Published April 4, 2025

The Spirit (Animals) of Artown

by Beth Macmillan

Downtown Reno is undeniably the home of Artown. The City of Reno and Artown share a long and exciting history and common goal: to bring people downtown. Over the past 30 years, our downtown has been transformed through upscale hotels, gaming, numerous stylish bars and restaurants, minor league baseball, the world’s largest outdoor climbing wall, urban redevelopment, ample outdoor activities, numerous fashionable districts, community art, and, of course, vibrant festivals and public events like Artown.

 

These combined have all contributed to making the Reno-Tahoe area a unique and enticing destination and place to live. As we celebrate Artown’s 30th anniversary this summer, we will present an enormously transformative public art exhibit: eight colossal Spirit Animal statues which will stand over 20 feet on their bases and be intricately hand-painted in vibrant patterns and vivid colors. Illuminated at night, these statues will be exhibited in various public spaces adjacent to Virginia Street and the Truckee River in downtown Reno. The artwork is being created in Mexico City and will begin this exclusive and limited tour in San Francisco, followed by Reno for the entirety of Artown, before continuing to San Jose, New York, and other major cities where they will be viewed and enjoyed by thousands.

For one entire month, this project will revitalize and beautify the heart of our city, and, through their sheer magnitude and striking visual grandeur, will become a destination in and of themselves, inspire curiosity and discovery and encourage people to visit downtown as this installation must be physically seen to be experienced and appreciated. An artisan from Oaxaca will travel to Reno to host several workshops focused on the history and evolution of this art form. Additionally, there will be several painting workshops designed for our area’s young people, where they can create their own spirit animal artworks. Artown will bring in 2,000 small statues for this purpose.

In the past we have seen how large public arts events and displays increase visitors. Looking back through the years, Artown and the City of Reno have collaborated on several large civic arts projects including the “Counting Sheep” project in 2002, which showcased 25 artistically designed bighorn sheep throughout the region. During this time, several artists created the successful “Black Sheep” project, igniting the Nada Dada movement. Artown partnered with Midtown Merchants in 2015 to decorate 50 statues for the Artown People Project, which complemented Midtown’s vibrant atmosphere which was already filled with murals, restaurants, and a growing real estate market. For our 15^th anniversary, we organized the rePIANO project, allowing artists to embellish 15 pianos. This initiative contributed to the creation of the Generator – a creative workspace, as well as the development of the Dickerson Road arts scene.

People love public art, and they want to travel to places that offer something their communities may not have. The Spirit Animals project is like no other, as it offers a compelling reason to visit downtown to experience something that is unique and magically impressive. We invite everyone to visit this free exhibition during Artown; we’re certain you will be enthralled and amazed by their beauty and stature, and their power to transform a small piece of our community into a joyous, wild habitat of magnificent Spirit animals.

Beth Macmillan is the Executive Director of Artown, one of the largest arts and culture festivals in the western United States, offering over 500 events with a wide range of artistic disciplines, including music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, and more.

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