Nevada: Basin to Range Exchange Program

The 2019 Basin to Range Exchange participants in Tonopah, Nevada

Using arts, creativity and culture as a convener to improve community interactions and quality of life is a focal point of the Nevada Arts Council. As part of this commitment, the Arts Council launched the Nevada Basin to Range Exchange (BRX), a program that facilitates rural and metropolitan partnerships by promoting resource sharing, project development, creative placemaking and intercommunity collaborations. By bringing together arts and community development stakeholders from rural and urban metropolitan regions, the program highlights the strengths, distinctiveness and interdependencies of diverse Nevada communities.

The opening gathering in Tonopah, Nevada, in April 2019 convened 25 selected community leaders from across the state. Between April 2019 and June 2021, selected teams worked together to plan and implement intercommunity arts initiatives. Two projects demonstrated the program’s main goals of creative and regional collaboration. Nevada P.S. I Love You displayed postcards from Nevadans across the state (aged five to adult) sharing an appreciation of Nevada through visual art, poetry and haiku. NV Arts Stops showcased repurposed books created into paper sculptures throughout the state’s northern and southern libraries. The recent virtual BRX gathering held in October included two sessions that convened more than 50 community stakeholders around the theme of unity and recovery. Attendees were encouraged to share challenges and successes in the face of common adversities such as pandemic recovery, political divisions, arts awareness, and lack of human and financial resources.

BRX 2023 is scheduled for April in Ely, Nevada. The three-day, in-person gathering will include more than 50 participants selected from an application process. Participation is open to anyone interested in building local, creative communities including veterans, health care workers, artists, arts administrators, business owners, and representatives from private and public sectors. Participants will further engage in conversations to cultivate ideas, improve the needs of the community, promote economic development and initiate creative placemaking. Participants will also develop and implement programs that facilitate the intercommunity and collaborative spirt of BRX. Opportunities for peer-to-peer mentorship and networking will be also scheduled. To learn more, contact Nevada Arts Council Community Arts Development Specialist/ADA Coordinator Michelle Patrick (southern Nevada) or Nevada Arts Council Community Arts Development Specialist Erica Hill (northern Nevada).