Nevada Arts & Culture

Nevada calls to artists from around the world with its unfenced, anything’s-possible, wide-open spaces to draw inspiration, and, in some cases, use the landscapes as actual canvases themselves. From cobalt blues to raw siennas, there’s no mistaking it, the intensity of color and beauty of the desert is all there. 

But people have been inspired by the Silver State’s grand, 360-degree vistas and swirling spectacular clouds since long before art museums or Burning Man, and our American Indian, buckaroo, and Basque heritage remain woven into the fabric of Nevada art today. For thousands of years, Nevada natives have been handcrafting intricate dolls, ornate beadwork, elegant basketry, and tule duck decoys—parts of our American story that represent Nevada tribal nations in the Smithsonian Institute. Today, hear their voices, dive into their stories, and see examples of American Indian art across the state in museums and galleries, including the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum, the Churchill County Museum & Archives, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum & Visitors Center, Garnet Mercantile, and the Nevada Historical Society.  

As for western cowboy art? Nobody does it better than Elko’s Western Folklife Center, headquarters of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which is held each January. Get in on the Gathering to experience—and participate in—poetry readings, live cowboy music, crafts-making workshops, and other traditional Nevada folk art at its purest, then peruse the Wiegand Gallery for its international exhibits, and scour the artsy gift shop for cowboy art from around the West—and world. For sophisticated, 100-year-old leather carvings ranging from belts to saddles, head across the street to the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum, and, before you leave town, be sure to swing through Nevada Northeastern Museum to take in its permanent collection of amazing drawings by legendary buckaroo Will E. James.

Nevada wouldn’t be the Silver State without its Basque art and culture roots, the legacy of which is most often tasted at a handful of Basque boarding houses across northern Nevada. For some artistic flavor, be sure to feast your eyes on Basque art and murals in Elko, Ely, and Gardnerville, at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, and the National Basque Festival that happens in Elko each summer. 

Visual Arts in Nevada

In Vegas, you don’t even have to leave the Strip to experience world class galleries, sure to stimulate the artistic aficionado in all of us. Head for the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art for an immersive, intimate gallery experience with some of the world’s legendary artists, from European impressionists to American pop artists. If you hit the jackpot on the gaming floor, splurge for a Damien Hurst-designed, $100,000-per-night suite at the Palms Casino. A little easier on the wallet, Downtown Las Vegas teems with free public art, from refurbished neon signs to colorful murals, along with fine arts galleries—the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery and Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art at UNLV’s college campus are some of our faves. You’ll also find the work of Nevada’s earliest artists and makers, with ceramics from Mesoamerican cultures.

Head up to the wild and western historic town of Virginia City to St. Mary’s Art Center, a premier art gallery and creative space, which supports events, workshops, retreats, a year-round resident artist program, and seven galleries across four floors of an 1876 historical landmark hospital. About an hour east, “class” up your Nevada road trip with Oats Park Arts Center—a historic schoolhouse turned 350-seat performing arts theater in the heart of Fallon. Check out rotating art exhibits in three museum-style galleries, and the Art Bar—a delightfully Old-West-meets-urban cafe. 

Contemporary arts thrive in the Reno area at the Nevada Museum of Art. A world-class museum located right between Downtown’s Riverwalk and hip, bustling Midtown, the NMA is the only art museum in Nevada accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, putting it in the same club as The Met in New York and San Francisco’s MoMA. Art-loving Reno visitors should also peruse fine art at Stremmel Gallery, or a little of everything at places like the Artists Co-Op Gallery and the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, one of the first in the state to showcase regional artists. 

Outside of the metros, the rest of the Silver State boasts dozens of beloved galleries, brimming with local and nationally acclaimed artists, with resident artists in historic spaces. Possibly the un-stuffiest fine art gallery ever, the Mesquite Fine Arts Center is about an hour from Vegas and reps nearly 200 regional artists, with monthly rotating exhibits, lectures and classes. In northeastern Nevada, the heart of Elko’s edgier-than-you-mighta-thunk arts scene hosts an ever-changing, every-wall gallery featuring art of all media at Duncan Littlecreek Gallery & Bar, including from the vivacious Wild Women Artists collective. 

Deep-rooted fixtures of the Ely arts scene, the Renaissance Village & Art Bank offers a glimpse into early days in this copper mining town at original homesteads-turned-galleries. Wander through original to Ely structures that have been reimagined, illustrating a melting pot of cultures drawn to this high-desert copper mining bonanza. Just down the street, explore a former bank building that harbors permanent collections and converted vault gallery of for-sale paintings, jewelry, photography, and more.

Public Art in the Silver State

Who says all art galleries live indoors? Get a dose of fresh air with some artistic flair at countless avant-garde open-air galleries in stunning natural settings around the Silver State. One of Nevada’s “selfiest” landmarks, be sure to check out Swiss Artist Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains, rising conspicuously from the desert outside Vegas. These seven, 11-story-tall fluorescently-painted rock pillars have a way of standing out against their natural Nevada backdrop. As does the Goldwell Open Air Museum, founded by Belgian artist Albert Szukalski on the outskirts of Beatty and Death Valley National Park. Wander among a ghostly life-sized Last Supper, a 24-foot tall miner (and his trusty penguin), a towering cinder block lady and other outdoor sculptures. 

Southern Nevada landscapes have inspired artists to pour their lives’ work into making large-scale art pieces come alive. Admire Michael Heizer’s City and Double Negative in southeastern Nevada, massive city block-sized installations, which use the land itself as a canvas. Ready to get Weird? Head to the “living ghost town” of Goldfield for Rocket Bob’s “Art Cars” along the main drag, and then to the nearby International Car Forest of the Last Church, a “forest” of cars and vans stacked and sticking out of the earth with ever-evolving paint jobs, thanks to the spray paint visitors are encouraged to bring along. Fans of folk art should hit I-80 to Imlay (west of Winnemucca) for the mysterious Thunder Mountain Monument, a sprawling compound of structures and sculptures made entirely of concrete and debris found along the nearby highway and railroad.

Burning Man Art

For a week at the end of each summer, Black Rock City springs to life, and just as quickly, disappears. However, around northwestern Nevada, its spirit never really does. Over the years, many have taken up their rest-of-the-year residencies here, infusing plenty of the event’s verve into Reno events, public art, museums, shops, galleries, makers’ spaces, and more, keeping this rich culture—and even its guiding principles—alive year round… and in turn enriching Nevada’s culture. 

Burning Man art is usually on loan from artists and travels throughout the Silver State, so be on the lookout for these larger than life exhibits along your #NVRoadTrip. Downtown Las Vegas is a habitual recruiter of Playa art, which naturally fits amongst the retro neon signs in the Fremont East District. Look for the flame-throwing praying mantis at the Downtown Container Park, and just about every street corner, too.

Along the way to that legendary Playa, Reno is a natural catch all for anyone going to, and returning from Burning Man—luckily, a lot of Burning Man art ends up in the Biggest Little City. Get on a public art walking tour in Reno, that promises hundreds of mural covered walls, Midtown Reno’s thrifty “Burner Boutiques”, the Neon Line District, and interactive sculptures that first debuted in Black Rock City. At the Reno City Plaza pose for a pic with two permanent Burner art installations—like the “Believe” sculpture—and wander amongst more retired Burn sculptures along Fourth Street and throughout downtown.