The Lake Tahoe campus always has something happening. Whether it's construction of the Classical Tahoe venue on the grounds or student groups using the outdoors as a part of their educational journey, life on campus is constantly evolving. This past summer, campus transformed into a creative sanctuary as artists and writers gathered for 10-day residencies as part of the low-residency Master of Fine Arts program.

For ten intensive days, students immersed themselves in their craft, refining the work that will ultimately support their thesis projects. Some artists painted on canvas, others created intricate tattoo-inspired works on paper and several devoted their time to writing and illustrating children's books. Each project reflected a unique voice, but many participants shared a common goal: finding an outlet for expression.

Surrounded by the towering pines and quiet beauty of the Tahoe campus, students found themselves disconnected from the routines and distractions of everyday life. Many described the residency as an opportunity to focus entirely on their creative process.

"The setting allows you to breathe differently."

"The setting allows you to breathe differently," one participant shared.

Away from the demands of work and home, students are able to immerse themselves in an environment that encourages reflection, experimentation and artistic growth.

The University's low-residency MFA programs pack an extraordinary amount of activity into 10 days. Workshops, lectures, critiques and discussions run from morning until night, challenging students to think critically about their work.

Yet despite the intensity of the schedule, perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the residency is the sense of community it creates. Students share meals, exchange ideas, encourage one another through creative challenges and celebrate each other's accomplishments. The support among the cohort becomes especially evident during presentations, when each artist reveals deeply personal work and receives thoughtful feedback from peers who have spent the residency alongside them.

For Ipuna Black, the residency marked both a creative milestone and the culmination of years of work. An assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and associate dean of Nursing at Nevada State University, Black balances a career in higher education with her passion for writing. During her time in the MFA program, she developed projects for children and young adult readers, including a children's book that she continues to refine. This summer, Black successfully defended her final manuscript and is set to graduate from the University's Master of Fine Arts program this fall. She credits the program's mentorship and residency experience with helping her grow as a writer and gain confidence in her creative voice.

"All of that helped me receive an offer of representation from a literary agent."

"My four mentors and the workshops during residency gave me the tools I needed to write with intention and to understand what I wrote, why I wrote it, who I wrote it for and how it fits in the literary canon," Black said. "All of that helped me receive an offer of representation from a literary agent."

Visual artist Nick Giordano (top photo) also spent the Interdisciplinary Arts residency developing his artistic practice. Based in Pahrump, Nevada, Giordano's work explores themes of healing, transformation and human connection through painting. Influenced by Zen practice, Daoism and martial arts, he views art as a vehicle for both individual and collective growth. (See our video interview with Giordano on Instagram.)

Outside the studio, Giordano is deeply involved in community arts initiatives throughout Nevada. He serves as community arts outreach coordinator for ACCNV and works closely with organizations that provide creative opportunities for artists and young people. Through murals, workshops and community projects, his work aims to make art more accessible while fostering meaningful connections between people. In addition to his work as a painter and community arts advocate, Giordano is also a professional tattoo artist with more than a decade of experience and is the owner of Higher Ground Tattoo in Las Vegas. He recently expanded his creative endeavors by opening a second studio and gallery space in Pahrump, creating opportunities for local artists to showcase and develop their work.

For Giordano, the residency is also an opportunity to reconnect with the reasons he creates. He encourages emerging artists to embrace authenticity rather than worrying about outside opinions.

"I think true art, at least contemporarily speaking, comes from a place where you are painting to express what's inside of you, or writing to express what's inside of you, getting it out in a cathartic and healthy way," Giordano said. "When it comes to expression, be free and figure out how to open up those gates so that you can create authentically."

"It's hard to describe how special it is, especially in this place with this group of writers and with this faculty. There's magic here.”

The residency was guided by faculty members such as Jamey Baumgardt, a recent graduate of the University's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program and the newly appointed faculty editor and advisor for the Sierra Nevada Review, the student-run literary magazine. Baumgardt is a writer and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, printmaking and creative writing. His writing has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, OLIT Magazine, JMWW, Flash Fiction Magazine and the 2023 Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ short story anthology, published in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival.

His visual art has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the large-scale multi-panel mural As Americans of Good Conscience at the Common Well in Boise, Idaho. Holding a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Washington in addition to his MFA from the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, Baumgardt brings a unique perspective as both an alumnus and faculty member, helping students develop their artistic voices while navigating the creative journey both during the program and beyond graduation.

Reflecting on his experience in the program, Baumgardt said the community built during residency became one of its most valuable aspects.

"There was a secondary benefit as well that I think actually turned out to be even more important, and that is the sense of community," Baumgardt said. "It's hard to describe how special it is, especially in this place with this group of writers and with this faculty. There's magic here.”