Art from the playa will soon take up residence downtown in a newly vacated lot on Virginia Street. Two motels were recently demolished at that location, and the Reno City Council today approved a proposal to turn the parcel into a temporary sculpture park.
City staff have been working with an arts nonprofit to place the Burning Man art at a city location, and the lot at 520 N. Virginia St. was chosen after the motels were demolished.
The Playa Art Project will consist of at least six sculptures and will remain in place for six to 12 months. The city will pay for the project’s insurance. A grand opening is scheduled for Nov. 10, 2016.
Also approved by the city was the purchase of a $50,000 dragonfly sculpture for Virginia Lake. The sculpture will be installed in the southern portion of the lake and will be paid for from room tax funds and residential construction tax funds.
According to city staff, “Dragonfly provides a tourism amenity; it is in compliance with the use of Room Tax Funds. The funds for this project are restricted to public art from capital improvements and room tax through the public art budget, so they cannot be used for maintenance of the park.”
