Rebecca Golden

The Laramie Mural Project will celebrate its tenth public artwork with an outdoor party on Friday, June 13. The Mural Project is collaboration between artists, the University of Wyoming Art Museum and the Laramie Main Street Alliance. Since 2011, it has decorated the sides of downtown buildings with images ranging from migrant farm workers to prairie dogs. 

Bestselling novelist Ann Patchett will speak at the University of Wyoming Tuesday, April 22. The free talk includes a Q & A, followed by a book signing.  In addition to the talk, she will meet privately with UW students, including MFA candidates in the creative writing program.

Grammy Award-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw will perform in Laramie Wednesday evening. The singer is a world-renowned opera star and the winner of a MacArthur Genius Grant. Her recital is part of the University of Wyoming’s Eminent Artist-in-Residence program, and Upshaw says she’s looking forward to performing at UW.

Governor Matt Mead has appointed three new board members to the Wyoming Arts Council.

One of them is writer and University of Wyoming instructor Nina McConigley. McConigley published her first short story collection, “Cowboys and East Indians” late last year. She won a major Arts Council grant in 2010, an experience McConigley says gave her the confidence to finish her book.

Paintings of Chief Washakie that have spent more than 40 years in storage are now on display in the Capitol Rotunda in Cheyenne. The 24 pieces by western artist J.K. Ralston were originally commissioned for the dining room of the Noble Hotel in Lander in 1945.

They depict scenes from the life of the Eastern Shoshone chief, including battles, encounters with white settlers, and treaty signings that are part of Chief Washakie’s legacy of diplomacy and peace.

Wyoming State Museum Education Curator Nathan Doerr says the collection tells a sweeping story of the American West.

Worlds of Music brings international musical styles to rural Wyoming. That includes a Balkan-style brass band this weekend in Buffalo. The Seattle-based 15-piece Orkestar Zirkonium will work with local schools and put on a series of free shows and workshops for the public. Worlds of Music organizer David Romtvedt says the group even plans a friendly takeover of downtown Buffalo.

Grammy-award winning jazz group, the Yellowjackets, will perform with the University of Wyoming Jazz Ensemble Thursday night. The Yellowjackets will also conduct workshops with UW musicians.  UW Jazz Ensemble director Scott Turpen says the Yellowjackets’ visit is part of the music department’s Eminent Artist-in-Residence program.