Turning Point exhibition, reception

Sierra Arts and the City of Reno present a exhibition of artwork created by students from Turning Point – O’Brien and Turning Point – Alice Smith schools September 17 through October 26, with an artists reception on Thursday, September 27 from 3 to 5 pm, at McKinley Arts and Culture Center’s Gallery West, 925 Riverside Drive in Reno. The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Erik Holland, Sierra Arts’ Artist-in-Residence, instructed students in grades 2-12, in various residencies as part of Sierra Arts’ Arts Alternatives program services. Turning Point, formerly known as the Secondary Transition Learning Center, is an alternative school for the severely emotionally and behaviorally challenged students in the Washoe County School District. The program gives students the opportunity to experiment in painting, drawing, mixed media and mural creation throughout the school year. It gives students positive outlet for expression and creative insight into their emotional issues instead of the need to express their emotions through aggressive verbal and physical means.

The mission of Turning Point is to provide the students with the emotional and behavior skills needed to be able to return to their regular school campus. Positive experience in the arts helps to unleash their creative potential and allow them to experience a sense of pride and self-achievement. Sierra Arts has been producing this program for six years with the Turning Point students and staff and has met great success.
Sierra Arts’ Arts Alternatives programs are supported by Washoe County Juvenile Services and funded by the Nell J. Redfield Foundation, the Sato Foundation, Nevada Arts Council, a state agency and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information about Sierra Arts’ Arts Alternatives programs and this exhibition, please call Sierra Arts at (775) 329-2787 or visit www.sierra-arts.org.