Artown is a culture festival, hosted in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, Nevada on a yearly basis which started in 1996. During the years it has hosted many famous artists like

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", and he performed professionally worldw ...

and others.

History

In 1996, a group of business and arts executives in the

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

(United States) Arts and Culture Commission developed a plan to use the arts to improve the city's self-image and give locals a reason to visit downtown. The idea was to highlight the community's cultural depth, ignite civic pride, and channel the economic and cultural rebirth of the city. Later that year, over three weeks in July, the first Uptown Downtown Artown festival took place. More than 30,000 people attended. In the years since, Artown has grown into what the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

calls one of the most comprehensive festivals in the country, with more than 100 organizations and businesses offering about 350 visual, performing, and humanities events in 100 locations citywide, during the entire month of July. Approximately 350,000 people experience the festival annually. Artown has welcomed such artists as

, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis,

Project Bandaloop Project Bandaloop, now named BANDALOOP is an aerial dance company, founded in 1991 by Amelia Rudolph, the company combines dance with rock climbing technology, sport, ritual, and environmental awareness. See also *Aerial Dance Aerial moder ...

, the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

and

Harlem Gospel Choir The Harlem Gospel Choir is an American gospel choir based in Harlem, New York. It is one of the United States's most prominent gospel choirs. The company comprises 40 members, ranging in age from 21 to 51. They have appeared on national televisio ...

. The festival events include Discover the Arts, a hands-on arts program drawing more than 3,400 children annually; Movies in the Park, an outdoor screening of films; Monday Night Family Series, featuring kid-friendly performances from marionettes to music; and, the World Music Series, bringing musical entertainment from around the globe including David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness, Mariachi Sol de Mexico and San Jose

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

. Artown incorporates exhibits from area galleries including the

Nevada Museum of Art The Nevada Museum of Art, is an art museum in Reno, Nevada. Located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, it is the only American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum has chosen a thematic approach, placi ...

and hosts events such as Artown After Dark.

References

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External links

Artown official websiteArtown Blog
Festivals in Nevada Culture of Reno, Nevada Tourist attractions in Reno, Nevada