UNR Art Department Visiting Artist-in-Residence completes a large-scale outdoor mural with students. A public reception, soft-opening, and artist wrap-party will be held at the mural site on Thursday June 6, 5-7 pm. A grand opening ceremony will occur in early September. New Mexico based-artist Eric J. Garcia is currently the 2024 Artist-in Residence for the Department of Art, Art History & Design at UNR. He was invited and commissioned to design a mural in support of the arts and based on personal research completed through visits to Reno and UNR campus in Spring 2024. Garcia’s final design utilizes a central theme of water in Northern Nevada, and water in general as a “soft power”, comparing the arts as a force for social and political change. Using iconic casino and motel signs, Garcia has modified the orginal signage to include translations of the word “water” in both Paiute and Spanish. The Strongest Soft Power in the World was designed as a site-specific mural and broadside print by Eric J. García, the 2024 Artist-in-Residence in the Department of Art, Art History, & Design at University of Nevada, Reno. It was produced for the Church Fine Arts building in concurrence with the UNR sesquicentennial celebrations, as well as the 60th year of Black Rock Press. Initiated by the Visiting Artist Committee, the project was organized by Art Department Chair Kelly Chorpening and Committee Chair Austin Pratt, who led the Wall Works class with students Lindsey Aker, Abbay Anderson, Victor Clavel, Sam Clement, Laney Creekbaum, Taylor Ford, Abigail Kermgard, Gabriella Poulsen, Callie Sumsion, & Rachel Weltz. This broadside was printed at Black Rock Press by Tanya Gutierrez, Kelsey Reiman, Meg Pohlod, and students in Wall Works. The text in the mural references wood type from the Barbara Anne Kelly Historic Wood Type and Printer’s Cuts Collection, and the actual type was used to print this broadside. Eric J. García uses history and a graphic style to create political art that confronts our understanding of the present. Using sculpture, mixed media installations, murals, printmaking and his controversial political cartoons, he aims to challenge his viewers to question sources of power and the whitewashing of history. After receiving his BFA with a minor in Chicano studies from the University of New Mexico, Eric Garcia went on to complete his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a core member of the printmaking collective, Instituto Gráfico de Chicago, one of the newest member’s of the Justseeds Cooperative, a part of the emerging Veteran Art Movement, and is a dedicated teaching artist. Garcia has exhibited nationally and his work can be found in the collections of the National Museum of Mexican Art, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Garcia is based Albuquerque, New Mexico.