Full Scope Workshop for January was a presentation by the Nevada Arts Council staff. They covered current and future opportunities through Nevada Arts Council. The staff showed attendees how to navigate the NAC website to find these grants and programs, in-depth information about them, and how to submit applications.

The discussion was followed by a question-and-answer segment where attendees asked the NAC staff about the topics covered.

https://youtu.be/6CCiwTAuQzY

A PDF copy of the presentation by Nevada Arts Council can be found here:
https://webfiles.clarkcountynv.gov//Public%20Art/Public%20Art%20Professional%20Education/January2025-NVArtsCouncil.pdf

Meet our Full Scope speakers, the Nevada Arts Council staff!

Stephanie Montgomery (Grants and Projects Analyst) joined the Nevada Arts Council as a grants and projects analyst in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Nevada, Reno, and her Master of Arts and Ph. D. in Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A former educator who grew up in rural Nevada, Montgomery is passionate about making the arts and humanities accessible for all. In her downtime, she is an avid reader, write, crafter, gamer, and hiker.

Krista Ficken (Grants Program Assistant) joined the Nevada Arts Council as the Grants Program Assistant in 2019. She is a native Nevadan who has been fascinated by the beauty of our vast desert, the craftsmanship of “old things” and the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of the world around her since childhood. This has translated to her exploration of several artistic disciplines such as performance, visual, and literary arts. Her multi-disciplinary practice includes sketching, poetry, photography, multi-media upcycling and textile restoration, as well as stage setting, window display and interactive 3D photo shoot designs and construction. For Ficken, the Arts have always been a therapeutic and highly rewarding avenue of self-expression. She strongly believes that creative opportunities nurture the parts within each of us that are both innocently curious and openly accepting of our vast and beautiful differences. It is her hope to have a positive impact on increasing accessibility to the arts for people of all ages and economic statuses, so that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy the freedom, and potential bliss, or self-expression.

Shereen Choudhury (Arts Learning Specialist) joined the Nevada Arts Council as the arts learning specialist in 2024. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Choudhury brings 17 years of experience as a teaching artist with a focus on bringing creative experiences to underserved communities and educators. They earned a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Southern California in 2012, with additional specializations in K-12 Visual Arts Education from California State University, Long Beach. Prior to joining the arts council, they served as an elementary school art teacher and extended their teaching practice into local communities. As a public artist, Choudhury specializes in facilitating collaborative art projects that emphasize healing justice, community-building, and personal empowerment.

Brad McMullen (Folklife Specialist) lives in Las Vegas, NV, where he serves as the Folklife Specialist at the Nevada Arts Council. Before joining the NAC, he was the Programs and Gathering Manager at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, NV where he oversaw the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other programs. He has three master’s degrees – one in Public Folklore and one in Arts Administration, both from University of Oregon, and one in Welsh from Cardiff University.

Michelle Patrick (Community Arts Development Specialist / ADA Coordinator). Over the past decade, Michelle Patrick has worked in arts administration, with a background that includes the City of Las Vegas, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and the Sundance Film Festival. She has served as a grant specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bradford College and in an alumna of Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, as well as YoungArts.

Sapira Cheuk (Artist Services Specialist) joined the Nevada Arts Council as an artist service program specialist in 2022. Her duties include providing support for current artists’ services and programs, as well as assist in developing new initiatives. In addition to her role at the NAC, she also serves as an Art Commissioner for the City of Las Vegas, as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as art editor for the museum of americana. Cheuk is practicing artist, and an occasional instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the College of Southern Nevada. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at University of California Riverside, and Master’s in Fine Art from California State University, San Bernardino. She is based out of the Las Vegas office.

The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, was created as a state agency in 1967. With offices in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada Arts Council programs serve as a catalyst to stimulate artistic, creative, cultural, and economic activity across the state, enliven its breadth of communities, ensure lifelong learning in the arts for all Nevadans, and to encourage public and private support for the arts.

The agency has a staff of 13 full-time program and administrative staff and nine-member board whose members are appointed by the Governor. The Nevada Arts Council is divided into six programs as accessible portals for our constituents and members of the public alike, Artist Services, Arts Learning, Community Arts Development, Folklife, grants, and Public Initiatives. Through these program areas.

Visit Nevada Arts Council website for more information:
https://www.nvartscouncil.org/

(Artist Headshot and Bio, Courtesy of NAC)