For Holland Project founder Britt Curtis, her time in Seattle sparked her inspiration to take action and open a community arts program in the city of Reno.
What started as a passion project for Curtis turned to reality in 2007. The Holland Project is now known for its concerts, art galleries, workshops and much more. All ages are welcome, and young adults are especially keen to come through the Holland Project’s doors to witness their shows.
Curtis, 42, described the project as “a beacon of how we want to live our own lives.”
Curtis’ inspiration for the Holland Project came from her time with the VERA Project in Seattle. The VERA Project is a volunteer-driven organization that stemmed from the VERA Club in the Netherlands, popularly known as Holland. Curtis later moved back to Reno, where she wanted to see if she could create a place like the VERA organizations.
“[I wanted] to see if an idea like this could have legs here,” Curtis explained.
She attempted to recreate something like the VERA Project by reaching out to friends from high school during the holidays, some of whom had experience being show hosts or starting record labels.
After the team was able to put together a proposal, Curtis left Reno to move back to Seattle. She then got a call from a Reno City Council member who claimed that they had a proposal and a building for them.
Curtis, however, didn’t plan on being the executive director. She moved to Reno thinking that starting the project would be temporary. The project started as a collaborative effort, but as time went on, Curtis became managing director, and eventually executive director.
Curtis thought the Holland Project would only take a year to start up. She had moved back to Reno from Seattle, leaving her job and apartment behind.
“My whole life was still in Seattle,” Curtis said.
The original Holland Project venue was bare and lacked certain necessities. It had no insulation, no heat or no air conditioning and birds would fly into the building. Curtis even described it as an “airplane hangar.”
“And we loved it,” Curtis said.
Curtis explained that about 50 people, including herself, would work every weekend to transform the original Holland Project location. They had to build a stage, a gallery and a library, install lighting, soundproof it and put art in the venue at the original Keystone Avenue address.
Most of the volunteers were in high school or college at the time. They were young with little money, but worked with grit and determination. Despite this, there was a point where the Holland Project was shut down because of noise complaints and code compliance violations, like not having a sprinkler system.
It was even slated to be torn down, ultimately forcing them to find other alternatives for venues. Although plans for demolition ultimately didn’t go through, they swapped locations anyway.
The Holland Project then found its new home on 140 Vesta St. Around 2015, they were told rent was going to increase threefold and that the owner might resell the building. So they came up with a plan to raise money and keep the location, the “Grounded” campaign.
According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the Holland Project had to raise $600,000 to buy the building on Vesta Street. The RGJ later reported that the Holland Project had gotten the majority of the money from private contributions, finally able to call the building their own.
In the days since, not only has Curtis been executive director at the Holland Project, but she’s worked with KWNK, Reno’s community independent radio station, and Laika Press, Reno’s print-making studio. She also worked with Reno Little Theater, Nevada’s oldest community theater, a few years ago.
A McQueen High School alumna, Curtis explained that she didn’t have much to do when she was a kid with regards to art. She would leave Reno with her friends to go to different places over the weekend. Curtis also commented that all-ages places would shut down for weird or dangerous reasons, and it wasn’t always safe. Despite this, she claimed, “A lot of us were just hungry for more and different things.”
Curtis then moved to Seattle to get her college degree at the University of Washington, where she studied art and English literature. She also volunteered at culture and arts non-profit clubs as well as film festivals, and worked in public relations for causes like workers’ rights and the environment. She now has a family of her own with a spouse, two boys and a dog.
Curtis said that she has more respect and understanding for Reno now because of the Holland Project. It has influenced how she works with young people and her view of the community overall.
As heavy as the burdens were to start the Holland Project, Curtis explained, the rewards were much greater. New people come in every day with new perspectives, making up a creative, curious and driven environment.
“It’s a place that really thrives on experimentation and new ideas,” Curtis said.
In fact, Curtis explained, the Holland Project will continue changing this year, with new leadership coming in.
“I think Holland is entering its new era,” Curtis said.
Teagan Greer can be reached via email at Teagangreer@icloud.com or on Instagram @NevadaSagebrush.
