The Holman Arts and Media Center’s Summer Arts Workshops at Lake Tahoe is celebrating its 40-year anniversary in 2024 with nine exceptional creative experiences across mediums, including painting, ceramics, photography and sculpture. The five-day workshops run June 24 through July 26, 2024. Registration opens on January 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Many workshops fill immediately and early registration is recommended.

From its inception, the Summer Arts Workshops have presented an opportunity for locals and Lake Tahoe admirers alike to share in an experience of creating in a beautiful mountain environment with the instruction of nationally exhibited artists.

“What is really exciting about our Summer Arts Workshops is that as a participant you have a whole week of hands-on learning with a renowned artist,” Molly Allen, Holman fine arts gallery coordinator, said. “That artist uses their expertise to guide you through the whole making process start to finish. Many of our artists use the landscape and take advantage of the Tahoe scenery the in their workshops. This workshop program is nationally recognized, and we are so excited to bring this kind of life to the local art scene here in Incline. 

Artists of all skill levels are invited to participate in the program and spend time focusing on existing or new practices. With three workshops running simultaneously each week, the Holman Arts and Media Center becomes a hub for community and creativity.

In alignment with the mission of the Holman Arts and Media Center and the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan, workshops are meant to advance a culture of caring for Lake Tahoe. The lake is within walking distance of the Holman Arts and Media Center, and students are encouraged to spend time both during and outside of class to find inspiration in the natural landscape and create thoughtful pieces inspired by the environment.

“I think when you deeply connect with the environment, because it's stunningly beautiful, and when you build an appreciation of nature, it leads to stewardship,” Phyllis Shafer, workshop instructor and South Lake Tahoe landscape painter who's been working in the Sierra Nevada since 1994, said. “If you love it, you want to care for it. I really believe that it all starts with loving the landscape, then respecting it, then wanting to be a steward of preserving and the quality of this nature.”

Each Tuesday during the workshops, instructors share details of their creative process and their path to the arts as part of the Meet the Artist series. These events are free and open to workshop attendees and the public.

Lodging on the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s Wayne L. Prim campus in Incline Village is available on a first come first served basis and provides participants the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the experience. Incline Village is a vibrant community full of dining, shopping and some of the most picturesque beach access at Lake Tahoe all within walking distance of the Holman Arts and Media Center.

Program enrollment opens January 22, 2024 at 10 a.m. To sign up for classes and to learn more about course offerings, visit the 2024 Summer Arts Workshops web page. Attendees will leave the workshop with their own personal artworks. Workshop titles include:

• Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting with Phyllis Shafer
• Abstracting Landscape with Mixed Media Painting with Melissa Melero-Moose
• Fast Fire Pottery with Randy Broadnax & Don Ellis
• Photographing the Natural Landscape with Jim Baker
• Small Works, Big Impact sculpture with April Felipe