The Capital City Arts Initiative announces that founding Executive Director, Sharon Rosse, will retire from the Initiative this fall. At a recent board meeting, CCAI’s Board of Directors voted to accept her resignation and to close the Initiative upon completing the programing scheduled as of Oct. 1, 2025.
Rosse said, “I am deeply grateful for the support from our community for the past 22 years. We grew from hosting occasional art cultural talks at the Library in 2003 to presenting 14 visual art exhibits annually in four public spaces along with companion essays and YouTube videos. It has been a terrific ride presenting arts programming to northwestern Nevada. We hope the community continues to support the local art scene, artists, and organizations for years to come.”
CCAI is an artist-centered not-for-profit organization committed to community engagement in contemporary visual arts through exhibitions, illustrated talks, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online activities.
The Initiative is funded by the John and Grace Nauman Foundation, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Carson City Cultural Commission, Kaplan Family Charitable Fund, Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation, Steele & Associates LLC, and CCAI sponsors and members.
HISTORY
Visual artists, Sharon Rosse and Jon Winet, founded CCAI in 2002 in recognition of a need for a contemporary arts program and in response to a citywide 2001 Carson City arts assessment that requested “more art by artists from outside the area and additional exhibition venues for local artists.”
The young organization incorporated these assessments into its ongoing mission. CCAI was an active participant in the 2015 – 2016 update of the city’s Arts and Culture Master Plan through the Carson City Cultural Commission.
Launched in 2003 with its Nevada Neighbors program, CCAI has presented 80 public talks by artists, curators, scholars. From 2003 – 2019, the in-person presentations took place at the city’s Community Development Building or at the Carson City Library. As of 2020, the talks are recorded digitally and archived online. The speakers also gave their in-person talks at local high schools and colleges, including at Sierra Nevada University from 2007 – 2019. The Carson City Library co-sponsored the series from 2003 – 2015.
The Initiative launched its Exhibition Program in 2004 in the CCAI Courthouse Gallery, located in the second floor atrium of the city’s functioning Courthouse, home to the Judicial and District courts. The Initiative has presented exhibitions annually in the Courthouse Gallery, since 2004; in the Community Center’s Crowell Board Room, formerly the Sierra Room, since 2015, the site for all city official board and commission meetings; and in the city’s Community Development building, “the Brick”, since 2010. CCAI began doing the exhibitions in Western Nevada College’s Bristlecone Gallery in 2020. These venues bring art to the buildings’ visiting public and resident staffs. Since 2004, CCAI produced exhibitions by local artists in other non-traditional art venues including a thrift store, a Harley-Davidson showroom, a coffee shop, a garden shop, and in collaboration with St. Mary’s Art Center, Virginia City (2008 – 2015). From 2004 – 2023, CCAI produced 160 exhibitions in these venues.
CCAI commissions essays by arts writers for the Courthouse and Bristlecone exhibitions [since 2004] and previously for the St. Mary’s Art Center residencies. The essays are available in the galleries during the exhibits and archived on this website.
Through its Artists In Education program since 2004, CCAI artists work with art students at Carson and Pioneer high schools in Carson City, Douglas High School in Douglas County, Dayton High School in Lyon County. CCAI also works art students and faculty at Western Nevada College, Carson City.
CCAI has had numerous Artists In Residence. Artist Justin Favela worked with over 30 volunteers who helped install his Saludos Amigos exhibition the week before the opening reception in October, 2019. Artists Teri Barnes and Kara Savant taught a series of art workshops for all students at Silver Stage Middle School, Silver Springs, NV, in fall 2019 and spring 2018.
Artist Zoe Bray worked with Silver Stage Middle School’s G.R.E.E.N. Team in fall 2019 making art from recycled objects that the students collected. In fall 2016, UNR grad student and ceramic artist, Tom Drakulich, was in residence with the ceramics program at Douglas High School. Photographer and UNR Journalism Professor, Howard Goldbaum, produced a residency project in spring 2011, with Douglas High photography students and teacher KC Brennan. From 2008 – 2015, the Initiative produced an annual artist residency/exhibition project at St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City, Nevada; participating artists came from California, Iowa, and Nevada.
In April 2019, Nevada Humanities honored CCAI with its “Friend and Champion of the Humanities,” a state-wide award for cultural contributions.
CCAI presented its Books & Writers series, in co-sponsorship with the Carson City Library, from 2010 – 2014. Artists from Nevada, California, Texas, and Colombia, SA gave readings and workshops to the local community and in area schools.
Financial History Highlights: The National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] has awarded six Challenge America grants to the Initiative for exhibitions in 2024, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2013, and 2012. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts awarded CCAI multi-year grants in 2015 – 2016, 2010 – 2011, and 2006 – 2007; CCAI was the first Nevada recipient of a prestigious Warhol Foundation grant.
For additional information, please visit CCAI’s website at www.ccainv.org.