Black Rock Desert Artist-in-Residence Program 2014 Call for Artists
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In late Spring 2014, the Black Rock Desert Artist-in-Residence program will host two emerging or established artists, working in two-dimensional media (painting, printmaking, photography, etc.) at the Black Rock Desert - High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. The program is a partnership between the Bureau of Land Management, Friends of Black Rock - High Rock and Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative.
The artist residencies will be scheduled for two-week periods during May or June. Applications can be found on the Friends of Black Rock-High Rock website at blackrockdesert.org/artist-residence-program/. Completed applications can be emailed to artist@blackrockdesert.org or mailed to Friends of Black Rock, 320 Main Street, Gerlach, NV 89412. Mailed applications must be postmarked by March 28. Artists need not be a Nevada resident. Two weeks of housing in the community of Gerlach and a small stipend will be provided.
The Black Rock Desert NCA is one of three NCAs in Nevada within the sixty-four National Conservation Lands units administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Each year, over 200,000 visitors travel to the Black Rock Desert NCA's 1.2 million acres to recreate, explore, hike its 900 miles of rustic roads and historic emigrant trails, experience its diverse wildlife and camp under unfettered dark skies. The best known gateway to this NCA is through Gerlach, NV, located about 117 miles north of Reno off Hwy 447. This landscape continues to exclude development and mining and is the largest landscape which still reflects the years of the early pioneers.
Artists chosen for this opportunity will engage with a small community audience and experience the vast open landscapes of this American frontier. Public programs, community outreach projects, and an exhibition of the artists' work will be hosted at the Visitor Center in Gerlach as well as a gallery in Reno. Resident artists will be ambassadors of the Black Rock Desert NCA, working to promote awareness of the need for conservation and stewardship of this and other National Conservation Lands in the United States.
The artists' works will be printed and presented at both the state and national levels of the Department of the Interior and other government agencies, as well as online with the BLM and Friends of Black Rock - High Rock. Prints will also be used as a fundraiser for the Friends organization. Artists will participate in a Gerlach school program during their stay and speak at the annual Rendezvous over Memorial Day Weekend on the desert. Each artist will be responsible for donating at least one piece of art completed during their residency which will be featured in a culminating exhibition of works at the Visitor Center in Summer of 2014.
Selected artists will be notified no later than April 16, 2014. For more details or to obtain an application please visit the Friends of Black Rock - High Rock website at blackrockdesert.org/artist-residence-program/ or contact Karen Dallett at karen@blackrockdesert.org or call 775-557-2900.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.