Generator Events
June Swoon Moon Market
Celebrate Summer with The Generator! Join us for a beautiful summer night with local makers and creators!
Playa Art Preview
Experience Playa-Bound Art Before It Leaves for Black Rock City
Join us for Playa Art Preview 2026, an exclusive, one-night-only experience inside The Reno Generator where you’ll experience large-scale art installations before their perilous journey to the playa.
Participate in a night of big art, good food, and silly, wonderful company. The annual Playa Art Preview gala will be held on August 1st, 2026 to benefit our spectacular makerspace, The Generator, and stellar community attached. Making big art is magic. We want to bring you into our buildspace so you can see the magic in progress and meet the creators behind these larger than life sculptures. Let us feed you some incredible Paella while we talk about what goes into making big art: the process, the people, and our place in all of this beauty. We’ll follow dinner with desserts and drinks at the artists’ build spaces, so you can really see the process of creating such huge work.
Each summer, The Reno Generator becomes a hub for ambitious art projects created by local and international artists preparing for Burning Man. Playa Art Preview is your opportunity to step inside that process.
This is more than an event—it’s a rare chance to step inside the creative energy that defines our community.
Event Highlights
An opportunity to meet local and international artists that create these huge pieces of culture
Presentations from lead artists about their concepts and creative process
A spectacular Paella dinner, made by our very own Board President, Jerry Snyder
Special raffle prizes donated by local businesses. Local artists and businesses come together each year to donate exclusive goods, curated packages, and one-of-a-kind experiences, creating a raffle that’s offers something for everyone!
An opportunity to participate in The Generator’s culture and support our local non-profit organization
If you love art, the Black Rock Desert, delicious food, or events that make you feel like you’re part of something bigger, Playa Art Preview is for you!
Playa Art Preview is The Generator’s annual fundraising gala. Every ticket purchased directly supports artists, creative education, and access to tools that empower creativity and self-ownership across Northern Nevada. Your attendance helps keep our community makerspace thriving.
The Venue
Playa Art Preview takes place at The Generator, a 60,000-square-foot non-profit makerspace in Sparks, Nevada, where many of the large-scale artworks destined for the playa are designed, built, and brought to life. The Generator also hosts year round studio spaces and creative activity.
Join us at 2450 Oddie Boulevard, Sparks, NV 89431 for this one-of-a-kind annual fundraiser supporting art, artists, education, and creative opportunity in Northern Nevada.
Tickets
Get Tickets for Playa Art Preview 2026 → Tickets for this year’s event will be released soon. Don’t miss out! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates. This event sells out each year so early purchase is strongly recommended.
Learn More About Playa Art Preview
Mommy Market
Apply to vend at the Mother’s Day Market here!
Celebrate Mother! with The Reno Generator on May 7, 2026. Find the perfect gift for the mommy in your life from an assortment of over 50 local artists and creators!
Walk a Mile in These Shoes? Gallery Reception
Let’s get some shoes. Let’s get some shoes. Let’s get some shoes.
Let’s party!
We’re looking for everything shoe for our upcoming Gallery. Whether it’s shoes you painted, a painting of shoes, real glass slippers, or fake paper shoes, the only limit is what you put on your feet!
The Generator's 13th Birthday Bash
You’re invited to The Generator’s 13th birthday on Friday, March 13, 2026! We’re gonna do this how we started in 2013 when we first got the keys: get as many people together as we could, brought our scooters, roller blades, and skateboards to the new building and rolled around in our new home, daydreaming about what the space would become. That’s how we want to celebrate 13 years of this magical place. Bring your wheels of choice and roll around our “forever” home and we’ll bring the music, vibes, and, obviously, birthday cake. We managed to make something really special in March of 2013 and through determination, community support, sweat, mistakes, and some good old fashioned luck, we have managed to thrive doing what we love. From 6-9 PM on Friday the 13th, celebrate 13 years of community, change, and making cool stuff!
Lover’s Market + Desire, Deferred
Celebrate love in all its various forms with us at the Lover’s Market! Find a last minute gift for those extra special people in your life, show your family some love, or show your friends how much you love them by actually scheduling a time to hang out with them at The Reno Generator. Show the people you love that not only do you care about them, but you care about supporting local artists and makers. You’ll also be able to get a delicious pie from Silver State Pie Co, revel in our gorgeous Desire, Deferred gallery show, and enjoy a cold beverage at our bar. Take the hallmark out of the holiday and buy something truly made with love at our Lover’s Market.
Generator Holiday Market
The best way to buy a gift is to buy it from the person who made it.
Find the perfect gifts for you and your loved ones at the Generator Holiday Art Markets! On December 12 from 5-9 PM, join the Reno Generator in celebrating our community by choosing to shop from local artists and makers this holiday season. We’re excited to be welcoming over 75 vendors into the space for this event in order to ensure that there is a wide variety of creations to peruse. We will also be joined by Silver State Pie CO and Main Vein Coffee Co making your night warm and tasty. You’ll also be able to catch the December gallery exhibition!
Think globally, shop locally at the Reno Generator
Want to vend at our December Art Market? Sign up here! - Form opens November 15
Generator Holiday Market
Give the gift of handmade art this holiday season by supporting local makers at our November Art Market!
Haunted Mini Golf
Putt your way through an artist-made mini-golf course filled with creepy obstacles and eerie surprises, shop spooky handmade items from Local artists, and check out our Haunted gallery group show.
Ticketing Information and Applications for Build Teams, Gallery Artists, Vendors, and Volunteers
Playa Art Preview
Our annual Generator fundraiser providing special insight in the artwork built for Black Rock City in 2025!
Join us for a full meal, drinks, and presentations done by the individual projects working in the Generator.
June Swoon
Stock up on handmade and upcycled items for the festival season ahead! Celebrate local businesses and the warm season at The Reno Generator.
ART BATTLE
Be a part of the electrifying energy as skilled artists engage in a high-speed showdown, flinging paint with every stroke.
Spray Painters and Outside Medium Artists Encouraged!
Join us on Friday, June 6th, for an incredible night outside The Generator Community Makerspace!
Cast your vote and crown the champion in three pulse-pounding rounds. And as the night unfolds, snag a one-of-a-kind masterpiece as every piece created goes up for auction.
Don’t miss this unforgettable evening of live art!
Be a part of the fun as a spectator, or participate as one of the featured artists by applying online at artbattle.com/artists!
Mothers Day Market
Celebrate all things Mom at the Reno Generator!
Find a gift for Mothers Day, pick up a bouquet for the moms in your life, check out our monthly gallery, and enjoy a local food truck!
Art Battle
Be a part of the electrifying energy as skilled artists engage in a high-speed showdown, flinging paint with every stroke.
Cast your vote and crown the champion in three pulse-pounding rounds. And as the night unfolds, snag a one-of-a-kind masterpiece as every piece created goes up for auction.
Don't miss this unforgettable evening of live art!
This is a 21+ event
Buy Tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/art-battle-reno-april-18-2025-tickets-1290390094509
Sign up to paint: https://artbattle.com/artists
Sign up to volunteer here!
First Saturday Mimosas and Makers
Come by the Reno Generator on the first Saturday of every month from 11 A.M.-1 P.M. in 2025!
Enjoy a mimosa or two, check out a new gallery show every month, and take an in depth tour around our space while your kiddos complete a craft with our Education Coordinator, Mary!
Lover’s Market and Feral Affection
Join us for our Valentine’s Day Lover’s Market and the Feral Affection Group Show opening!
Come down to The Reno Generator on Thursday, Feb. 13 for our Pre-Valentine's Bash!
70+ vendors selling their handmade goods and 30+ artists in our Feral Affection group show. Get down here and show your love for local creators. It is more important now than ever to support local businesses and artists and how better to do so than buying your Valentine something one of a kind!
Vendor and Gallery applications are currently closed.
Gallery:
Gallery Opening-February 13, 2025 5-9 P.M.
Unsold Art Pick Up-February 25-28, 2025
First Saturday Mimosas and Makers
Come by the Reno Generator on the first Saturday of every month from 11 A.M.-1 P.M. in 2025!
Enjoy a mimosa or two, check out a new gallery show every month, and take an in depth tour around our space while your kiddos complete a craft with our Education Coordinator, Mary!
First Saturday Mimosas and Makers
Come by the Reno Generator on the first Saturday of every month from 11 A.M.-1 P.M. in 2025!
Enjoy a mimosa or two, check out a new gallery show every month, and take an in depth tour around our space while your kiddos complete a craft with our Education Coordinator, Mary!
Third Thursday: December
Make sure to visit The Generator every Third Thursday of the month to shop from over 60 local artists selling their handmade goods, explore the rotating art gallery, indulge in treats from the bar and food trucks, and catch up with all your favorite creative folks! This free, family-friendly event is an opportunity to support our non-profits mission and local community artists!