Hear from Great Basin’s Artists-in-Residence
What happens when painters, photographers, and composers immerse themselves in one of the most remote and inspiring landscapes in America? How do creativity, conservation, and place intertwine? And why does art matter in National Parks?
Register to Join Us!
Please join us on February 24 at 6 pm for the “Park / Art connection” - the 2nd program in our Great Basin National Park 40th Anniversary virtual speaker series. Featuring four Great Basin National Park Artists-in-Residence sharing their experiences and insights into the intersection of creativity and conservation.
Our panel will explore the elements of their inspiration, the artist’s role in the preservation of natural landscapes, how they grew in their processes during their residency, and how their time in the Park continues to shape their work. From painters to composers to writers, this panel of artists will offer fresh insight into how art deepens our understanding and emotional connection to place.
Our Panelists
Meghan Dragon, Artist-in-Residence Winter 2025
Meghan Dragon is a Las Vegas-based artist and educator whose work highlights the patterns, textures, and interconnections of nature, with a particular focus on the native flora and fauna of the Mojave Desert. Through murals, paintings, and drawings, she invites viewers to slow down and notice the often-overlooked details of their surroundings, sparking curiosity, appreciation, and ultimately, a deeper commitment to conserving the world’s wild spaces.
Her art has been exhibited nationally, with pieces currently on view in Las Vegas and Reno, NV; Sunrise City, FL; and Pacific City, OR. She is a recipient of a Project Grant for Artists from the Nevada Arts Council and has been selected for the 2026 Clark County Public Arts Temporary Public Art Project. Meghan has participated in residencies at Aviario Studio in Portugal, Great Basin National Park in Nevada, and the Hive in Washington, and is currently collaborating with the Mystery Ranch at Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
Alina Lindquist, Artist-in-Residence, Fall 2024
Alina Lindquist graduated with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, art history, and art, and is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Through painting, her work explores the deserts of the Mojave and Great Basin, telling stories of conservation efforts. She has held residencies at Great Basin National Park, Valles Caldera National Preserve, and the Mystery Ranch at Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
Marko Bajzer, Artist-in Residence Summer 2023
Marko Bajzer is a composer, visual artist, bassoonist, wilderness guide, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bajzer has written for a variety of media, including orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber music, voice, and electronics. Marko’s current large-scale project is From Sea to Shining Sea; a Musical Journey through America’s National Parks.
Marko’s symphony about Great Basin is called the Sacrifice of Prometheus. The piece revolves around the story of the former oldest known, living, non-clonal tree in the world, a ~5,000 year old ancient bristlecone pine named Prometheus. The piece is scored for solo bass oboe (which represents the spirit of Prometheus), full orchestra, and electronics, which consist of musical renderings of biodata from the bristlecone pines themselves. It is the first piece in the US to be performed for solo bass oboe and full orchestra, and is the first piece for orchestra to feature musical renderings of biodata from plants.
Marko has been the Artist-in-Residence at four national parks: Lassen Volcanic, Great Basin, Voyageurs, and Joshua Tree. His works about these parks have been commissioned by the Reno Philharmonic, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, and the North State Symphony.
Mark Maynard, Artist-in Residence Summer 2022
Mark Maynard is a writer, filmmaker, journalist and community college professor. His story collection Grind (Torrey House Press) was the 2016-17 Nevada Reads Book. He is the recipient of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award. His fiction has been published in anthologies such as This Side of the Divide and The Films of Clint Eastwood and he has written for Nevada Magazine, The Reno News and Review and This is Reno.
He teaches English, creative writing and journalism at Reno’s Truckee Meadows Community College. In 2023 Mark was artist-in-residence at Great Basin National Park, as well as in Nevada’s Black Rock-High Rock Desert National Conservation Area.
Mark wrote and directed the award-winning documentary Piconland about the Basque-American cocktail the Picon Punch. He has an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Nevada, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.
Moderator
Tamara Scronce, Emerita Director, School of the Arts; Emerita Associate Professor, Arts; University of Nevada, Reno
Tamara Scronce is an object maker with a deep love of materials and a strong commitment to her craft. Her conceptually driven objects and installations engage a wide range of mediums, including wood, steel, ceramic, and ready-made materials.
While serving as the Director of the School of the Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno, Tamara helped establish a partnership between the Great Basin National Park Foundation and UNR to launch a residency program for artists living and working in the Great Basin. After several years, this initiative was integrated into the Darwin Lambert Great Basin National Park Artist-in-Residence program, helping to expand and professionalize the program and increasing opportunities for artists across the country while maintaining dedicated support for regional participants.
A dedicated artist, emerita professor, and arts advocate, Tamara strives to be involved in her community. She served two terms as a City of Reno Arts and Culture Commissioner, contributed to the City’s Public Art Committee, and continues her long-standing work with the Great Basin National Park Artist-in-Residence program. She is guided by the belief that art and culture are essential to the vitality of every community—whether metropolitan, rural, or somewhere in between.