Truckee is one of 14 recently designated cultural districts in California. With that designation, volunteers and stakeholders hope to make Truckee an arts destination. Our reporter Holly Hutchings sat down with Lauren Bello, co-chair of the Truckee Public Arts Commission, to talk about their current art exhibit highlighting the Tahoe region, as well as the active and growing art scene in the mountain town.
Truckee, California is widely known as an historic little ski town, tucked minutes from Lake Tahoe. Some in the community hope to soon put it on the map as an arts destination, as well. Groups like the Downtown Merchants Association, the Truckee Tahoe Airport, Art for the Schools and more have been working to make that happen.
Lauren Bello is an artist who is putting her work into helping cultivate a growing public arts scene in Truckee. She is the co-chair of the Truckee Public Arts Commission. Among hosts of other volunteers and organizations, Bello hopes to develop an arts program in the small town that both artists and the public can feel a part of.
Currently, Truckee Arts is showing an exhibit called Elements. The show highlights the foundations of the Tahoe region, from the mountains and lake to lines at the local Safeway grocery store.
With Truckee’s recent designation as one of fourteen cultural districts in California, Bello is optimistic the town will be able to develop a comprehensive public arts plan where designated spots around the town will become home for pieces of public art.
“That’s a very tangible outcome, and you can probably see more art in the near future in Truckee,” she said.
Arts groups and organizers are hopeful that with the designation they might develop a central hub for the arts that benefits all stakeholders. With that, Bello says conversations can happen more seamlessly and plans and projects can flow easily. The public gaining a greater awareness of the many volunteers’ efforts is the primary goal for Bello.
For more information on Truckee’s plans for the cultural designation, representatives from the arts council will have a booth at Truckee Thursdays. The Truckee Public Arts Council is currently showing the exhibit, Elements at the Truckee Community Rec Center in the center hall. The show runs through June 2018.
