The Virgin Valley Artists’ Association’s mission is “To promote the power of the arts for all ages and all cultures.”  The fulfillment of this mission takes place at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center through classes, exhibitions, a gift shop, and now their very own podcast.  Steve Dudrow and Rachelle Knight are members of the VVAA and in order to fulfill their volunteer hours, they teamed up to bring us The Art Box podcast.

Some of you are surely wondering “What is a podcast?”  That is the same question that Steve and Rachelle were asked when they presented the idea to the Virgin Valley Artists’ Association Board of Directors.  A podcast is a program available in a digital format for download on the internet.  They are incredibly popular and available on nearly every subject.  I honestly can’t think of a subject that doesn’t have a podcast.  Podcasts are great to listen to while you are taking a walk, riding in a car, or even when you are cleaning the house.

Steve became interested in podcasts when they intersected with his artform.  He goes out at night to take pictures of the night sky.  While out there, in the dark, he listens to podcasts like the Paleo Nerds. Rachelle was creating the newspaper for the VVAA and thought a podcast would be a great way to get more information out to people.  It took about two months for them to get the podcast going because they were on a steep learning curve but that didn’t stop them.  They got it up and running and are working out the kinks. Steve told me, “A Podcast is for everyone, not just famous people.  It is real people just having conversations and sharing knowledge.  They both felt a podcast would help the VVAA share their vision and keep everyone current on activities and events that were going on at Mesquite Fine Arts Center.  In addition, they wanted to make people aware of the gallery, the amazing talent in our valley, and the varied use of mediums.  Both wanted Mesquite to be known for being more than just a place to go and gamble.

In the first episode of The Art Box, they were able to interview Tyler Roylance, the VVHS art teacher.  The following podcasts featured Dana Long who visited with them about advocacy and touched on art therapy to help kids deal with feelings. Kathleen Birkholtz, a founding member of the gallery, was the next guest.  Rachelle told us she loves the podcasts because they are able to learn so much about the individuals they interview. Future episodes are planned to showcase other artists and community members such as Chris Picior, Brenda Slocumb, Kippy Spilker, and Randy Bauman.

The Mesquite Fine Arts Center provides an opportunity for our community to focus on different kinds of art and the way art plays a roll in everyone’s life.  They feel art is in everything and there are so many different directions art can take you.  This weekend in conjunction with the PRIDE activities, the VVAA is having a self portrait contest.  The winners of the contest will have their artwork displayed at the art gallery.

To enjoy the podcast, simple go to https://www.mesquitefineartscenter.com/ and select the podcast side tab.  To learn more about the Virgin Valley Artists’ Association, Steve Dudrow, and Rachelle Knight, the following links are available.

Virgin Valley Artists’ Association: https://www.mesquitefineartscenter.com/

VVAA Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MesquiteFineArtsCenter/

Podcast Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtBoxVV/

Podcast Instagram Handle: @ArtBoxVV

Steve’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/steve.dudrow

Rachelle’s Instagram handle: @rrkfineart