The City of Reno has been selected as the only recipient of the prestigious 2010 Dorothy Mullen Arts and Humanities Award (Class II), for the success of Artown, the community-wide July arts festival. Awarded by the National Recreation & Park Association (NRPA), the Dorothy Mullen Arts and Humanities program honors the most innovative and effective arts and humanities programs across the nation. Read the complete press release from the City of Reno.

Here, Artown’s Executive Director Beth Macmillan makes remarks to the Reno City Council about the award as City Arts and Culture Manager Christine Fey (left) and Reno Arts & Culture Commission representative Nettie Oliverio (right) look on.

Artown’s SmartPhone Apps for BlackBerry and Android are now available for download, joining the apps for iPhone and iTouch in the festival’s mobile library.  Like 63% of Artown, the apps are FREE to help plan your Artown experience.  The apps include a complete festival calendar, event details, lodging information with booking links, recent blog entries and Twitter feeds and ways to get involved with the festival.  It’s the fastest way to stay up to date with Artown this July. Read more about downloading the apps.

The Nevada Museum of Art celebrates Artown 2010 with Pablo Picasso: Musical Instruments, exclusively on loan to the Museum from July 3 through November 28, 2010. Perhaps the best known Modern artist of the twentieth century, Picasso is recognized for the crucial role he played in the establishment and development of the artistic style known as Cubism. The single-painting exhibition features Picasso’s Musical Instruments and Fruit Bowl on a Pedestal, a historically significant work painted in 1913—the same year Picasso’s art was first introduced to American audiences at the Armory Show in New York. The painting epitomizes all of the characteristics for which the Cubist style is best known.

A number of events have been scheduled at the Museum to coincide with Artown including Artown Tours each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:30 p.m.; a live piano concert featuring Ron Williams on Sunday, July 11 at 1 p.m.; and a special talk in partnership with Black Rock Design Institute featuring Design Principal Ron Radziner of Marmol Radziner Architecture Thursday, July 15 at 6p.m.

Pablo Picasso: Musical Instruments will be exhibited July 3 through November 28 at the Nevada Museum of Art. Visit online for gallery hours, admission and directions.