The Nevada Museum of Art (NMA) has entered into a significant educational partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). On April 11, 2023, UNR President Brian Sandoval and museum CEO David B. Walker formalized the agreement, paving the way for the museum to serve as a venue for UNR classes starting in the fall semester. This collaboration coincides with the museum’s ongoing expansion, which is set to enhance its library, exhibition, and storage facilities.

Enhancing Learning Through Experience

According to Kelly Chorpening, chair of the UNR art department, this partnership provides students with unique learning opportunities within the museum’s environment. “We feel like it’s an opportunity for our students to have more firsthand learning within the museum,” she noted. The aim is to immerse students in art practices that exist outside traditional gallery settings, exposing them to culturally relevant and context-rich experiences.

Focus on the Intersection of Art and Environment

The museum’s Center for Art + Environment plays a pivotal role in this initiative, showcasing collections that explore themes of landscape, land art, and resource use. Highlighted collections include the Altered Landscape Photography Collection and archives that document significant projects originating outside museum walls, such as land art installations and the Burning Man festival, illustrating the relationship between art and its environmental context.

Significant Museum Features and Initiatives

Founded in 1931, the NMA embraces a distinctive identity, as evidenced by its recent commissioning of Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains. “Some young contemporary-art museums in smaller cities are trying to think outside the cookie-cutter approach to developing a program,” the New York Times noted, emphasizing the NMA’s strategy to cultivate expertise in art related to land rather than competing with larger institutions.

Academic Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Studies

This partnership extends beyond the art department. Plans are underway for interdisciplinary courses, with classes like “Field Methods” in geography and “Field Studies” in art scheduled to share classroom space within the museum. UNR psychology professor Lars Strother will also utilize the museum’s resources for his course focusing on perception.

Access to Valuable Resources

Chorpening emphasized that students will gain firsthand research opportunities through access to archival materials at the museum. “We would be trained on how to handle objects,” she said, highlighting the educational value of proper museum protocols.

Colin Robertson, vice president of education at the museum, elaborated on the goal of activating the museum’s vast collections for student engagement. The upcoming rebranding of the Center for Art + Environment to the Institute for Art + Environment signifies a commitment to furthering this mission.

A Resource for Students

Students from UNR, Truckee Meadows Community College, and local high schools can enjoy free admission to the museum, allowing them to explore its extensive collections without cost. The library within the museum, though not a lending facility, promises to be a significant resource for professionals and students alike, offering around 3,600 square feet of space dedicated to research.