Like many nonprofits in the area, arts organizations have been struggling financially due to myriad ways COVID-19 has changed daily life.

But the Nevada County Arts Council recently was the benefactor of good news, as it was the recipient of an award of over $112,000 from the Tahoe Truckee Excellence in Education Foundation to fund key components of an interpretive exhibition called FOREST FIRE.

At its core, the project, which is set to debut sometime next year, is meant to take the viewer through the history of Nevada County’s forests.

“FOREST FIRE will expose the audience to the 13,000-year history of our forest ecology, its relationship to fire, and the human role within that relationship,” Nevada County Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Michael Llewellyn said in a news release. “It will address the paradox that fire needs to become our partner instead of our enemy in saving the forest.

“Our goal is to create a common understanding of fire ecology and to envision a shared future for the forest.”

The exhibition will span the length and breadth of the Truckee Community Recreation Center and, with partnership from University of California, Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, is meant to include perspectives of actors from different sectors, including scientists, businessmen and government officials.

Nevada County Arts Council Executive Director Eliza Tudor said the creative place-making project is another spotlight on the local arts community.

“It’s an example of the good work that continues in the arts,” she said.

To contact Staff Writer Sam Corey email scorey@theunion.com or call 530-477-4219.