Joanna Drakos is the new Reno City Artist
The city of Reno announced on Jan. 5 that abstract painter Joanna Drakos is the Reno City Artist for 2026.
Her artist statement summarizes her MO like this: “I strive to make work that is imperfect and irresistible; to inhabit the place where skill meets loss of control.”
The Reno City Artist program aims to connect the public with visual artists and their work. To this effect, Drakos is slated for a solo exhibition at the Metro Gallery in Reno City Hall from June 29 to Aug. 21. She will also curate a group exhibition there, scheduled to open Aug. 31.
Some of her artworks, along with those of her peers in the Downtown Modernists abstract painters’ group that she founded, are on view at COA Collective, the vintage clothing and furniture store located at 3400 Lakeside Drive, through Jan. 31.
Elisa Garcia is the new Reno Poet Laureate
The city of Reno announced on Jan. 14 that Elisa Garcia is the new Reno Poet Laureate.
As a member of the Spoken Views Collective, she has mentored young poets in the Brave New Voices program and was part of Reno’s first-ever team to compete at the National Poetry Slam. Her poetry addresses topics like family, identity, self-acceptance and healing.
“As a Mexican American woman and the first female in this role since Gailmarie Pahmeier, I feel proud to represent both my culture and my community,” Garcia said.
New Desert Hearts Film Society debuts this week
A quarter-century after the beloved Keystone II arthouse movie theater closed (and three years after the similarly minded, much-shorter-lived Theater 42 shuttered), Reno has a new arthouse movie group, the Desert Hearts Film Society.
“We have an emphasis on older film, international film and queer film,” said co-organizer Caroline Branch. Her collaborators on the project are artist Eleanor Qull, who has worked on documentary films and run a puppet theater; Mike Frazel, playwright and Reno Little Theater board member; podcaster/multimedia artist Fil Corbitt and artist Kaleb Temple.
The society’s first screening, featuring Desert Hearts, the 1985 lesbian drama set in Reno, at Good Luck Macbeth Theatre this Friday, Jan. 16, is already sold out. Non-ticketholders are welcome to the society’s afterparty that evening at Chapel Tavern at 9 p.m.
Branch recommends following the group on Instagram @desertheartsfilmsocietyreno or signing up for its email list to learn about future events, which she said will take place at different venues around town.
Burning Man ticket sales to open Feb. 4
Various types of Burning Man tickets will become available for purchase on various dates between February and August.
Sales for the first round, the “Sunrise Sale,” will be for sale on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Advance registration, which is required, opens Jan. 26.
Prices for tickets in this round range from $675 to $3,000. They afford ticketholders the same level of event access; purchasers choose based on how philanthropic and flush they’re feeling. A limited number of tickets are available at each price point.
Subsequent ticket options include “Ticket Aid” discounted passes ($250) beginning on Feb. 25, reserved for low-income attendees; “Resilience Program” tickets ($550) for “individuals who have been severely impacted either by a natural disaster or geopolitical conflict,” also on Feb. 25; and the “Main Sale” ($550-$3,000), for which registration opens April 20.
For additional ticket levels, parking pass information and more details, visit the Burning Man ticket information page. The event runs from Aug. 30 through Sept. 7.