Tour guide

Art Spot Reno is a non-profit dedicated to supporting artists in Reno and Northern Nevada. As its executive director and co-owner since 2014, one of Geralda Miller’s duties is being a docent for the monthly mural tours put on by the organization, including the Midtown Mural Tour this Saturday, Jan 11.

Where’d the idea for the tours come from?

I will tell you that, in 2017, Art Spot Reno, we put on the Reno Mural Expo here at downtown Reno, and we also commissioned 32 artists. We brought in an artist from South Africa. We had an artist here from Amsterdam, as well as the Bay Area—all around the country. We painted murals in downtown Reno as well as in midtown, and if you go to the Depot, the murals there, we did those as well. So we believe that murals are an outdoor gallery, and they are a way for everyone to enjoy and experience art. And also, studies show that murals also help to reduce tagging on walls. So, we believe in and we love murals as a way to liven up an area and for all to enjoy. And so, Art Spot puts on—the first Saturday of the month—we put on tours that start at [the Believe sign]. We alternate between the Reno Mural Expo tour, and we do a public art tour, and that’s held on the first Saturday of the month. And on the second Saturday of the month, we do the midtown mural tours. There are more than a hundred murals now, I’d say, in midtown. And so we talk about the murals, and we talk about many of the artists that paint the murals. We have it now that it’s broken up into two routes. We have a Northern route and the Southern route. So, every other month, on the second Saturday, we alternate between the Northern and Southern route.

Which one is it this Saturday?

This Saturday is the Southern route. So, it starts at Bibo Coffee [on Center Street], and we go South all the way down to Mount Rose [Street]. And so we walk through quite a few alleys and, you know, we talk about all of the murals that are on the Southern part of midtown. And many of those, I’d say, are some of the older murals. The Northern route has quite a few of the newer murals.

And you’re one of the guides?I am the docent for the midtown tours. I love midtown. I love its grit, and I so love giving the tours in midtown. We get quite a few people, a lot of visitors, people who are visiting Reno and want to come out and see our art and see the murals that we have here.

Where did you get all of the information about the individual murals?

We initially walked it, talked to the artists and got stories. We gathered the stories about the art, the murals, in order to give a good tour. So, yes, we made a script of the tours, and we use that.

What else should people know if they want to come?

There is a fee, and the fee is $10. But I’d say bring comfy walking shoes and, you know, come layered in case it’s a little chilly out. Bring your creative minds and be ready to see some mind-blowing and beautiful murals. All the tours start at 10 o’clock.