Art in Public Spaces – Visibility Through Art at the Rood Center

Nevada City – Nevada County Arts Council and Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District invite the community to attend the Opening of Visibility Through Art at the Rood, and are combining this important event with their October Creatives Meetup, as a partnership with the Nevada City Rancheria and the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP).

The exhibition will feature work from CHIRP’s extensive Visibility Through Art collection, which is inspired by the Nevada City Rancheria’s desire to engage local artists to authentically represent the Nisenan’s rich but nearly forgotten history in Nevada County. A community art initiative produced annually as part of CHIRP’s Arts and Culture Program, Visibility Through Art is an intentional and informed collaboration between local artists and members of the Tribe, through which a theme or subject of importance to the Tribe is explored, culminating in an annual exhibition.

Since 2017, Visibility Through Art has exhibited over 150 works of original art, and, with many non-Nisenan artists contributing, has navigated sensitive topics of cultural appropriation, privilege, and erasure.

Art in Public Spaces is about providing a thoughtful space of belonging for all residents of Nevada County, expressing community values, heightening our awareness, and helping us question our assumptions. It acknowledges our California Cultural Districts and the communities that live in our diverse landscapes. It is for everyone, a form of collective community expression, reflecting our society and opening our civic spaces.

The program has been championed by District 1 Supervisor, Heidi Hall. Says Hall: “The arts are central to Nevada County’s identity, culture, and economy,” Hall said. “This partnership gives us the opportunity to showcase the incredible creators in our community while inviting new audiences into public buildings.” 

Exhibitions are curated by the Nevada County Arts Council, a nonprofit organization designated by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors as the County’s state-local partner with the California Arts Council.  

“We’re so grateful to the Nevada County Arts Council for bringing their expertise and art community connections to this project,” said Hall. “I’m excited to see work from a wide variety of local artists in upcoming shows.”

Nevada County Arts Council’s monthly meetups for creatives are held on the first Thursday of each month, co-hosted at a new location throughout the Grass Valley–Nevada City Cultural District. Meetups serve as an opportunity for artists, culture bearers, and the community to come together and inspire one another, and for the Council to share invaluable information such as upcoming grant opportunities, free resources and important news on the arts.