New Coordinator Inspires Artists at Reno

Mary Lee Mansfield hit the ground running as she took over coordination of this year’s Reno-Tahoe International Airport exhibit now in their 11th year.  Part of this can be attributed to her involvement shadowing previous long-time coordinator Kim Matthews during their 2018 show, which helped give her the confidence to take over such a successful program.  Along with her first-hand experience, Mary Lee brought her own creative talents to the new role.  To promote registration and help familiarize everyone with the new NAP branding, she went on a “promotional road show”, as she called it, throughout the airport including nearby tenants. Helping to catch the attention of potential participants, Mary Lee created a mannequin fashioned out of NAP posters and images from previous NAP shows at Reno-Tahoe.  The mannequin even carried a purse full of registration brochures for people to take on their way by.  During the events, she would snap pictures of enthusiastic employees with a sign stating “I’m in!” for participating in this year’s show.  “It was such a blast and gave me the opportunity to meet potential artists, brag about the NAP and get the art show buzz going,” commented Mary Lee. 

It’s hard not to say “I’m in!” when you witness Mary Lee’s passion for the program in person as evident from the 46 first time participants and 8 new departments / vendors who were represented in this year’s exhibit.  On top of this, both the number of pieces on display and participation increased from 2018. This year, the depARTures Gallery featured 163 pieces of art from 115 artists of all skill levels. Mary Lee also made the decision to change how the show was displayed, grouping the pieces by classification rather than medium.  She stated that, “This made the judging process very easy and offered a more comprehensive viewing option.” 
The NAP applauds Mary Lee for jumping right in with such passion and initiative her first time coordinating which resulted in another fantastic exhibit!  If you’re summer travels have you passing through the Reno-Tahoe Airport before July 25th, make sure to stop by and see the artistic talents of the airport community.