When Joanna Drakos learned she had been named Reno’s 2026 City Artist, the moment didn’t fully register at first. It was something she had to sit with.
“I was absolutely stunned,” she says. “I had to sit down for about an hour just to process it.”
That pause feels fitting for an artist whose work lives in the space between instinct and intention. Known for her non-representational, abstract paintings, Drakos creates expressive, emotionally driven work using acrylics, often incorporating graphite, charcoal, and colored pencil. Her process is described as intuitive, guided by color, composition, and a willingness to relinquish control.
“I try to find the place where skill meets loss of control,” she explains.
Even so, getting to this moment wasn’t a straight path. After years spent in art-adjacent fields, Drakos describes her return to making art as a “creative rebirth” that emerged during the pandemic.
“Making art saved me in so many ways,” she says. “I followed the path organically, but I never could have imagined that five years later it would lead to this.”
That persistence is what she calls a “dogged pursuit,” fueled by belief in her work, and it has carried her here. Being named City Artist is both a personal validation and a professional turning point, offering her broader visibility and a deeper connection to the community.
Her paintings explore themes of memory, time, nature, and music. These ideas are deeply personal, yet widely recognizable. As she paints, titles come to her in the process and often reflect what influenced the work.
Later this year, Drakos will bring that work directly into the public eye. A solo exhibition at Metro Gallery in Reno City Hall is scheduled for June 29-August 28, followed by a curated group exhibition of abstract artists later in the fall.
Beyond her own practice, Drakos is also focused on supporting the broader arts community in Reno.
“A thriving artistic community is a symbiotic relationship,” she says. “If you see something that moves you, buy a piece from a local artist. It has more impact than you realize.”
Originally from the East Coast, Drakos has called Reno home since 2003. She credits the openness of the landscape with continuing to shape her creative process.
“When I return to Reno, I feel openness again,” she says. “And in that openness, I feel creativity.”
As Reno’s City Artist, Drakos hopes her work offers something simple but meaningful. She wants people to experience it in their own way, without feeling like they need to interpret it “correctly.”
“Abstract painting isn’t something you have to figure out,” she says. “It’s there to be experienced.”
And in that experience, she hopes people find something of their own.