It’s the best of times and the worst of times for the Nevada County arts community. We’re flush with artists and musicians, strong theatre groups and, soon, probably, a major new performance complex in Grass Valley. And the state recently granted the Nevada County Arts Council three hundred thousand dollars to distribute to local artists.
But Nevada City took over the Miners Foundry last year, when the venue couldn’t pay the bills, and the Center for the Arts has gone almost a year without an executive director.
Eliza Tudor is Executive Director at the Nevada County Arts Council, and a few days ago, KVMR reporter Cy Musiker visited her office in Nevada City to learn a bit about what’s next for local arts in 2026.
Cy Musiker:
Eliza, tell us how artists can tap some of the $300,000 at your managing.
Eliza Tudor:
The first thing is to be patient. We have to build the program. The California Arts Council has appointed the Nevada County Arts Council to administer a 19 county area across Northern California.
We’re building the program now to ensure that we have an equitable process and that those communities who have not got strong histories of receiving grants from the state have a good chance of doing so. It’s called the individual artist fellowship program and we’re going to be taking Applications starting in late spring.
For years, for decades, California Arts Council didn’t give out any grants to individual artists, so we’re thrilled and honored to be doing this work.
Cy Musiker:
The county and the state arts council has both emphasized diversity and equity in supporting artists at a time when the very idea of diversity and equity are under attack by the federal government. Why do those standards matter?
Eliza Tudor:
I love the word that you use, “standards.” We call them values. For us, it’s incredibly important that communities across Nevada County have equal access to grants. And what do we mean by access? It’s not just that they’re available. It’s that we do active outreach into communities that may not have heard of the opportunity and certainly may not feel confident applying.
We just administered about $20,000 in grants and to much needed projects like Truckee Pride Week, for example. We tend to see equity as a value that needs to be embedded in everything we do, and it’s a journey. What does equity mean?
Each month we have a creative meet-up in the Truckee, another one here in Grass Valley or Nevada City. And it’s at those events where we bring our artists and our communities together that we ask those questions. What are we missing? What do you need? How can we help?
Cy Musiker:
Are you concerned that the Trump administration could sue or otherwise attack the state or counties like Nevada over the diversity language?
Eliza Tudor:
Whatever the administration. We’re always going to be watching out for things that create fissures in the community and work against the idea that we belong together, and together we are better.
So we’re always going to be concerned and much of our work at Nevada County Arts Council is speaking up both within the county to our local government but also much further afield at the state level, making sure that they know what’s going on in our local communities, and what, for example, these very big federal changes mean for their constituents.
And yes, we’re concerned. I will say this is a very frightening time for the arts.
Cy Musiker:
Later in January the California Arts Council is touring the state to present a first of its kind plan to grow the state’s arts economy, which is worth $288 billion as of 2024. What can you tell us about how that might benefit our little county?
Eliza Tudor:
I think that’s what’s important about showing up. So to clarify, on Thursday, January 22nd at the Miners’ Foundry in Nevada City, we will be pulling together regional leaders across sectors, not just the arts, to join us in discussion with the California Arts Council, and we’ll want to be very alert to what the contents of that new strategic plan for the creative economy at the state level looks like, particularly as we launch and adopt the implementation of our own six-year arts and culture action plan, that’s called Culture-Forward.
So two things happening state and local on one day, we’re really hoping that our leaders across sectors show up for that.
Cy Musiker:
Even if you’re, say, in retail or real estate?
Eliza Tudor:
Absolutely. And it’s not about turning up so you can be put on the spot.
It’s about turning up and thinking, how do I fit in? What’s my next exciting adventure working with this phenomenal creative economy here in Nevada County?
Cy Musiker:
Are you worried that a lot of the statewide strategic plan will be focused on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, because that is such a big part of that $288 billion industry?
Eliza Tudor:
We advocated strongly in the last two years that county arts agencies across 58 counties in California would have a stake to play and to make sure that there’s equitable funding and that the rural voice is taken into account. There’s a movement across the US at the moment. It’s “rural is the new cool.” Of course, we’ve known that rural is cool for a very, very long time and yes, we need to have our voices heard all the way.
Cy Musiker:
Well then, I’m going to keep my muck boots on.
You’re also planning to announce a new arts career path for Nevada County school kids. How does that fit into the six-year plan you’re talking about implementing?
Eliza Tudor:
A year and a half ago when we started this journey with our consultants, we knew that one of the most important outcomes would be a career pathways plan, starting at kindergarten, all the way to junior college.
There are incredible education programs: In Concert Sierra, Centre for the Arts, and in Truckee, the Truckee Community Theatre. So how can we all work together to make sure that that this education made more available to kids. So, we’re calling that the Creative Career Pathways Plan and that’s one of the three plans within Culture Forward.
And the Career Pathways plan is just as much about the degree to which we’re able to then sustain artists. Every artist is a business. They need to make money to live. What does artist retention look like in Nevada County in the six years to come and beyond?
Cy Musiker:
All of these programs encourage a more robust arts economy. But can any of these programs result in better art or more insightful theatre or music?
Eliza Tudor:
We need to have sufficient freedom and security and safety within which to operate. Very often we’re not able to do the really creative, risky, innovative things that we want to do because the funding isn’t there.
So, through Culture Forward, We want to look at how can ensure that the really interesting, gritty stuff happens?
Cy Musiker:
So, more opportunities to blow our mind?
Eliza Tudor:
Absolutely, let’s do it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the full Jan. 2 Curtain Call episode, with co-hosts Cy Musiker and Joyce Miller: https://share.transistor.fm/s/05f655b5