F
ollowing national politics lately has been a bit like watching a family member get mixed up in an abusive relationship. It’s hard to see a person—or, in this case, nation—that you love continue to make poor choices. You want to help. You obsess and worry and feel like nothing you do is enough. Your own health starts to suffer. You feel confused. It can be difficult to sleep or focus on anything else.
The Holland Project, Reno’s youth-oriented arts organization, turns 10 by Brad Bynum photos by Eric Marks
“This is the time when we have to look toward organizations like the Holland Project and say, this is the undeniable positive change that this organization has brought to our community,” said Chelsie Rose Kern. She first encountered the local nonprofit organization, which presents all-ages workshops, concerts and gallery exhibitions tailored for young people, when she was an 18-year-old who had just moved to Reno. Now, 10 years later, she’s president of the organization’s board of directors. “There are powers that be out there that don’t like that, that don’t like the arts, obviously, or alternative lifestyles, and by looking at organizations like the Holland Project, we can continue to be emboldened by those values, even in dark times,” she continued. “This last week [since the presidential inauguration] has been very trying for me. But I grew up—this current political environment, that’s what my home was like, paired with drug addiction. I could have been like those people, but the Holland Project and some other extenuating circumstances, opened up my worldview to something totally different, and because of that, I’m a totally different person. It is hard to celebrate right now, because I feel like there’s so much activism that needs to be done, but it’s crucial that we look at organizations like the Holland Project and Planned Parenthood or whatever—that might lose funding or be shut down because the powers that be don’t agree with their values—and celebrate them.”
Brigdon Markwad, Britt Curtis and Alisha Funkhouser are among the many people who’ve played a role in the Holland Project over the years.
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RN&R
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02.02.17
