Arts Council’s Basin to Range Exchange to launch in April

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Arts Council has a new program aimed at bringing together urban and rural arts organizations.

The Nevada Basin to Range Exchange, BRX, is a one-year program that includes in-person gatherings, intercommunity arts-based exchange activities and peer-to-peer mentorship, said Tony Manfredi, executive director of the Nevada Arts Council.

“It is critical for urban and rural communities in Nevada to communicate together and learn from each other,” Manfredi said. “Utilizing arts and culture as a convener to improve community interactions and quality of life indicators is a focal point of the Nevada Arts Council. We are thrilled with the response from arts leaders across the state who will be participating in this new initiative and look forward to growing from the outcomes.”

The program is designed to:

• Foster relationships between Nevada’s rural and urban communities.
• Connect resources, assets, traditions and histories between rural and urban communities.
• Identify and encourage new funding streams, cross-sector partnerships and collaborative approaches for arts and culture programming.
• Engage intercommunity arts initiatives as a way to enrich the lives of all residents, enhance the quality of life throughout the state and strengthen local economies.
• Celebrate Nevada’s rural and urban assets.

The program will launch with an in-person convening April 23-24 in Tonopah. About 50 community leaders from across the state have been selected to participate in the BRX pilot program year. During the convening, program participants will gather, network, learn, and form small intercommunity teams.

Between April 2019 through June, 2020 teams will work together to plan and implement intercommunity arts initiatives.

The Nevada Arts Council will provide support, mentorship, and convene participant conference calls during this stage of the program. The program will conclude with an in-person gathering (tentatively scheduled to take place in conjunction with Arts at the Heart 2020).

For more information, contact Michelle Patrick, Community Arts Development, Nevada Arts Council, at (702) 486-3732 ormpatrick@nevadaculture.org.

The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, was founded in 1967 as the state agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. The agency’s programs and services are designed to support creative expression, animate communities, diversify local economies and provide lifelong learning in the arts for all Nevadans. The Nevada Arts Council is funded by the State of Nevada, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other public and private sources.