W
Y
O
M
I
N
G
WYOMING ARTS COUNCIL NEWS • FALL 2017
cover story
The Wyoming Arts Council Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary PAGE 20
Governor Matthew H. Mead and the
Wyoming Arts Council invite you to celebrate the
36 Annual Governor’s Arts Awards th
Established in 1982, the Governor’s Arts Awards recognize artists, arts organizations and patrons who have displayed excellence in the arts and outstanding service to the arts in Wyoming. These awards were first made possible by an endowment from the Union Pacific Foundation in honor of Mrs. John U. Loomis, a life-long patron of the arts. Over the years, individuals and organizations from more than 25 Wyoming communities and statewide organizations have been honored for their dedication to the arts in Wyoming. Each year, Arts Council has a public nomination process with nominations due in early October. The Award Ceremony takes place in Cheyenne in February, and is a gala event with a number of elected officials attending each year. The Governor gives a State of the Arts speech, awardees are honored, and there is some kind of entertainment, usually by an awardee.
Friday, February 9, 2018 Social Hour: 6 pm | Dinner: 7 pm | Awards Ceremony: 8 pm
Little America, Grand Ballroom | 2800 West Lincolnway | Cheyenne, WY Dress: Cocktail Attire | Cash Bar RSVP by January 31, 2018 | Pre-registration only | Online registration available this fall at wyomingartscouncil.org
table of contents Executive Director’s Column...............................2 Letter from Governor Matt Mead....................... 3 Letter from NEA Chairman..................................4
our Mission
The Wyoming Arts Council provides leadership and invests resources to sustain, promote and cultivate excellence in the arts.
WAC Staff
Michael Lange : EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rachel Clifton : ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Annie Hatch : FOLKLORIST/HEALTH & WELLNESS
THROUGH THE ARTS SPECIALIST/ADA COORDINATOR
Philip Moline : COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND INDEPENDENT MUSIC SPECIALIST
The Future of Arts in Wyoming...........................6 Fellowships..........................................................9 Wyoming Arts Organizations............................10 Arts Council Timeline........................................14 Arts and Health.................................................16 Then & Now.......................................................18 Wyoming Arts Summit......................................20 Poets Laureate..................................................24
Karen Merklin : GRANTS MANAGER Brittany Perez : OFFICE MANAGER Colin Stricklin : ARTS COMMUNICATION, MARKETING AND RESEARCH SPECIALIST
Tara Pappas : ARTS EDUCATION SPECIALIST
WAC Board
Holly Turner (Chair) : CASPER Tara Taylor (Vice Chair) : MOUNTAIN VIEW Janelle Fletcher : LARAMIE Stefanie Boster : CHEYENNE Chloe Illoway : CHEYENNE Nina McConigley : LARAMIE Sharon O’Toole : SAVERY Steve Schrepferman : CODY Karen Stewart : JACKSON Simon Marshall : CASPER
ON THE COVER: Keynote speakers at the 2017 Wyoming Arts Summit include Kealoha, the first Poet Laureate of Hawai’i; Savannah Barrett, Director of Programs for Art of the Rural and co-founder of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange; and Maria Lopez De León, President, CEO and board member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). ON THE BACK COVER:
Former elementary school teacher and current Wyoming Poet Laureate Eugene Gagliano.
magazine
Artscapes is published triannually and supported with funding from the Wyoming Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. wyomingartscouncil.org
wyoming arts council 2301 Central Avenue • Cheyenne, WY 82002 Phone: 307-777-7742 • Fax: 307-777-5499 Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. wyomingartscouncil.org
executive director's column
Celebrating 50 Years of Creativity The Wyoming Arts Council is excited to be celebrating our 50th Anniversary. In this special edition of Artscapes, we look back at the arts in Wyoming over the past 50 years and dive into the issues that those helping strengthen their communities through the arts will need to grapple with in the future. As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration we worked closely with State Parks and Cultural Resources videographer Dean Petersen to create a series of videos that highlight the arts across our great state. These videos feature artists, arts organizations, arts advocates, and community members who understand the value the arts play in making Wyoming a better place to live. We invite you to visit our YouTube channel by searching Wyoming Arts Council and spend a few minutes learning about the treasure trove of artistic excellence we have living and working in our borders. Additionally, the Wyoming Arts Council is excited to be hosting a 50th Anniversary Arts Summit to be held in Lander on November 2-4. We want you to come! This event is an opportunity for Wyomingites to come together, learn from one another, and empower the state’s creative sector. The summit offers professional development tracks for arts advocates, administrators, educators, and artists, and will highlight many of Wyoming’s talented visual, performing, and literary artists. A few highlights include: world premiere compositions performed by the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Northwest College Studio Singers; performances by the Wind River Dancers,
PAGE
|2
National Heritage Fellow Martin Goicoechea, and Wyoming independent musicians; keynote presentations by the National Michael Lange Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and Art of the Rural; and an art walk featuring Wyoming visual artists. Please visit our website for more information about the event and please mark your calendar to attend. Lastly, I would like to thank you -- the folks who make the arts happen. As you can tell from the diverse letters, interviews, and articles in this magazine, from the Governor and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, to the artists, art administrators, and volunteer arts advocates across the state, it takes us all to build a better Wyoming. We are stronger because of your passion, hard work, and dedication. Thank you for all you do to support the arts. Keep building stronger communities, one note, one poem, one beat, and one brush stroke at a time. Sincerely,
Michael Lange, Executive Director Wyoming Arts Council
Wyoming arts council
Governor Matthew H. Mead
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 3
NEA
Letter from Jane Chu, Chairman of the national Endowment for the arts Dear Wyoming Arts Community: Congratulations to the Wyoming Arts Council on its 50th anniversary of serving the people of Wyoming! The National Endowment for the Arts considers its partnerships with state arts agencies as among our most important relationships. That’s why 40 percent of all NEA grantmaking funds go to our state and regional partners every year. This system between the NEA and the states gives us a far greater ability to make an impact, because there is more than one entity working together to shape the arts. We look to state arts agencies to collaborate with their constituents to develop long-range plans for the arts and culture in their states. The NEA offers support to put those plans into action—it’s a federal investment in the future and vision that each state crafts for itself. Since 1970, the NEA awarded $23.2 million to the Wyoming Arts Council to strengthen the state’s arts and cultural organizations, advance arts education in schools and community settings, preserve folk and traditional arts, and help communities across the state expand their access to arts and cultural experiences. The Wyoming Arts Council is to be applauded for its innovative efforts in reaching the state’s many remote
PAGE
|4
towns and communities that are eager to share in the arts. For example, the WAC’s Art in Unlikely Places partnership with the University of Wyoming Cultural Outreach program sends university music, dance, and theater groups across the state to perform in underserved venues such as prisons and assisted living facilities. WAC’s Rural Arts Access Grant is also geared to geographically isolated and rural areas with populations of less than 3,000. The Wyoming Independent Music Initiative is another prime example of the kind of WAC program that touches communities across the state. It was launched last year in an effort to create healthy and livable communities through music, all while building and supporting Wyoming’s homegrown talent and venues. And it is an honor for us at the NEA to further strengthen the arts in Wyoming’s rural communities, both through individual grants and special programs. Every year, roughly 23 percent of NEA funding is awarded to organizations serving rural and small metropolitan communities. We also support community development projects through our Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, which brings together design experts and rural communities to develop solutions for local challenges. NEA’s Partnership Office is currently collaborating with the National Governors’ Association on a publication on the role of rural arts and culture in driving states’ eco-
Wyoming arts council
Chairman Chu tours the Laramie Mural Project during her 2016 visit to Wyoming.
nomic development agenda. Thanks to our work with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we already know that the arts and cultural sectors employ nearly 11,500 Wyoming residents, which accounts for 4.3 percent of total state employment. Through NEA Research Labs, our Office of Research & Analysis is supporting crosssector projects that investigate how the arts contribute to positive outcomes for individuals and communities. Their support to the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health, in partnership with the organization Art of the Rural, will look at the intersection of the arts, entrepreneurship, and innovation in rural contexts. Our Arts in Education program is investing in rural arts education projects across the country that address professional development and technology as effective practices toward equity and access in rural education. And a new, NEA-funded working paper, Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas by Lisa Donovan and Maren Brown, adds to what
artscapes • FALL 2017
we know works in rural education, with a specific focus on arts education. I am confident that through the continued partnership of the NEA and WAC, the future of Wyoming’s arts and cultural sector will be as bright as the past five decades. Congratulations again on 50 wonderful years. We look forward to celebrating many more years of triumphs.
Sincerely,
Jane Chu Chairman National Endowment for the Arts
PAGE | 5
The Future of the Arts in Wyoming
More Art, Better Wyoming By Bruce Richardson
“Isolation, of course, is the challenge of being a novelist in Wyoming, but it is also the blessing. If someone asks what I do, I say “writer.” Without fail, they hear “rider” and ask about my horse.” Tim Sandlin
Many “have no idea what is HAPPENING when children sing—that a child’s artistic potential and passion for feeling is limitless.” Marcia Patton
“Wyoming bounces between a boom and bust economy. The arts are often viewed as “fluff” in the down times, especially in smaller communities. The passion to produce art is always there, but not the funding to sustain it.” Tara Taylor
“People may like arts, but have a hard time explaining why we should value them. They may know some of the underlying principles— economic value, employment, tourism, community stability, quality of life—but cannot always put these ideas into words.” Jo Crandall
“We are so scared about money that we’re afraid of really interesting, innovative work.” Michael Kaiser
PAGE
|6
Bruce Richardson, former chair of the WAC board and arts advocate
A
rt-making is fun and satisfying and what people do when they want to scratch the itch, fill the empty spot. Ask the actors at Stage III, or the dancers filling the studios, or the people writing their novel, or the gardener arranging some rocks, or the mechanic strumming a guitar or the photographer catching the glimmer of magic light before an eclipse. There is no settled explanation for this. As Gene Kelly sings, “Gotta Dance.” The enthusiasm for art in Wyoming is intense and surprising to many. We are SECOND in the US in number of artists (per capita; New York is first). We are FOURTH in attendance at live music, theater, and dance performances and FIFTH in the percentage of people who perform and create artworks. Other measures of artistic activity and vibrancy (support for art) show Wyoming in the top group of all states. The new information coming in confirms what I wrote in 2011: “Wyoming is a top arts state.” I see the evidence of this everywhere I look.
Wyoming arts council
The 50th anniversary of the Wyoming Arts Council is a great time to congratulate ourselves. We are known for scenery, energy, and cowboys. We can add arts to the brand. Is everything lovely? Clearly, no. I have been asking people about the challenges facing the arts and they have lots to say. We want better conditions for artists, enhanced art education for everyone, top skills for arts administrators and boards, a commitment to excellence at all levels and broad recognition for the value and significance of arts for our state, towns and ourselves. Wyoming is full of art, but it could be better and our engagement with it stronger and deeper. People who talked to the Wyoming Arts Alliance in a 17 city tour (run by and reported on by Amber SimonPower) were concerned about shortages of funding, insufficient arts education, and lack of awareness about the importance and value of the arts. Art is certainly part of our economy, part of the appeal of our communities, and part of our inner and outer lives. Imagine a life without music or storytelling and you catch a glimpse of the spiritual and social significance of art. Are we heading into a future of artistic abundance and excellence or a drying up? I think how we deal with some large trends will determine the answer.
Shifts in Wealth For the wealthy, incomes have exploded—the top 400 have increased their wealth by 2000% since 1984— while the incomes have stagnated for most everyone else. This means that the top group has more money to donate to the arts and we have seen, for example, many new art museums, expansion of old ones and other massive arts projects across the US. For most people, though, tight budgets affect their ability to enjoy and participate in art. You need money to pay for music lessons, attend concerts or plays, or buy paintings. And the concentration of wealth in urban areas means lots of art and opportunities there with little left for small towns and rural America.
artscapes • FALL 2017
The World Online The internet is everywhere and has changed the world of art. People are publishing themselves, writing poetry, singing songs, producing fan fiction, learning to play the guitar, circulating their paintings and on and on. Traditionalists fuss about quality, but for those who want to write and find readers the opportunities here are amazing. Nonethess, this lightly curated arena is messy and junky and offers minimal opportunity to hone a craft. And the habit of experiencing theater, painting, and music online takes away the quality and social engagement of live art.
Art is certainly part of our economy, part of the appeal of our communities, and part of our inner and outer lives.
The Drying Public Arena While private wealth has expanded, the public sector has been drained. When school budgets are cut, arts programs are often the first to go, and with them the opportunities for students of modest means to learn music, practice painting, learn to act, and learn about and understand art. Public funding for arts is also shrinking. Most state arts agencies can provide only modest help for arts programs. The exceptions—Minnesota, New York City (which spends more on arts than the entire National Endowment for the Arts budget), Portland, Denver— reveal how meager are the public resources for arts in Wyoming and most everywhere in the US. Even with a small budget for grants, The Wyoming Arts Council is a crucial source of funding for small arts
PAGE | 7
programs in this rural/small town state, but cannot provide much for expensive programs or big projects such as a civic auditorium for Casper or a theater in Rock Springs. Arts Councils in other states have a hard time remaining relevant and have turned to services recognizing that big money needs will have to come from private donors and foundations. Wyoming’s Cultural Trust fund has great potential, but would need to be much larger to address big projects.
Depth and Excellence While Wyoming has lots of people doing lots of art it lacks steady excellence. Things that help here include the Arts Council fellowship awards, art reviews appearing in WyoFile, participation in national competitions, nationally recognized events such as the Wyoming Theater Festival in Sheridan and the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson and arts education programs in the colleges, schools and communities.
People in Wyoming like art, but often see it as pleasant decoration rather than the deep, powerful and core thing that it is. There is value in art-making: the drive to tell a story, shape reality, entertain, amuse, amaze, and make meaning from mush, to find sense in our lives and communities. People turn to art to find and express the substantial things that keep us going and show us, dare I say, the meaning of life.
The Future The United States has been well-served by the culture of private donation and individual initiative, but the impoverishment of the public sphere threatens to cut a lot people out of opportunities in the arts and the ample life that art offers. People will take photos, sing songs, paint pictures, write stories no matter what, but the opportunities to do these things at a high level are enhanced by education and a culture that values art and recognizes its significance. As we say at The Wyoming Arts Alliance: “More art, better Wyoming.”
Nationally recognized events like Grand Teton Music Festival as well as arts educational programs like the University of Wyoming String Project are part of Wyoming’s tradition of artistic excellence.
PAGE
|8
Wyoming arts council
FELLOWSHIPS
Congratulations to the 2017 Creative Writing and Visual Arts Fellowship Award Recipients
The Creative Writing Fellowship in poetry was awarded to Cara Rodriguez of Casper.
The Creative Writing Fellowship in fiction was awarded to Ben Werner of Cody. Photo courtesy of Mike Vanata.
The Creative Writing Fellowship in creative nonfiction was awarded to Carly Fraysier of Clearmont.
Margaret K. Haydon of Laramie was awarded a Visual Arts Fellowship.
Patrick Kikut of Laramie was awarded a Visual Arts Fellowship.
Robert Martinez of Riverton was awarded a Visual Arts Fellowship.
Honorable mentions in this year’s Creative Writing contest include Claudia Mauro of Jackson and Lori Howe of Laramie for Poetry, Andrew Munz of Jackson and Court Merrigan of Torrington for Fiction, and Jennifer Kocher of Douglas and Tina Welling of Jackson for Creative Nonfiction. Honorable mentions in this year’s Visual Arts contest are Ashley Hope Carlisle of Laramie, Andy Kincaid of Jackson, and Rani Robison of Laramie.
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 9
Wyoming Arts Organizations The Wyoming Arts Council works with arts organizations around the state, and has built years-long relationships with many of these. We asked a few of our long-standing partners three questions: How has your organization grown over the years? What impact has the Arts Council had on your work? What do you hope to see in Wyoming’s arts community in the next 50 years? Here are their answers.
Lander Art Center
O
ver the past 13 years the Lander Art Center (LAC) has developed to meet the needs of our community. We now serve more artists and families, and have a stronger membership base than ever before. LAC has worked hard to create advanced opportunities for budding and professional artists by offering stronger support for art as a business. We have expanded our footprint to include a second space called 320 Studio where 13 artists studios are housed and rented out to community members. LAC also has also seen a need for more diverse class offerings, so we added a clay studio equipped with pottery wheels and kiln that is available for classes and studio renters. The Wyoming Arts Council has been instrumental in the development and expansion of the Lander Art Center. The financial support that LAC has received over the years has allowed us to grow with our community and offer classes, events, and activities that adhere to popular trends in style and medium so that the arts stay relevant in Lander. The networking opportunities provided by the Wyoming Arts Council through Click conferences and participation on grant committees have facilitated invaluable learning opportunities and dialogue between LAC and similar organizations around the state. Without the financial assistance and opportuni-
PAGE
| 10
The Lander Art Center is a non-profit art organization located on Main Street in Lander, WY. The LAC provides a wide variety of cultural and artistic opportunities to rural residents through art exhibitions, events, and education opportunities.
ties provided by the Wyoming Arts Council, LAC would not be the organization it is today. Over the next 50 years our hope is that art production will be a more viable business for artists living in small Wyoming communities like Lander. We would like to see opportunities for art-as-a-business increase with more support from non-profit organizations like LAC, buyers from outside the community and state, and from within the communities themselves.
Wyoming arts council
Artcore
S
uzanne Tuma founded ARTCORE to provide more opportunities for individual artists. A radio script competition was the first project, and ARTCORE continues that work with a three-year rotation of three competitions.
cut from the elementary schools and $500,000 from transportation. Each grade will be allowed only one trip to ARTCORE programs per semester. This is a huge setback, and we are trying to see if the school district will allow us to try to raise bus funds.
The thing that was not planned was for ARTCORE to become a major presenter. Just a year after the organization was incorporated in 1978, Albuquerque Dance Theatre was presented, to raise funds for projects. It was a successful artistic experience, but no financial success. At first, we presented one music, one dance, and one theater presentation. Gradually, we enlarged the series, and then, it exploded when we chose to offer local artists and ones who were traveling through the opportunity to perform for 80% of the sales with a minimum of $300 plus a room and a meal. Extra funds are possible for school outreach.
Looking to the future, it will be wonderful if Wyoming can continue diversifying, so that we can become less susceptible to boom and bust. The Arts Community has worked hard to champion the legislature supporting the WAC and for the inclusion of Arts Education in core curriculum requirements. Our work is not finished!
The Wyoming Arts Council has had a tremendous impact on the work of ARTCORE and organizations in every county in Wyoming! The grant funds have been a critical piece of the funding puzzle, and the fact that the money is given up front, rather than on a reimbursement basis, has greatly helped! The WAC staff members have been wonderful educators and nurturers, caring about the projects and people involved! 50 years ago, big cities were beginning to cut out public school music. Casper has been fortunate to escape that until now, and ARTCORE, with the wonderful school partnership of teachers and administrators has been able to average an attendance of 20,000 students and teachers. This fall, instrumental music has been artscapes • FALL 2017
Casper-based ARTCORE is one of Wyoming’s largest presenters, offering annual competitions and opportunities for individual artists.
May the next 50 years see continued successful work toward growth in the Arts for the public and the students in every community, and may the excellent, caring work of the Wyoming Arts Council continue. Happy Birthday WAC – and Bravo!!
PAGE | 11
Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering
S
ixteen years ago this fall a half a dozen people met to talk about organizing a cowboy gathering that would showcase the work of cowboy poets and cowboy songwriters. We quickly decided two things: that we would showcase a mix of Wyoming and regional artists and we would not contract for any artist prior to having funds in hand to pay fees and travel honorariums. Also we made a commitment to providing an event that would be family-friendly and free to the greatest degree possible. Our first year we had an audience of less than 100 people; now we have grown to the capacity of our venue at the school (about 350). Our committee (we call it the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering Outfit) has a dozen people who each have unique skills from planning and promotion to entertaining on stage. For the first 2-3 years of the Gathering we generated revenue through door-to-door fundraising and a membership drive, sponsorship of some community activities, and sales of tickets to our night show. We started with three headline artists who were friends of ours and would work for less than their standard rates to help us get up and running. And then we wrote our first grant to the Wyoming Arts Council, receiving some funding that allowed us to pay artists a bit more, and also to begin paying small honorariums to a few additional artists who performed on our afternoon stage, which is free and held in our town park. We leveraged the Arts Council funding against other local grants and for a time also had some support from WESTAF. This support was critical to our success and growth as we now had the ability to bring in top-tier western singers/songwriters and cowboy poets who brought their own following and gave us national exposure. We have been financially stable from our very first gathering to the point that we can now support more artists each year with larger stipends and travel accommodations. This year when our Arts Council grant was much smaller than anticipated (based on prior
PAGE
| 12
The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering is a nonprofit outfit dedicated to preserving and promoting the cowboy and western ways of life through events, history, poetry, and music.
awards) we had already committed to artists, but had the reserve fund we’d built for such contingencies so we did not have a direct impact to the gathering. As a side note, our gathering has truly nurtured artists. Our Campfire gathering is informal and a place for newer artists to perform, some for the first time. We have had young people (Sam Platts of Kootenai 3/The Great Plainsmen and Cora Wood, for example) perform at Campfire or on our open mic stage who have returned as featured performers. We aspire to continue this type of opportunity at each of our gatherings. Wyoming is a place of inspiration. It has always attracted artists and it has always nurtured them. As the world moves faster and faster, our state of fewer people, longer drives, and audiences that truly appreciate a variety of artistic endeavors will become even more of an attraction. From our particular viewpoint we believe folk arts that preserve and promote our western way of life will be even more desired as people seek diversity and cultural expression.
Wyoming arts council
WYO Theater
Since reopening in 1989, the WYO Theater has brought countless hours of live entertainment, cultural enrichment, and educational opportunities to the greater Sheridan community.
T
he WYO Theater has been incredibly fortunate in the support it receives from Sheridan and the surrounding community. Because of a deep love for the space and its history, the WYO has grown in attendance, number of shows a year, square footage and influence. When the WYO reopened in 1989 after a community campaign to “Save the WYO,” it was a beautifully renovated 483 seat Vaudeville style house with a hemp fly system, narrow wing space, confined lobby and short season. Now going into its 28th season the WYO is a three-building structure with expanded wing space stage left and right, counterweight fly system, black box theater, expanded lobby and concessions area, dance studio, green room, classroom space and much more. The season has grown from a short 8 to 10 season to a grand 30+ show season hosting such known performers at Julian Sands, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett, The Oak Ridge Boys and Dance Theatre of Harlem. The theater that began as a dream with the name “Save the WYO Inc,” is now the “WYO Performing Arts and Education Center”.
mances and opportunities for community members. Through support and grants from the Wyoming Arts Council, the WYO has been able to offer free workshops to local schools with professional artists, present world class classical musicians through the Piatagorsky Concerts, offer free matinees to local school students and continue its mission to inspire, educate and entertain. Wyoming is embracing the Arts in an exciting and powerful way. In Sheridan specifically, the arts are moving to the forefront of the “local experience” which seems to be true in many areas across the state. This forward movement makes for more vibrant, rich and cultural communities that enhance peoples’ everyday lives. I look forward to continuing that momentum by connecting our state through these arts avenues and finding ways to collaborate on a bigger and more robust scale.
The Wyoming Arts Council has been hugely impactful on the WYO’s ability to present high quality perfor-
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 13
Arts Council TIMELINE
1965
President Johnson signs the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, establishing the National Endowment for the Arts.
Governor Stan Hathaway
LBJ signing the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965
The Wyoming Arts Council established. The plan was drawn up by First Lady Bobby Hathaway, the legislation proposed by Governor Stan Hathaway, and the law passed by arts supporters in the Wyoming House and Senate.
Frances Forrister recruited as the Council’s first executive director. She commented in the Council’s newsletter that the task of raising and administering money—and all the bookkeeping that goes with it—“had been done without benefit of even an adding machine!”
1967 1970S 1971 1982
The Governor’s Arts Awards recognize artists, arts organizations and patrons who have displayed excellence in the arts and outstanding service to the arts in Wyoming. The program is currently in its 36th year.
PAGE
| 14
1984-91
No administrative funding was included in the Arts Council’s initial funding. From 1967-71, the governor’s appointees to the Council volunteered their time and homes to distribute grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to Wyoming arts organizations.
State allocations steadily rise as Wyoming begins to see the benefits of an active arts council in the everyday lives of the state’s citizens.
First Governor’s Arts Awards, made possible by an endowment from the Union Pacific Foundation in honor of Mrs. John U. Loomis, a life-long patron of the arts.
The Council enjoys a period of unprecedented growth, during which nearly $2.24 million is awarded to individuals and nonprofit organizations.
Wyoming arts council
The State reorganizes, placing the Arts Council in the Department of Commerce, and so recognizing the importance of the arts as a form of economic development. The Department of Commerce later reorganizes in turn, placing the Wyoming Arts Council in the Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources.
1991 1996
Established under an initiative by Governor Jim Geringer and organized under the auspices of the Wyoming State Museum and the Wyoming Arts Council, the Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition forms a collection of original Wyoming regional art for display in state offices.
2000
The Wyoming Arts Council’s web page under construction.
Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition launched. A juried show open exclusively to Wyoming artists, the exhibition was designed to not only serve as a celebration of the talents of artists within the state, but also to support artists with purchase awards, provide a venue for sales, and showcase their work throughout the summer in the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne.
2006 During the early 2000s, arts constitutes had repeatedly requested an online granting system. This is the year the Council launched its CyberGrants system.
After two decades in the historic Kendrick Building, the Wyoming Arts Council offices move two blocks away to the Barrett Building, home of the Wyoming State Museum.
2007
Find out more about this year’s Wyoming Arts Summit on page 20.
2015
The historic Kendrick Building, located directly across the street from the state capitol.
artscapes • FALL 2017
The first Wyoming Arts Summit takes place in Casper, WY. With a focus on how a creative economy can vitalize Wyoming communities, the summit featured innovative speakers as well as a gala music celebration.
2017
The Wyoming Arts Council celebrates its 50th birthday.
PAGE | 15
Arts and Health
New Report Reveals Findings about the Arts and Health in Older Adults Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts. Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Engage in the Arts presents the first detailed look at arts participation habits and attitudes toward the arts, and related health characteristics of adults aged 55 and older. Staying Engaged is based on results from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), conducted by the University of Michigan with primary support from the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health. “Previous studies have found a better health profile for older adults who participate in the arts, compared with those who do not, but much of that research is limited to the study of creating art, or taking part in arts classes or lessons,” said NEA Research & Analysis Director
Sunil Iyengar. “This report, by contrast, looks at older adults who either create art or attend arts events, do both, or do neither, and health differences across these groups. The findings, while purely descriptive, will help future researchers to probe the arts-health relationship further.” The HRS is a nationally representative, 20+ years longitudinal study that has tracked the health profiles of older adults through surveys and other measurement tools. In 2014, HRS investigators added survey questions about older adults’ involvement in arts and cultural activities over the past year. The new questions allow study of the relationship between engaging in the arts—as creators or observers—and selected health outcomes.
Older adults who both created art and attended art programs in 2014—or who did either activity by itself—experienced the lowest rates of growth in limitations to daily physical functioning over time.
PAGE
| 16
Wyoming arts council
Key sections and selected findings of Staying Engaged • Arts participation: The report examined creating art, attending arts events, doing both, and doing neither, among adults over 55 years of age. 84 percent of these adults reported either creating art or attending arts events. Among this group, 64 percent created art of their own, 68.7 percent attended arts events, and 48.6 percent both created and attended.
• Health outcomes: Older adults who both created art and attended arts events reported higher cognitive functioning and lower rates of both hypertension and limitations to their physical functioning than did adults who neither created nor attended art. Among those who both created and attended, cognitive functioning scores were seven-fold higher than for adults who did neither type of arts activity.
• Attitudes about the arts were measured through eight questions including:
The arts are important (63.8 percent)
The arts help me to be active and engaged (54.9 percent)
IN WYOMING For the Wyoming Arts Council, implementing health and wellness initiatives through the arts is a stated goal of the agency’s strategic plan. Late last year the Council released its Health & Wellness through the Arts Census, targeting Wyomingites in the Healthcare, Aging, Military, and Disabilities sectors. Those findings have been key in identifying best practices, targeting areas of the state with arts accessibility issues, and cataloguing resources and challenges for the nascent program. Those findings are due for an official summary by the end of the calendar year. In the meantime however, they are already having an impact.
Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance workshop aimed at Arts Council grantees. These seminars reflect the kinds of resources that the Wyoming Arts Council is working to make core to its mission.
For more information on the program, contact Health & Wellness through the Arts Specialist Anne Hatch at anne.hatch@wyo.gov.
At this year’s Wyoming Arts Summit, the schedule is set to include sessions like Memory Loss and the Arts, Including Artists with Disabilities, and an Americans with
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 17
THEN & NOW
CASPER ARTISTS'’ GUILD
Then: West Wind Art Gallery/Casper Artists’ Guild, 1989 to 2014. Now: ART321/Casper Artists’ Guild.
COMMUNITY FINE ARTS CENTER
Then: Artist Jill Hartley and Community Fine Arts Center (Rock Springs) director Al Keaney setting up a display in 1988. Now: Artist Jill Hartley is congratulating Community Fine Arts Center director Debora Soule’ along with assistant to the director Jennifer Messer (seated) for the recent displays and events at the CFAC.
PAGE
| 18
Wyoming arts council
UW STRING PROJECT
Then: Founded in 2000, this program has received WAC support since 2002. Now: Still going strong after 18 years, the UW String Project continues to provide classes and lessons on violin, viola, cello, and bass to children beginning in 3rd grade.
WYO THEATER
Then: The WYO (Sheridan) was originally built in 1923 as the Lotus, a vaudeville theater. This photo was taken in the 1940s by Rochford Studios. Now: The theater closed in March of 1982 and the marquee removed. After extensive campaigning to renovate and “Save the WYO”, the theater reopened in October of 1989. Photo credit Ryan Ragan.
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 19
WYOMING ARTS SUMMIT
Wyoming Arts Summit: November 2-4, 2017 LOCATION: LANDER COMMUNITY AND CONVENTION CENTER 950 BUENA VISTA DR, LANDER, WY 82520
T
his event is an opportunity for Wyomingites to come together, learn from one another, and empower the state’s creative sector. The summit offers professional development tracks for arts advocates, administrators, educators, and artists, and will highlight many of Wyoming’s talented visual performing, literary, and musical artists. Arts educators have the ability to earn one PTSB credit for attending the conference and will need to sign in at the conference with their PTSB number.
REGISTRATION Registration is open! Visit WyomingArtsCouncil50thCelebration.eventbrite.com
to register. You can also visit wyomingartscouncil. org/programs/wyoming-arts-summit for all the latest information leading up to the event.
Preliminary Schedule This is a preliminary schedule. All session times are subject to change. Please visit the Arts Council website for the most up to date information. All events are being held at the Lander Community and Convention Center unless otherwise noted. For both Friday and Saturday, light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Thursday, November 2nd 1:00-3:00 p.m. Arts Education Working Group Meeting 3:00 p.m. Pre-Conference tours - Advance sign up required on registration Wind River Development Fund, Maker Space 307 3 Ethete Road, Fort Washakie
REGISTRATION FEES
Eagle Bronze Foundry, 130 Poppy St.
Regular Registration: $125 Student Registration: $50 Additional members from the same organization: $75
PAGE
| 20
5:30-6:30 p.m. Registration opens
6:30-7:30 p.m. Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship Reception Wyoming arts council
(November 2nd Cont.) 7:30-9:30 p.m. Opening Concert, Lander High School Auditorium. Featuring: UW Symphony Orchestra, Wind River Dancers, NWC Studio Singers, and more.
Friday, November 3rd 8:15-8:30 a.m. Welcome, Arts Council staff introductions 8:30-9:20 a.m.
1:30-3:30 p.m. Session 1: 20:20, hosted by the UW Art Museum Advanced sign up required and available on a first come, first served basis. Contact Katie Christensen at katie.christensen@uwyo.edu to sign up. Session 2: Arts Education Working Group: Shared Vision
3:30-3:40 p.m. BREAK
Session 1: Arts Organizations 101 Session 2: Arts Education 101 Session 3: Individual Artists Professional Development (breakout sessions by discipline) • Creative Writing • Visual Arts • Performing Arts
3:40-4:30 p.m. Wyoming Arts Alliance (WyAA) Advocacy Discussion and Networking
4:30-6:00 p.m. WyAA Reception and Arts Expo Hall Advance sign up for Arts Expo Hall required on registration
9:20-9:30 a.m. BREAK 6:00-8:00 p.m. 9:30-10:20 a.m.
Dinner on your own
Session 1: Keynote Presentation – Maria Lopez De León
Arts Walk in downtown Lander. This event is free and open to the public.
Session 2: Arts Education Turnaround Arts/Arts Integration
10:20-10:30 a.m. BREAK
7:00-9:30 p.m. Wyoming Independent Music Initiative (WIMI) Singer/ Songwriter Showcase The Middle Fork, 351 Main St.
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Session 1: Let Creativity Take Over: Memory Loss and the Arts
9 p.m.-Midnight
Session 2: PLCs for Art Educators
Wyoming Independent Music Initiative Showcase (WIMI)
Session 3: Engaging Younger Audiences
Hosted by Low Water String Band Lander Bar & Grill, 126 E. Main St.
12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch and Keynote Presentation – Kealoha
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 21
Saturday, November 4th
ADA Session For Grantees: Why do you need a Self Evaluation and, even better, an Access Plan?
8:30-9:00 a.m. Wyoming Arts Council updates
Advance sign up is requested. If you’d like to attend this session, please add this to your cart when you register so that this workshop can be tailored to the attendees.
9:00-10:00 a.m. Session 1: STEM → STEAM Workshop
Arts Ed Working Group: Wrap-up/Next Steps
Session 2: Community Engagement Through the Arts Session 3: Artist Interdisciplinary Session: Presenting your work professionally
3:00 p.m. Post-Conference tour Advance sign up required on registration
10:00-10:10 a.m. BREAK
Wind River Development Fund, Maker Space 307 14631 US-287, Fort Washakie
10:10-11:00 a.m. Session 1: Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts Session 2: Including Artists with Disabilities Session 3: Placemaking and Public Art Session 4: Community-Based Arts Education
Lodging The following room blocks have been reserved under the Wyoming Arts Council.
11:00-11:10 a.m. BREAK
11:10 a.m.-12:20 p.m. Session 1: Strengthening Your Grants Session 2: ESSA Implementation & Standards Session 3: Artist Interdisciplinary Session: Finding your creative community Arts Education Working Group: Shared Vision
12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch & Closing Keynote Presentation, Savannah Barrett
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Optional Post-Conference Activities 1:1 with Arts Council Staff Sign up required during the Summit, 10 minute intervals PAGE
| 22
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lander 1002 11th Street, Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-4005 Cutoff date: Oct. 11, 2017 Rate: $91.00
Rodeway Inn Pronghorn Lodge 150 E Main St, Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-3940 Cutoff date: Oct. 1, 2017 Rate: $79.99
#WYOarts50 Wyoming arts council
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Some of the most powerful and dynamic speakers from all around the country are presenting at the Wyoming Arts Summit. Kealoha is the first Poet Laureate of Hawai`i. As an internationally acclaimed poet and storyteller, he has performed throughout the world — from the White House to the `Iolani Palace, from Brazil to Switzerland. He is the first poet in Hawai`i’s history to perform at a governor’s inauguration, was selected as a master artist for a National Endowment for the Arts program, and received a Community Inspiration Program grant from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. In the 7 years that he has represented Hawai`i at the National Poetry Slam, he has performed on the finals stage 4 times, was ranked in the top ten of the nation’s best poets in 2007, and was honored as a “National Poetry Slam Legend” in 2010. He graduated with honors from MIT with a degree in Nuclear Physics (and a minor in writing), served as a business consultant in San Francisco, and played around as a surf instructor prior to becoming a professional poet in 2002. Visit www.KealohaPoetry.com for more information.
Savannah Barrett is the Director of Programs for Art of the Rural and cofounder of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange. She serves the board of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice, the Art of Community: Rural SC, and the Robert E. Gard Foundation, has served on the review panel for the National Endowment for the Arts’ Citizen’s Institute on Rural Design and on the Innovation Team for EmcArts’ Community Innovation Lab program. Barrett has guided programs for the Center for Community Arts and Cultural Policy, the Louisville Visual Art Association, the Oregon Folklife Network, Paul Paletti Gallery, and Salvo Collective. Savannah is a twelfth-generation Grayson Countian and was raised on a seventhgeneration homeplace in Grayson Springs, Kentucky, where she co-founded a local arts agency in high school. She is a proud steward of six acres of her homeplace, but currently lives in Louisville with her partner Joe and their beagle, Winona.
Maria Lopez De León is the President, CEO and board member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). In January 2013, President Obama appointed Ms. De León to serve on the National Council on the Arts. In 2012 and 2013, Ms. De León was named among the nation’s Fifty Most Powerful and Influential People in the Nonprofit Arts. She has been with NALAC for nineteen years and has served as President and CEO for one year and Executive Director for sixteen years. Ms. De León is a cultural organizer and practitioner dedicated to strengthening communities through the arts and has multiple years of experience working with Latino artists and arts organizations. She serves on multiple arts and culture policy panels and is a noted speaker and advocate for the arts, cultural equity and social and economic justice.
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 23
POETs LAUREATE
Poets Laureate In commemoration of 50 years of Wyoming Arts, we asked the state’s current and former poets laureate to submit poetry appropriate to the occasion. Their work is printed here and on the back cover.
SUNDAY MORNING EARLY DAVID ROMTVEDT My daughter and I paddle red kayaks across the lake. Pulling hard,
WHY I STAY PAT FROLANDER for awakening grass and chokecherry leaf, a flute-warbled song from a yellow throat,
we slip easily through the water.
a heart, quickened, at springtime blush.
Far from either shore, it hits me
I revel in rain-drenched fields,
that my daughter is a young woman
ramble meadows and hillsides,
and suddenly everything is a metaphor
seek coyote and fox,
for how short a time we are granted:
glimpse fawns nestling in tall grasses.
the red boats on the blue-black water, the russet and gold of late summer’s grasses, the empty sky. We stop and listen to the stillness. I say, “It’s Sunday, and here we are in the church of the out of doors,”
I rouse to calls of Canada geese, their vee slicing blue air, seek the bandit who eats my winter grain, laugh at ducklings’ play in the reservoir,
then wish I’d kept quiet. That’s the trick in l ife—
rejoice at the stallion’s nicker calling his mares.
learning to leave well enough alone.
I stay for the rhythm of season for the land, always the land
Our boats drift to where the chirring
and
of grasshoppers reaches us from the rocky hills.
for a man whose hands know my heartbeat
A clap of thunder. I want to say something truer than I love you. I want my daughter to know that,
almost as well as God knows my soul.
through her, I live a life that was closed to me. I paddle up, lean out, and touch her hand. I start to speak then stop.
PAGE
| 24
Wyoming arts council
THE VIEW FROM HERE ECHO KLAPROTH
HOMETOWN WYOMING A. ROSE HILL
I am the sun radiating, God resonating
After school, Third Grader Abby asked,
from shades of denim, the expanse of blue,
“Grandma, can we make a quilt?
washed often with a rainbow of colors –
Jamie’s house burned down
an early morning cast or late afternoon hue.
and she has no blankets.”
I am high mountain air, swirling shapes of mist,
Neighbors took the family in;
and the wind blowing biting through the times
hometown folk brought food and clothes.
as aspen and cottonwood endure the seasons,
Mrs. Jones offered a home
lean with the wind-hewn cedar, elm, and pines.
at ten cents on the dollar, all appliances included.
I am snowbanks clinging to mountain walls
A spaghetti dinner earned some cash.
slicing their way through the land in their thaws, surrendering their fate as creeks into rivers,
Abby tied her soft pink quilt
slithering to the sea down ravines and draws.
with satin ribbon to match, tucked a Teddy bear inside.
I am the miles and miles from here to there woven across the view from lofty rims,
Is the source of this deep-seated urge to help
a laurel of sage amidst prairie grasses
in the generous breezes off the mountain peaks,
patterned with pronghorn and signs of men.
in the luminous Wyoming light, handed down father to son, mother to daughter?
I am swaths of alfalfa and fields of grain,
Where are these caring neighbors found?
red-walled canyons, grasslands and dunes, ancient petroglyphs and open-pit mines,
They live next door,
littered with fences and roadways’ festoon.
Hometown, Wyoming.
I am immensity and propensity— a last frontier story held in measure mostly by the wealth of reserves stored below those pockets of mammon held as treasure still all the while sitting out in plain view stands that grandness transcendent and sublime where immeasurable is the value of living without obstruction on the edge of time.
artscapes • FALL 2017
PAGE | 25
Wyoming Arts Council 2301 Central Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82002
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage
PAID
Cheyenne, WY Permit No. 7
WAGON WHEEL, EUGENE GAGLIANO An aged and weathered
Does it speak
Wagon wheel
Of the circle of life
At the edge of a flower garden
Remember the heartache of despair
Leans against a house
The miles of sacrifice, pain and loss
Entwined by morning glory vines
Death march or freedom’s road?
The color of Wyoming sky. Is it just a nostalgic ornament Did it once carry
Resting after its long journey
A family’s means of survival,
Waiting to rot back to earth,
In a covered wagon
Or is it the symbol
On a journey of dreams
Of strength, faith and courage
Over endless dusty miles
Hope for a new generation’s vision?
Of scorching sun And taunting winds?
Former elementary school teacher and current Wyoming Poet Laureate Eugene Gagliano.