NadaDada Motel

“Get a Room, Make a Show,” the NadaDada slogan, says everything an artist needs to know about NadaDada Motel. Since 2007, the free event has radiated from the corner of Arlington Avenue and West Second Street in downtown Reno on the third weekend in June. Artists rent rooms from local motel/hotels to create their own miniature galleries. This do-it-yourself event requires participants to set up and promote their own rooms. Beds and furniture get rearranged, shoved in closets and bathrooms, or temporarily removed. Exhibits range from paintings, photographs and sculptures displayed on walls, to full integration of the room and furniture into art installations.

Some of this year’s favorites included the “Dead Fish Room,” “Alice in Nadaland,” and the “Barbie Room.” They were displayed throughout various locations including El Rey Motel, Town House Motor Lodge, Lido Inn and Wildflower Village. The “Dead Fish Room” included a series of writings by Alanna McDaniel. Each of the 10 pieces was about a color and what it represented in respect to a past relationship. Underneath each piece of writing, the artist included a color box that could be opened and showed items of that color and from her piece. The most memorable was the black box, which displayed a real fish head with a small butcher’s knife chopping into it and the smell of rotten fish.

NadaDada is more than just a chance for artists to show off their work. It’s a community coming together to celebrate the art culture and give back to Reno with a free event. Many of the contributors are from the Reno area, but not all. Several artists travel from Southern California and other areas to participate and be inspired by other artists.

Evening parties were held at the Trocadero Room at the El Cortez Hotel and Strega Bar. Performances by Weapons of Mass Creation, Schizopolitans, DJ Terrain, Merkin, Spike McGuire and many more kept artists and their friends entertained throughout the nights.