The Reno Tahoe International Art Show was created by Kevin O’Keefe and partner/ daughter Briana Dolan as the platform to position Reno as a nationally recognized arts and cultural center.

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Geographically stunning, Reno Tahoe is home to hundreds of talented fine artists and many thousands of art collectors and buyers- with thousands of new affluent residents arriving every month.

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In the past three years the population has doubled, +$8 Billion in luxury real estate has been acquired, built or redesigned.

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Having launched 36 major events in 10 countries (all have substantially grown) Kevin wanted to design a better way to show and sell fine art. Engaged with the art world for years as a result of building the largest design event in the Americas, International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in Manhattan and NYCxDesign, the 400,000-person citywide, the goal was to create an elegant but welcoming and inclusive fine art fair. 

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Briana, at the time a successful marketing executive for NYC-based Tihany Design, the leading luxury space designer in the world, aimed to launch a fun, comfortable art fair that would be unique to the region and a place that collectors, art buyers and art lovers of all ages could enjoy and look forward to every year. Memorable hospitality, audience engagement and diversity of art mediums, style and tastes have remained defining factors in the development of the event.

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Key in the planning was avoiding the redundancy in galleries and artists exhibited in the handful of fine art shows running in the US and Europe. Briana and Kevin wanted the exhibition they made to be major, unique and diverse. Thousands of artworks in all mediums could be purchased from $500 to $500,000. Buyers would find better selected galleries from around the nation and the world, the best in Native American art, extensive art city pavilions, sculptors, studios and independents from everywhere and significant curated pieces from Burning Man, the world’s largest event for cultural expression. 

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To make the show even more elegant and audience friendly, film, music and drama were added to the show floor and on stage.

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The new model is working.

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The RTIA Show has doubled in size, audience and art sold every year. The third edition – which took place during an 8,000-acre fire and state of emergency - featured 160,000’ of exhibition space, 326 exhibitors from 22 countries 4,750 buyers from 28 states and nine countries who bought hundreds of thousands of dollars in art every day.

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In less than three years, the event expanded to be the fastest growing fine art fair in North America and the largest indoor sculptural event in the nation.

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In 2025, RTIA Show aims at an even more curated exhibition of what is best in contemporary fine art, design, sculpture and Native American art- plus onsite musical talent, Oscar award winning short films screenings, theatrical performances, artist workshops- and the amazing features developed and defined by RTIA since the inaugural show.

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We hope to see you there!

Kevin & Bri

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