Welcoming a New Year Filled with Meaning, Joy, and an Abundance of Humanities Moments
By Christina Barr
When the members of the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees and our staff gather together we often begin our meetings with a round robin of people sharing their most recent humanities moments. Everyone talks about humanities programs they have attended; books, movies, holidays, and celebrations laden with cultural significance; journeys they have taken to explore new cultures; family history projects; and much more. Our stories are filled with moments of connection and insight, and I am constantly reminded of how the humanities are elemental to us all at the most basic levels of our daily lives.
As we dip our toes into the chilly waters of the New Year, I am leaning towards the many humanities moments we have planned for 2024. Our staff is working on many exciting projects that will come to fruition as the year progresses. Our new documentary film A Black Springs Homecoming: Finding History will be airing on PBS Reno in early February, and we plan to host a series of watch parties for the film around the Reno area throughout the year. The Nevada Humanities Program Gallery in Las Vegas is planning upcoming exhibitions, workshops, creative talks, and more. Humanities at Play is going strong with several livestreams a month on our Twitch channel featuring games and conversations with notable Nevadans from across the state. We will also be hosting a series of Humanities at Play in-person gaming events, featuring a custom role-playing game about Nevada culture and history later in the year. We have some exciting author visits planned as part of our Nevada Reads program and watch out for more Sagebrush to Sandstone creative workshops and walking tours as well. You can tune into it all at nevadahumanities.org.
I am also open to the serendipity of unexpected humanities moments that life may bring as the year flows on. At Nevada Humanities, we are going to rise to the challenges that 2024 is sure to bring to us all, but also embrace the joy, wonder, and delight inherent in the humanities moments waiting for us around the corner.
Happy Humanities New Year!
Christina Barr is the Executive Director of Nevada Humanities.
Photo by Shreesh Taskar.