The First Lady Presents…

The First Lady Presents… is an arts education program in partnership with the Nevada State Museum in Carson City.

Join us every month for a fun and insightful comparison of an artifact in the museum collection with the artwork of a contemporary Nevadan artist.

Art inspired by history. Each month First Lady Katherine Sisolak invites a Nevada artist to share their inspiration based on the Nevada State Museum’s Curator’s Corner artifact selection. Mark Salinas is our ambassador to this connection between Nevada artist and museum curator.

Curator's Corner

March Curator’s Corner

March is Women’s History Month and while we recognize many different fashionable eras of dress, this year, we are going to take a close look beneath it all…what undergarments did 19th century fashionable dressed women wear under their crinoline, bustle or petticoats? Sometimes called knickers, drawers or pantalettes/pantaloons, these undies have many variations.

Featured Artists

March 2022: David Gamble Jr.

David Gamble Jr. lives in Reno with his wife and two children. David has performed stand-up comedy for 7 years, and is also a writer with a focus on social and criminal justice. An attorney by training, Gamble worked as a Washoe County public defender for the last six years prior to joining Northern Nevada HOPES community clinic where he currently serves as general counsel.

November 2021: Theo Tso

Born on the Las Vegas Paiute Indian Colony, Theo Tso grew up reading comics — and noticing the lack of Native American superheros. That led the talented artist to create Captain Paiute, an elemental superhero with powers over water who protects reservations in the American Southwest.

September 2021: Luis Varela-Rico

Las Vegas artist Luis Valera-Rico draws on his artistic vision, technological knowledge and metal-working skill to create sculptures that reflect his Mexican heritage as well as Japanese, Meso-America and Native American culture.

July 2021: Congressional Art Competition

I am elated to share that over 300 bi-partisan members of Congress participated in this year’s Congressional Art Competition, an annual exhibition opportunity for several hundreds of high schoolers from around the nation to submit their artwork to their local member of Congress in hopes that it is selected for display in the Cannon Tunnel […]

June 2021: Carol Brown

This June, our Curator’s Corner examines two spectacular ichthyosaur fossils recovered here in Nevada, that invite us to consider the enormous depth – literally and figuratively speaking – of our geological history. Thanks to the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, our Nevada State Museum in Carson City is able to preserve, document, and share these fossilized moments […]

May 2021: Jackie Pias Carlin

In May our nation recognizes the numerous contributions that generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have contributed to the diversity and vibrancy of our history, society and culture. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month started as a concept in 1978 when the House and Senate presented joint resolutions to President Carter proposing that […]

April 2021: Resident Artist Program in Silver City

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” With the transition of seasons, and Spring in the air, this quote by architect Buckminster Fuller comes to mind poetically referencing the nature of change. In Carson City, trees have begun to bloom, people are slowly embracing the warmer weather, […]

March 2021: Wild Women Artists

During March, it is my pleasure to share Women’s History Month with you in celebrating and honoring generations of brave, thought pioneers whose advocacy for women’s rights have justly shaped our lives and values. The long march towards women’s equality stretches back as far as the New York Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, which advanced […]

February 2021: Gwaylon Leaf

The arts and culture industry has been massively impacted by the pandemic, yet despite this struggle artists and organizations in Nevada are holding fast to innovation and reinvention, responding to unprecedented and uncharted challenges. This creative commitment continues to innovate and inspire us. I believe arts and culture can lead us out of crisis through […]