The Artown mission is to strengthen Reno's arts industry, enhance our civic identity and national image, thereby creating a climate for the cultural and economic rebirth of our region.

If you are an artist or affiliate of Artown and would like your link on this site please call 775-674-6446 or email email@cyberdypsywebdesign.com We would be happy to assist you. There is no charge unless you want something elaborate.

 

HOW IT ALL HAPPENED

In the fifties, Reno was known to many as “the entertainment capital of the world”. Crowds came from around the nation to watch now legendary singers, dancers, and comedians perform to packed houses in the casino showrooms that lined the banks of the Truckee River. But by 1995—after a solid run as one of the most dynamic social playgrounds in the west—Reno, like the rest of the post-cold war world, had weathered four decades of change. Downtown Reno’s Truckee River corridor had lost much of its glamorous glitter. Locals preferred the comfort of their suburban neighborhoods. Downtown was a shadow of its former self.

Recognizing an opportunity to improve the city’s self image in 1996, a small group of business and arts executives gathered at the request of the Culture in the Year 2000 Reno Arts Commission (“C.I.T.Y 2000”) to develop a plan to use the arts to draw Reno’s locals back downtown. The idea was to showcase our community’s cultural depth, ignite community spirit and civic pride, and become the catalyst for the economic and cultural rebirth of our city.

In 1996, the first “Uptown Downtown Artown” festival took place over three and a half weeks in July, between the popular Reno Rodeo and Hot August Nights. An astonishing 30,000 people attended. Over the past eight years, Artown, as it is now known, has grown into what the National Endowment for the Arts called, “one of the most comprehensive festivals in the country,” with more than 60 cultural organizations and businesses offering 200+ visual, performing, and humanities events in more than 50 locations city wide, during the entire month of July.

About 140,000 people now attend Artown annually, and most events are offered free.
From the beginning, Artown has pushed hard for cutting-edge programming. Over the past few years, the festival has welcomed such international, national, and local artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marcel Marceau, Great Basin Chautauqua, Project Bandaloop, the San Francisco Ballet, and the Reno Philharmonic. We have also created unique events including the “Discover the Arts”, a hands-on arts program especially for children, and “Movie Nights”, an outdoor screening of classic and cutting-edge films, both set in downtown Reno’s Wingfield Park. In 2003, our spectacular new Nevada Museum of Art featured the Frida Kahlo/Diego Rivera exhibition. Also, when performers and artists visit Reno, Artown makes workshops available to the community to explore new perspectives.

This site was created by Cyber Gypsy Web Design from content provided by Artown Artists