Artown
Encyclopedia
In 1996, a small group of business and arts executives in the City of Reno’s
Arts and Culture Commission developed a plan to use the arts to improve the city's self-image and give locals a reason to play downtown again. The idea was to highlight the community's cultural depth, ignite civic pride, and channel the economic and cultural rebirth of the city. Later that year, over three weeks in July, the first Uptown Downtown Artown festival took place. And to the wonder of all, more than 30,000 people attended.
In the years since, Artown has grown into what the National Endowment for the Arts
calls one of the most comprehensive festivals in the country, with more than 100 organizations and businesses offering about 350 visual, performing, and humanities events in 100 locations citywide, during the entire month of July. Approximately 350,000 people experience the festival annually.
Artown has welcomed such international, national, and local artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov
, Marcel Marceau
, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
, Project Bandaloop
, the American Ballet Theater and Harlem Gospel Choir
just to name a few. The festival has also created unique events including Discover the Arts, a hands-on arts program drawing more than 3,400 children annually; Movies in the Park, an outdoor screening of classic and cutting-edge films; Monday Night Family Series, featuring kid-friendly performances from marionettes to music; and, the World Music Series, bringing diverse musical entertainment from around the globe including David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness
, Mariachi Sol de Mexico and San Jose Taiko
. Artown also incorporates exhibits from area galleries including the Nevada Museum of Art
and hosts events such as Artown After Dark to appeal to diverse audiences.
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
Arts and Culture Commission developed a plan to use the arts to improve the city's self-image and give locals a reason to play downtown again. The idea was to highlight the community's cultural depth, ignite civic pride, and channel the economic and cultural rebirth of the city. Later that year, over three weeks in July, the first Uptown Downtown Artown festival took place. And to the wonder of all, more than 30,000 people attended.
In the years since, Artown has grown into what the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
calls one of the most comprehensive festivals in the country, with more than 100 organizations and businesses offering about 350 visual, performing, and humanities events in 100 locations citywide, during the entire month of July. Approximately 350,000 people experience the festival annually.
Artown has welcomed such international, national, and local artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
, Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
, Project Bandaloop
Project Bandaloop
Project Bandaloop brings to audiences performances of aerial dance. Under the direction of Amelia Rudolph, it creates a blend of dance, sport, ritual and environmental awareness. Inspired by the possibilities of climbing and rappelling, the choreography draws on aerial, vertical and horizontal...
, the American Ballet Theater and Harlem Gospel Choir
Harlem Gospel Choir
The Harlem Gospel Choir is an American gospel choir based in Harlem, New York. It is one of the United States's most prominent gospel choirs....
just to name a few. The festival has also created unique events including Discover the Arts, a hands-on arts program drawing more than 3,400 children annually; Movies in the Park, an outdoor screening of classic and cutting-edge films; Monday Night Family Series, featuring kid-friendly performances from marionettes to music; and, the World Music Series, bringing diverse musical entertainment from around the globe including David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness
David Krakauer
David Krakauer is an American clarinetist. He is a graduate of the High School of Music & Art, class of 1974. He is mostly known for his klezmer compositions. He became involved with klezmer music in the late 1980s while working as a classical musician, joining The Klezmatics...
, Mariachi Sol de Mexico and San Jose Taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
. Artown also incorporates exhibits from area galleries including the Nevada Museum of Art
Nevada Museum of Art
The Nevada Museum of Art, located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, Nevada, is the only American Association of Museums accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum is thematic, focusing on the growing interest in the protection of the land...
and hosts events such as Artown After Dark to appeal to diverse audiences.