Nevada County Arts Council Announces Launch Party for MUSE 2026—The Year’s Definitive Guide to Local Arts & Culture
Nevada County Arts Council
100 N. Pine St. Suite C
Nevada City CA, 95959
Ph: (530) 264-7031
Web: nevadacountyarts.org
Email: info@nevadacountyarts.org
PRESS RELEASE
Nevada County Arts Council Announces Launch Party for MUSE 2026—this year’s definitive Guide to Local Arts & Culture
Know and Go
What: MUSE 2026 Release Launch Party
When: Friday, January 16, 2026 at 5:00pm
Where: Grand Lounge at The National Exchange Hotel,
211 Broad St, Nevada City, CA 95959
Who: Nevada County Arts Council, Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District, and Truckee Cultural District
Information: https://www.nevadacountyarts.org/happening-now-blog/muse-launch
Nevada City, CA—January 6, 2026: Nevada County Arts Council announces the release of the third annual issue of MUSE—A Guide to Local Arts & Culture. An initiative of the Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District and Truckee Cultural District, MUSE is dedicated to “telling local stories and uplifting the artists, entrepreneurs, and creative businesses of Nevada County.”
The community is invited to celebrate the official launch of MUSE with two public events: the west-county launch party taking place on Friday, January 16, at 5:00pm in the Grand Lounge at The National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City; and the east-county launch celebration, hosted by the Truckee Cultural District, on Wednesday, February 4, at 5:00pm at the Truckee Tahoe Airport.
MUSE 2026 centers on the theme “living like a local,” spotlighting the artists, creative businesses, historic and cultural institutions, and favorite places that shape everyday life in the Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District and Truckee Cultural District. “MUSE is a celebration of the creativity that enriches every aspect of life in Nevada County.” Says Eliza Tudor, Executive Director of Nevada County Arts Council.
This year’s issue introduces a new feature called “Story of Place” that centers the voice of a local leader and her family’s deep connection to mountain life. Office of Emergency Services Director Alex Keeble-Toll reflects on the realities of living under a constant threat of fire in rural California, yet one that brings fulfillment.
In her article “Mountain Heart, Small-Town Soul,” Truckee Cultural District Program Manager, Kellie Cutler, shares Visit Truckee-Tahoe’s rebranding process for Truckee, one that involved deep local engagement. What surfaced was branding driven by “a community that is passionate and protective, pioneering and progressive, charming and a little funky. Visitors shared that they want to feel like locals while with us; that they care about leaving a lighter footprint—and prefer scenery over a scene.”
In her article, “Rural is the New Cool,” GVNC Cultural District Program Manager and MUSE Creative Director, Diana Arbex, says: “Our commitment to place is everything. It’s in the way we talk about the land, in the collective stewardship of our wild spaces, and in the ways we protect these landscapes for future generations.”
Kyle Winters, Communications Manager at Nevada County Arts Council says: “This year’s front cover, photographed by Justin Nunnink, captures a gathering of artists and culture bearers at the North Columbia Schoolhouse on the beautiful San Juan Ridge—a place long regarded as both refuge and meeting ground. Reflecting communities shaped by remoteness, shared history, and deep ties to land, MUSE 2026 offers a portrait of creative life across all of Nevada County, from the foothills to the High Sierra.”
Other features in MUSE include Pathways to Careers in Art by Nevada County Poet Laureate Karen Terrey, highlighting the journeys of local youth; and the work of Bear Yuba Land Trust through Art in California Parks, under Parks California.
Attendees of the launch parties, east and west, will be among the first to see and take home a copy of the MUSE 2026. The first of these takes place on Friday, January 16 upstairs at The National Hotel in Nevada City, CA; followed by a second Launch Party on Wednesday, February 4 at Truckee Tahoe Airport, in Truckee, CA. To learn more about MUSE and the work of Nevada County’s two California Cultural Districts, visit nevadacountyarts.org.
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