Double Down - A Blog

National Arts and Humanities Month
Oct 8, 2015 | Posted by Karen Wikander

“Over centuries of change -- through trial and triumph -- the arts and humanities have chronicled history in ways that have brought the past to life and provided a vivid vision for our journey forward.  Today, we continue to live in an ever-changing world, and the arts and humanities help us experience it in truer colors and tones.  When we harness our artistic creativity -- from canvases to concertos -- we can give shape to our emotions and channel our innermost hopes.  During National Arts and Humanities Month, we celebrate artistic expression in all its forms and honor the ways they help define the great American story.”

President Obama, Presidential Proclamation – National Arts & Humanities Month, 2015...

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Transient Landscapes Notes from the Curator's Talk
May 1, 2015 | Posted by Scott Dickensheets
(The following is based on a Q&A — which I have liberally tinkered with, including adding some of my own questions — with Kristen Peterson of the Las Vegas Weekly)

Why did you choose the subject of impermanence? 

Last year, in my capacity as deputy editor of Desert Companion magazine, I profiled an art photographer named Marshall Schuettle. A lot of his work grapples with transience and permanence — marginalized people in tenuous situations, a social infrastructure that feels like it could collapse at any moment, fleeting intersections of desire and cityscape, but sometimes juxtaposed against majestic landscapes evoking unchanging time. And that got me thinking: How much art have I seen that addressed transience in a...

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StoryCorps.me and the Power of Stories in Our Lives
Apr 15, 2015 | Posted by Christina Barr

I first became aware of StoryCorps - a nonprofit organization dedicated to recording and archiving the stories and conversations of everyday people - shortly after it launched in 2003 and placed its first listening booth in Grand Central Station in New York City. As a folklorist, I was amazed and impressed at the populism of that recording booth, and even recored my own interview there. Now, twelve years later, StoryCorps has recorded more than 50,000 interviews from more than 100,000 participants around the globe. The StoryCorps archive is housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Nevada Humanities partnered with KUNR Reno Public...

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Exploring 4th Street and Prater Way Online
Mar 18, 2015 | Posted by Alicia Barber, Ph.D

[Harolds Club patriarch Raymond I. “Pappy” Smith purchased Cremer’s Motel in the early 1950s, thoroughly renovated the property, and reopened it as Harolds Pony Express Lodge.  Photo courtesy of Special Collections, University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.]

When I began to interview small business owners, neighborhood residents, and city representatives about Reno’s 4th Street back in 2011, I had no idea that  more than three  years later, I would be announcing the launch of a multimedia digital feature dedicated to the history of 4th Street and its companion street in Sparks, Prater Way.

And yet here we are! The new site, housed on the ONE at...

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2015 Nevada Reads
Feb 13, 2015 | Posted by Karen Wikander

Exciting news for the 2015 Nevada Reads! The surveys have been compiled, the votes tallied, and a book selection has been made.

Nevada Reads is the state's first "one read" program, with people from throughout Nevada reading a selected text and then coming together to discuss the work at lectures, book clubs, and various panel events.

The 2015 Nevada Reads novel is We Are Called to Rise, by Laura McBride, a writer and community college teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Three lives are bound together by a split-second mistake, and a child’s fate hangs in the balance. What happens next will test—and restore—your faith in humanity.

Far from the neon lights of the Vegas strip, three lives are about to collide. A middle...

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Nevada's Hidden Stories: Lost City Farm
Dec 17, 2014 | Posted by Rachel Hopkin
Lyndsey Langsdale (left) and Toni Ortega (right) at Lost City Farm. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hopkin/Nevada Humanities.
 
While the weather outside is frightful (fingers crossed), it's a good time to reflect upon urban farming!
 
Nevada's Hidden Stories is an occasional series that sheds light on the unique people, places, and communities which make Nevada the place we call home.  It’s produced by Rachel Hopkin and Nevada Humanities.  This report is about Lost City Farm which is Reno's first modern urban farm. It's situated on the corner of Center Street and Moran in the midtown area of the city and its the creation of two young entrepreneurs - Toni Ortega and...
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Combat Paper Nevada
Nov 9, 2014 | Posted by Rachel Hopkin

As regular readers of this blog will already know, Nevada's Hidden Stories is a partnership we have in place with Reno Public Radio - an occasional series, produced by Rachel Hopkin, that sheds light on the unique people, places, and communities which make this state the place we call home. 

The most recent report was put together in honor of Veterans' Day and is about an unusual art project based in Reno called Combat Paper Nevada.  Combat Paper Nevada is part of a range of artistic activities organised by the David...

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Help Us Enrich Nevada's Communities
Nov 7, 2014 | Posted by Christina Barr

Make a Gift to Nevada Humanities

When we speak to people who support the work of Nevada Humanities they almost always talk about how our programs make them feel more deeply engaged in their communities, or how our programs have driven home ideas and perspectives about what it means to be a Nevadan.

Writer and educator Christopher Coake believes that "the humanities aren't an abstract concept. By interacting with art, literature, music, and history, people can become better thinkers, better neighbors, better citizens. By bringing the best of the humanities to our state, by making our good life here even better, the folks at Nevada Humanities...
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Dancing with Dolores Huerta
Oct 27, 2014 | Posted by Daniel Enrique Pérez

In 2004, my first year as an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, I had the privilege of meeting Dolores Huerta. She was invited to UNR to speak and was awarded an honorary doctorate—one of nine she holds. Huerta has been recognized for her life-long work as a grassroots organizer and the instrumental role she played during the civil rights movement. She remains at the forefront of so many important causes: workers’ rights, civil and human rights, the advancement of women, and the environment. Twice she received U.S. presidential awards: the Medal of Freedom (2012) and the Eleanor D. Roosevelt Human Rights Awards (1998).

Like many who have the privilege of meeting great leaders, when I first met Dolores Huerta, I was humbled by her presence. Very few...

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Bull Shift
Sep 18, 2014 | Posted by John Rice

A favorite thing for me regarding the time I spend in Tuscarora is what seems to be an endless opportunity for something new to do to keep me from doing what I ought to do.  Earlier this summer, a neighbor’s cattle were a fixture in our community. For a few of those days, a large Angus bull took a shine to the shade and the cool grass in our yard. We forged a special relationship.

Now first, yes, I know, as anyone who lives in rural Nevada must know (and accept) that Nevada is a “fence out” state. If you don’t want cows in your yard, then build a good fence. Building fences isn’t a strong suit for me, and the Angus bull made himself at home.

I called my ranching friend and let them know of my problem, and they reminded me that it truly was my problem, not theirs...

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