Where to See Art in Reno Tahoe, From Murals to Burning Man

Courtesy of Visit Reno Tahoe

In the Reno-Tahoe area, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains are everywhere. Reno artist Blair Latos says the region’s natural beauty inspires her work, and she’s not the only one. Countless others paint, dance, and create with the Sierra Nevada as their muse and backdrop.

Latos says you’re never far from art in Reno. From murals and museums to festivals and Burning Man sculptures, creativity is part of everyday life in The Biggest Little City in the World.

Latos grew up in the Bay Area and moved to Reno to study nursing. After earning her degree, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an artist instead. “I was always making art,” she says, “even if that was just drawing in math class. But the nature of my expression changed when I moved here and started looking outwards towards the mountains.”

The artist says Reno Tahoe’s “expansive, beautiful” terrain became part of her art practice. Today, she paints landscapes, outdoor sports, and adventure art. She doesn’t have to look far for inspiration.

Explore Keystone Canyon, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and Hidden Valley Regional Park

A favorite destination is the network of trails called Keystone Canyon in Reno, with rolling hills and miles of single-track paths traversing a sagebrush-filled desert. “Your heart expands from all that openness,” Latos says.

Mount Rose is another go-to for Latos. She loves running and mountain biking in the Galena Creek area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and especially appreciates how accessible it is. “You just drive 15 minutes,” she explains, “and you get to a really beautiful natural place.”

Latos also recommends spending time in southeast Reno’s 480-acre Hidden Valley Regional Park, where it’s not unusual to see wild horses on the trails leading into the foothills of the Virginia Range. It’s also one of the best places to take in panoramic views of downtown Reno.

See Indigenous art

Reno Tahoe is located on the ancestral land of the Waší·šiw (Washoe), Numu (Northern Paiute), and Newe (Western Shoshone) people. One of Latos’ favorite area artworks is a piece painted by a Native artist on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

Autumn Harry, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, hand-painted the four-panel Great Basin Indigenous Mural. Latos is especially drawn to the Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu panel, which features brightly hued images of kooyooe (cui-ui) and agi (Lahontan cutthroat trout) swimming upstream, along with an elder woman filleting kooyooe on the shores of Pyramid Lake. “It’s a really well-done mural,” she says.

To experience Indigenous culture, Latos points to powwows. The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony hosts the Numaga Indian Days: Powwow and Handgames every Labor Day weekend. The event draws champion dancers from throughout North America, powwow singers and drummers competing for titles, and more than 50 vendors selling traditional food, handmade crafts, and art. It’s a family-friendly event, free and open to the public.

Visit the Nevada Museum of Art, Nevada State Museum, and John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art

Latos also suggests checking out local museums for permanent and rotating exhibitions of Native art. The Nevada Museum of Art now spans an entire city block, with four floors of galleries, outdoor sculptures, and archives holding more than 1.6 million items. From the rooftop garden, you can take in the Reno skyline, Truckee Meadows, and the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada. Contemporary Native artists are represented alongside historic works, showing how traditions such as basketry, beadwork, and storytelling continue to evolve.

The Nevada State Museum in Carson City also showcases Native art, including the exhibit Waší·šiw Guwá: The Work of the Washoe People, home to the largest public display of baskets by famed weaver Louisa Keyser (Datsolalee). The permanent collection of the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno also includes examples of Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone art.

Attend festivals, gallery openings, and live performances

Each September, Latos looks forward to the Reno Tahoe International Art Show, billed as the fastest-growing fine art fair in North America. The four-day fair brings together more than 200 artists, galleries, and designers, with work spanning painting, sculpture, and film, plus live music. “It should definitely be on people’s radar to see live performances, original art, and sculptures,” she says.

In early January, the Silver Legacy Resort Casino hosts the annual Reno Latin Dance Fest. Over four days, the festival holds workshops, performances, competitions, and evening mixers. Latos, who has volunteered for the event, notes, “People come from all over the world.”

Reno Tahoe’s biggest arts festival, Artown, is a monthlong celebration held every July, with more than 500 events across 100 venues. Highlights include art walks, dancing, theatrical productions, concerts, visual arts, and workshops. Latos says, “It’s almost like you don’t even know what to choose because there are so many events happening.”

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival runs every summer from early July through late August in an outdoor amphitheater at Sand Harbor, in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park. Each season brings an eclectic lineup, and on any given night you might find a Shakespeare classic, a Broadway musical, a tribute band, or the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra performing against the backdrop of Lake Tahoe.

View Burning Man sculptures and take art classes

Reno has a deep relationship with Burning Man as the last major city before Black Rock City. But the region is more than just a supply stop on the way to the desert. Latos says, “A lot of Burning Man artists make their work over the course of an entire year at a place called the Generator.”

The facility in Sparks, Nevada, offers workshops that teach a variety of skills, such as sewing, screen printing, laser cutting, and welding. It also gives tours so that you can see massive Burning Man sculptures in progress.

You can also find painting, embroidery, sketching, and other art lessons at Nevada Fine Arts. Arts for All Nevada offers a lineup of workshops for the whole family in the historic Lake Mansion downtown.

If you’re hungry after creating your masterpiece, Latos’ three favorite restaurants in town are nearby at the West Street Market. Located in the Riverwalk District, it features an outdoor patio, plus shops, markets, and restaurants spread across three buildings. Latos recommends the Pizza Collective for scratch-made Italian pies, the Fix for falafel and vegan dishes, and Thali for organic, vegetarian Indian cuisine.

Check out public art in Reno

Public art is everywhere in Reno, with more than 300 works throughout the city. The Space Whale is arguably the most famous.

Located along the Riverwalk in City Plaza, the 50-foot-tall, 30,000-pound sculpture depicts a mother humpback whale with her calf in stained glass. Created by Matt Schultz and the Pier Group for Burning Man in 2016, it’s even more striking at night, when the panels glow like colorful stars. In the same plaza, grab a selfie with the 70-foot-long BELIEVE sculpture by artists Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg, which debuted at Burning Man in 2013.

More than 100 murals dot downtown and the MidTown District, highlighting everything from the region’s spectacular beauty to historical moments like Jack Johnson’s 1910 “Fight of the Century” in Reno and Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 proclamation of Nevada statehood. You can explore the street art on foot or via a Travel Pineapple pedicab tour.

Latos suggests walking along the free, open-air Neon Line on West Fourth Street, across from J Resort. “It’s over $100 million worth of public art owned by the resort, and they put it on display for us,” she says.

The property also has more than a dozen large-scale sculptures, including Desert Guard, a 49-foot-tall piece inspired by Genghis Khan’s armor. “That’s definitely my favorite sculpture of all time,” Latos says. “It’s just metal magnificence.”