Friday art news roundup

Ruby Barrientos is Reno’s new City Artist

The City of Reno announced that Ruby Barrientos has been appointed City Artist for the 2021-22 term. Barrientos is a first-generation Salvadoran American artist and activist born and raised in Reno. She refers to her style as Nuwave Mayan. Her artwork will be on display at the Metro Gallery in Reno City Hall beginning in September 13.

Austin Pratt is GBNP’s new resident artist

UNR’s School of the Arts and the Great Basin National Park Foundation announced on July 9 that Reno artist Austin Pratt is the inaugural artist-in-residence. Pratt began a three-week camping residency at Great Basin National Park on July 12. He is expected to present a public program in the park during the residency and a public outreach program afterward. (You can learn more about Pratt’s work in Josie Glassberg’s Double Scoop essay on his 2020 exhibition at the Oats Park Art Center.)

Neon Line opens event venue on Reno’s E. 4th Street

The Neon Line—the stretch of Reno’s East Fourth Street now owned by Jacobs Entertainment, where Burning Man sculptures have been popping up since 2019 and vintage neon is now on display—opened a new outdoor event venue this month, the Glow Plaza. The summer event series includes free concerts on Friday and Saturday nights. Doors open at 4 pm. Shows start at 5:30 pm. There will be food trucks and a full bar. The Brodie Stewart Band plays on July 23-24, and New Wave Crave Band plays July 30-31. Full concert schedule here.

New festival launches in Reno with mural to honor Black activists

The Northern Nevada Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee will launch a new a new annual event tomorrow, Sat., July 24, 1-4- pm in Pat Baker Park—the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Summerfest. As part of the festivities, artist Terrence Hammond will create a new mural in the park. Hammond will invite community members to help paint during the event. The mural, funded by the City of Reno’s 2% for Public Art fund, will honor local Black activists past and present, including Evelyn Mount, Kenneth B. Dalton, Dolores Feemster, Bernice Matthews and Ondra L. Berry.

Missed a Barrick show this summer? Tonight’s your last chance.

Today from 5-7:30 pm, the Barrick Museum of Art at UNLV is hosting an event that you should probably drop your happy hour plans for. It’s a closing celebration for several exhibitions including A Beauteous Tree: Margaret Fuller’s Femality, A Common Thread, A Drawing A Day, Cull, Future Relics: Artifacts for a New World, Marking Time, and Spin (after Sol LeWitt). The event includes performances by Adriana Chavez and Rayen Jones. Schedule here.

Burning Man teams with Sotheby’s for auction

Burning Man announced in June that it’s collaborating with Sotheby’s to hold a charitable online auction featuring items such as Burning Man artworks, collectibles, mutant vehicles and NFTs. The target date for the catalog launch is Sept. 6, and the auction is expected to take place later in September. More on the Burning Man Journal.

Cover image: Newly appointed City Artist Ruby Barrientos, image courtesy City of Reno

To submit your news for the next Friday Art News Roundup, email kris@doublescoop.art. To post your exhibition, event, or call for artists, please visit our statewide visual arts calendar.