A Welcoming Atmosphere for Young Emerging Artists

Expression can be found while coming across the unique space on 140 Vesta Street.

When first entering The Holland Project, a vibrant painting covers part of the wall. Following this is a little garden and twinkle lights strung above the front entrance. Once inside, a disco ball hangs glittering in the center of a small venue. This venue contains two cozy couches, a small one-foot-tall stage, and room to stand. Tucked away toward the back of the show space a small library can be discovered containing donated books and zines. Beyond the entertainment area at the front of the building is an art gallery filled with work by local artists. There is no bar and smoking isn’t allowed inside.

Reno has its fair share of bars and casinos, making it hard for teens and young adults to find a safe and appropriate place to go to in the evenings. This is the case in local music venues because most contain bars, such as Knitting Factory and Cargo. Some concerts are 18 or 21 and up, holding teens back from seeing their favorite musicians.

Young, up-and-coming artists have no place to showcase their art to the community. The only opportunity for them is typically at a school art event.

“Before I knew about The Holland Project there was nothing for me here. Holland has given me more of an appreciation for Reno,” said local teen Hanna Kaplan, a gallery intern for Holland.

The recent exhibition in The Holland Project’s gallery is the Scholastic Art Awards, which showcases the art from local teens in Northern Nevada. The opening reception of the exhibit includes an awards ceremony to recognize some of the talented artists.

Another chance for young emerging artists to share their work is at the Young Blood Showcases. Held twice every school year, this gives artists under 21 a chance to take over the gallery along with featuring and selling their artwork. Those involved also get to experience the hands-on installation of their work.

“I did my first Young Blood show a year ago from January or February. I put out a couple photos and I had no idea how to do it so I just showed up. From there is when I started going to more events,” said local teen Bridget Conway, another Holland gallery intern.

The Holland Project has both the main gallery and a Micro Gallery. The Holland Project Gallery has 1–3 exhibitions each month. It is the only gallery space in Reno where during any month there might be exhibitions by middle/high school artists, college artists, young emerging artists, or older sometimes more established artists using various types of mediums. One of the goals of the gallery that is beneficial to the new artists is learning hands-on how a gallery works and how to showcase their work.

“Art has always been one of the main facets of The Holland Project since day one,” said Holland Project’s art director Alisha Funkhouser.

The Micro Gallery’s location is inside of Bibo Coffee Company on Record Street. The purpose for these exhibits is to showcase up-and-coming artists who are just getting started so they can learn how the process works. It is also a learning experience for the gallery interns, Kaplan and Conway, since they have full responsibility of the space. Their duties include putting together and curating the featured exhibits.

Conway said it’s inspiring to see people making such amazing art despite the fact that Reno isn’t considered an artistic city.

The exhibition that is currently being featured in the Micro Gallery is Entanglement by Reena Spansail. The artist examines the entanglement of human connections contributing to our growth. The Closing Reception will be on Thursday, May 12 from 6–8 p.m. at Bibo Coffee Company.

Upcoming exhibitions include Parsing (Im)Possibilities at the main gallery in The Holland Project. Opening Reception will be on Friday, May 6 from 6–8 p.m. and will have digital media works by University of Nevada, Reno students in the studio art program. Some of these works include computer game art as well as 3D scanning and printing. This is beneficial for the digital media students to gain experience in their field and have some fun with it.

Starting May 23 the Micro Gallery will be holding a local teen exhibition with the theme of new beginnings. This is another great opportunity for the local youth to learn how to showcase and sell their art.

“I would love to incorporate more educational aspects to each art exhibit such as artist talks/presentations/workshops and more interactive exhibitions so people are able to take a little more away from each exhibit,” Funkhouser said when asked what she would like to see in the future for the galleries.

According to Holland Project’s website, their mission is: “Art, music, culture. By young people, for young people.” It is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization that produces more than 150 all-ages events annually in the Reno area. They focus on hosting monthly live music events, gallery exhibits, workshops, and citywide collaborations.

To find out more about upcoming events at The Holland Project check out the calendar on their website.