Arts and Culture

A report from The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that arts and cultural production accounted for over $6 billion of the silver state's economy in 2015. As KUNR's Holly Hutchings reports, business leaders are looking for ways to use cultural contributions to grow and improve their industries.

An exhibit paying homage to the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics is on display at the Truckee Community Recreation Center. Everything from vintage uniforms and rarely seen photography to illustrations by Walt Disney --a huge fan of skiing--are also showcased. The memorabilia are some of the last remaining vestiges of a games that changed winter sports and the Tahoe-Truckee region. Our arts reporter Holly Hutchings visited the exhibit and talked with one avid Olympic collector and author to learn more.

A group of mayors from across the country are looking to Reno as an example of how arts and culture can power local economies. KUNR's Stephanie Serrano has more.

Burning Man may be held in the Nevada desert, but its interest and appeal has a much wider reach. Visitors come from all over the world to attend the week-long festival, and even more people who don't attend have their curiosity piqued by tales from the playa. Trevor Hughes, Reporter for USA Today, has captured stories there for three years and stopped by our studio to talk to our arts reporter, Holly Hutchings before he headed up for burn number four.

Michael Mikel is a co-founder of Burning Man, the international anti-establishment festival in the desert, and has been involved since 1988. He still attends and has a small camp on the outskirts of the playa, where he says it feels more like the Burning Man of the early days; fewer people and a clear view of the expansive desert canvas. Ideas of the festival’s future come more freely to him there. He says they’ve developed systems that allow the organization to change and live on long after he and the other originators are gone. Our reporter Holly Hutchings sat down with Mikel to talk Burning Man.

Since its inception, the counterculture festival known as Burning Man has been a utopia for art and artists. Massive installations color the Black Rock Desert, even down to the very foundation on which the iconic “Man” stands. Our reporter Holly Hutchings caught up with the designer of the base to see what it’s all about.

Sculpture artist Peter Hazel is heading to Burning Man for his sixth time this year. And, he hopes the massive jellyfish creation he’s crafted for the dusty artistic showcase will catapult his craft to new levels. Our reporter Holly Hutchings caught up with Hazel where he works at Artech, a shared workspace in Reno. 

Over the last several years, artists in Reno have created many colorful murals around town. The University of Nevada, Reno is archiving that street art digitally, some of which can be experienced in virtual reality. KUNR’s Krysta Scripter stopped by a demo to check it out.

Through the first week of August, Wilbur D. May Arboretum in Reno will be illuminated by nearly forty larger-than-life Chinese lanterns. The touring festival Dragon Lights displays crafted designs in an effort to share their centuries-old tradition and their culture. Our reporter Holly Hutchings checked it out.