University Libraries at the University of Nevada, Reno in partnership with Artown invites you to experience the Reno Street Art Project, a multimedia time capsule highlighting street art on display in Reno between July 2017 – December 2017. Street art painted on walls and buildings around Reno have become a celebrated part of our city’s character. Librarians and multimedia specialists at the University collaborated with local artists to generate a digital archive populated with more than 500 entries of street art representing more than 200 individual murals and virtual reality (VR) gallery celebrating this medium. Event guests will have an opportunity to explore the Reno Street Art digital archive, experience the virtual gallery and watch live, street art-style painting from renown Reno muralists using virtual reality technology.

RSVP via Eventbrite to reserve your time 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. OR 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.: https://bit.ly/2HsZWCC

*Reno Street Art Project artwork featured above provided by muralist Joe C. Rock

FAQs

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

No. There are no ID or minimum age requirements to attend this event. This is a FREE event offered in partnership with Artown. Guests of all ages are invited to attend.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

Free parking is available for this event. Guests are encouraged to park on the fifth floor of the Brian Whalen Parking Garage located on Virginia Street. For a campus map and information on where this parking garage is located please click here: https://www.unr.edu/around-campus/whalen-parking-complex. The Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center is located west of the Brian Whalen Parking Garage.

 How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Please email UniversityLibrariesEvents@unr.edu with questions or call 775-682-5684.

About the Reno Street Art Project:

Background
It is long known that murals have the power to generate an intimate connection to our surroundings. The art form is accessible and interpretive. It can unite people or celebrate differences. No matter what an artist is trying to communicate, the work itself evokes a curiosity in passersby, from cave paintings of 40,000 years ago, to Diego Rivera to Basquiat to Reno’s own muralist Joe C. Rock.

Street art painted on walls and buildings around Reno has become a celebrated part of our city’s character. Varying styles and subject matter represent a sprawling variety of ethnic and cultural expressions. The sheer number of murals in town is astounding – more than 20,000 square feet of painted walls. This recent proliferation of street art is embedded in Reno’s identity.

However, all street art is ephemeral in nature. Buildings are torn down; walls are painted over or degraded by weather. To preserve our own cultural heritage, librarians and multimedia specialists at the University of Nevada, Reno collaborated with local artists to generate a digital archive and virtual reality (VR) gallery celebrating this medium. More than a handful of murals represented in this project have already changed or gone away.

The vision for this project was initially proposed by the Digital Initiatives Department at the University Libraries as a campaign to digitally preserve Reno’s street art. The VR application was proposed as an interactive accessory to the free online digital archive available online at renostreetart.unr.edu.

To date, the digital archive is populated with more than 500 entries of street art representing more than 200 individual murals. Metadata accompanies each entry describing, in considerable detail, the murals themselves, as well as information describing the artist, location, medium and more.

Virtual Reality
The @Reality multimedia team at the University of Nevada, Reno generated a 3-dimensional (3D) map of our city spanning from the University campus down to the edge of Midtown. Next, they populated the map with more than 100 cubes, each one representing a mural or a group of murals.

By wearing the head-mounted VR display, you have a chance to “teleport” around the map and select what murals you want to visit. Once you select a mural to view, you are transported to the inside of a 360-degree video filmed in front of walls hosting Reno’s street art. Using VR, you can view the art with perceived scale and presence. You are encouraged to take a complete look around while interacting with the VR video. Each video portrays each mural in its place, adorned amongst bustling Reno streets or quiet back alleyways.

Some of these locations are tucked away off of the beaten path. Other locations are completely inaccessible. The ability to “teleport” around the map allows you to intimately observe a variety of street art murals faster than ever before.

Special Thanks

Jack Freer - Additional Still Photography
Eric Brooks – Curator, Art Spot Reno
Vaka - Muralist
J. Charboneau - Muralist
Joe C. Rock - Muralist
Anthony Ortega – Muralist
Sierra Arts Foundation 
Art Spot Reno
Artown