubre Tu Folclor,” features images of Nevadans in everyday attire paired with photos in which they embrace their culture and heritage. These photo pairs have been combined on lenticular two-flip panels so that as the viewer approaches, he or she sees just one of the photos. As the viewer passes by the panel, the picture “flips” to the other image. The effect is created by interleaving the images on narrow strips that are refracted through an overlying lens to create the two-flip effect. Each image pair is accompanied by a statement in the model’s own words that speaks to some aspect of cultural community or identity.

The Folklife exhibit is available in Spanish at the museum when visitors use their cell phones to scan a QR code next to each panel; each code links to the person’s story told in Spanish. “Descrubre Tu Folclor” supports the museum’s goal to be inclusive and to provide experiences for the entire community. Other museum exhibits available in Spanish are Eclectic Nevada and Prejudice & Pride: The Fight to Vote, about women’s suffrage.

“We are excited to offer the Folklife exhibit in Spanish,” Sarah Hulme, who manages the museum’s photos and outreach, said. “We welcome everyone to come in and see these images and how Nevadans are expressing their cultural identity.”

“Find Your Folklife,” curated by the Nevada Arts Council Folklife Program, will be on display through February 2022. See it at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, 309 S. Valley View Blvd. in Las Vegas (on the Springs Preserve campus.) The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday. Admission costs $9.95 for adults, $4.95 children ages 3-17, and includes entry into Springs Preserve. Visitors who are not museum members need to book a ticket in advance: tickets be purchased online here.

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EDITORS: For an image from the exhibit, click here.

 The Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, is one of seven state museums, and is part of the Nevada Division of Museums and History. The Nevada Division of Museums and History preserves, shares and promotes the understanding and celebration of Nevada’s natural and cultural heritage for the enrichment of all generations. Details: NVMuseums.org.

 The Nevada Arts Council is part of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state through leadership that preserves, supports, strengthens, and makes excellence in the arts accessible to all Nevadans.

UNR professor Gailmarie Pahmeier named Nevada Poet Laureate

September 30, 2021 | Category: Arts Council, News Releases | Tags:

CARSON CITY, Nevada — Gailmarie Pahmeier, widely published author and professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been named Nevada Poet Laureate. Gov. Steve Sisolak has appointed her to serve a two-year term, beginning September 2021 and concluding August 2023, during which time she is charged with propagating the art of poetry and encouraging literacy and learning throughout the state. She will receive a $5,000 grant from the Nevada Arts Council each year.

“Poetry and the arts play a meaningful role in the life of a community, and we are so pleased to have Gailmarie Pahmeier, a respected poet and longtime educator, taking on this role for Nevada,” Gov. Sisolak said.

The Nevada Arts Council manages the Nevada Poet Laureate program. Pahmeier was one of several finalists chosen through an independent panel review. The review criteria consisted of demonstrated excellence in the literary arts, established history of community involvement, the ability to engage with the public through poetry, and a demonstrated engagement with diverse communities. Applications were taken this spring; the agency forwarded the panel recommendations to the Governor’s Office.

“The Nevada Arts Council is committed to strengthening creativity in Nevada,” Tony Manfredi, Nevada Arts Council executive director, said. “Our agency is very excited to collaborate with Gailmarie Pahmeier to utilize the power of poetry to help our Nevada communities thrive and prosper.”

A 2016 inductee in the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, Pahmeier has published three full-length works of poetry, The Rural Lives of Nice Girls, The House on Breakaheart Road, and Of Bone, Of Ash, Of Ordinary Saints: A Nevada Gospel, as well as three chapbooks — short collections of poems with a unifying theme. Her work has been included in literary journals Booth, Spillway and Descant, among others. She served as Reno Poet Laureate in 2015.

Pahmeier teaches creative writing and contemporary literature at UNR, where she received the University Distinguished Teacher Award in 1995 and the Alan Bible Teaching Excellence Award in 1994, among other distinctions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Southern Illinois University and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Arkansas.

Funding for the Nevada Poet Laureate program is provided by the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, Round Mountain Gold and the Orchard Foundation.

EDITORS: For images of Gailmarie Pahmeier, click here.

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The Nevada Arts Council is part of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state through leadership that preserves, supports, strengthens, and makes excellence in the arts accessible for all Nevadans.