About

Vision

The future we truly desire

The vision of the Brewery Arts Center is to embrace and grow artists and the artistic community in Carson City, recognizing our responsibility to be a catalyst for economic and educational growth and community collaborations by developing a creative, active and engaged community.

Mission

Our purpose

Enriching the quality of life by cultivating arts and culture for all.

History

Brewery Arts Center was founded with the vision to embrace growing artists and develop a robust artistic scene in Carson City and the organization has remained a catalyst for economic and educational growth. Acting as a central location for multiple non-profits has created a culture of collaboration, which is paramount to developing a creative, active, and engaged community.

Literally embodying state history, the art center is housed in the oldest commercial building in Nevada. Standing since 1864 the structure was first home to Carson Brewery, original manufacturers of Tahoe Beer. In 1948 the space repurposed from brews to news by becoming HQ for Nevada Appeal. The two story tenement found its permanent tenant when Brewery Arts Center established in 1976.

In 2000, BAC purchased the neighboring St. Teresa Catholic Church and converted it into a 250 seat performance hall. Having cemented its roots as an institution, the city deeded Minnesota Street (from W. King to W. 2nd) to BAC in 2015. Now unified, the two block arts campus features facilities for visual arts, theatrical arts, music, film, dance, education, and community gathering. The art extends beyond the walls with open air exhibits like Harmony Park plus multiple murals and sculptures.

Adding to the bustling hub in 2016, The Levitt Foundation bestowed BAC with a grant to host 10 free outdoor summer concerts. This endowment allowed the center to welcome the community like never before. The beloved series continues to thrive as a staple of Carson City, hosting a diverse lineup of nationally touring and grammy award winning acts while welcoming weekly audiences of 2,000+ composed of neighbors, friends, and music lovers joined together, barrier free, in celebrating art, culture, and community.

The organization is privately funded and the facility provides a home for many other non-profit organizations and several dozen visual artists use the spaces on every day of the week. The many collaborators who use the BAC are:

Proscenium Players Inc., Wild Horse Children’s Theater, Carson High School Theater Department, 95.1FM KNVC Community Radio, Sierra Nevada Forums, High Sierra Swing Dance Club, Carson City Classic Cinema Club, Silver State Storytellers, Jazz and Beyond Music Festival, Sierra Nevada Ballet, Carson City School District, Nevada Artist Association, and Rotary Club International.