Several art and music events in Carson City on Friday, June 7 are perfectly timed so you can attend all three. Drop by for appetizers and see the "Translating Silver City" art show at City Hall from 3 to 4:30 p.m., then view Capital City Art Initiative's "New Crop 2019" exhibition and meet the artists over a glass of wine at the nearby reception at the Court House Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. Finish the night with a free concert by Athena McIntyre at McFadden Plaza near The Fox Brewpub from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
First, see the exhibition titled “Translating Silver City: Artwork from the Permanent Collection of the Resident Artist Program in Silver City” at City Hall at 201 North Carson Street during a reception from 3 to 4:30 p.m. (to locate the exhibition, enter on the East Musser Street side entrance to City Hall). The show, which has been up since March and will be on view until June 28, is sponsored by the Municipality of Carson City’s Department of Arts and Culture, and graciously hosted by City Hall.
About the Show: Although Silver City, Nevada has roots in the Comstock mining boom of the 1860s, by the 1950s the town had become a quiet place, a curiosity for passing tourists who saw it as a ghost town. A shift began in the mid 1960s, however, with the arrival of a new wave of residents, and the town's "cultural re-population" continued for the next five decades.
Among those contributing to the “cultural re-population” was University of Nevada, Reno art professor Jim McCormick, who came to Silver City with his wife and children in the 1970s and built a unique house, which writer Lisa Gavon describes as being like a “giant sculpture: unexpected and aesthetically compelling.”
Today McCormick House serves as the living space for visiting artists, musicians and writers from around the world who come to participate in the Resident Artist Program in Silver City. Jim’s son, Theo McCormick, and daughter-in-law Quest Lakes, fund and direct the Program.
“Translating Silver City” includes selections from the Resident Artist Program’s permanent collection that show how artists and writers living at McCormick House have interpreted Silver City. David Lee, Utah’s first and longest serving Poet Laureate, described sunrise and the Sierra mountains as seen from the large kitchen windows of McCormick House.
Sophie Scott of New Zealand chose to paint an image of 19th century Silver City. Jim McCormick’s Comstock Lode Series of lithographs imagines the Silver City men and women of the 1860s whose hard lives were centered around mining.
London-based artist Claire Scully drew the present-day art studio at McCormick House, while photographer Frances Melhop captured images of past and present Silver City denizens in her “Comstock Portrait Project 2013-2017.” After the reception for “Translating Silver City,” there’s an opportunity to see some of Frances Melhop’s more recent work at the nearby Court House gallery.
Next, from 5 to 7 p.m., Capital City Arts Initiative (CCAI) hosts an opening reception for “New Crop 2019,” an exhibition featuring work by Frances Melhop and Mark Combs at the beautiful gallery on the second floor of the nearby Carson City Court House at 885 E Musser Street. The artists will give brief talks about their work starting at 5:30 p.m.
Finally, after the CCAI show, catch a free concert at McFadden Plaza. From 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., one of Northern Nevada’s favorite song writers/singers, Athena McIntyre, will offer a concert at the Bob McFadden Plaza, 223 West Third Street, behind the Fox Brewpub and near Bella Fiore Wines.