wyoming arts council

The pandemic has impacted all corners of the economy including the arts. Those in the art world have lost out on gallery openings, ticket sales for in-person events, and both corporate and philanthropic giving.

With widespread layoffs and public closures still in effect until April 30, many Wyoming artists are finding it difficult to support themselves. Michael Lange, Executive director for the Wyoming Arts Council, said he knew he had to find a way to offer support.

Arts organizations throughout Wyoming are stepping up with creative online activities while the coronavirus epidemic keeps people home.

A Wyoming artist has received the nation's highest honor in folk and traditional art.

State poetry reading contest winner, Lauren Haiar, will represent Wyoming at the national Poetry Out Loud competition next month.

A series of online workshops is aiming to expand the number of successful applicants for the Wyoming Arts Council's Community Support Grants, which offer up to $20,000 for arts-related services. They're available to public and non-profit organizations, as well as fiscally-sponsored groups.

The Wyoming Arts Council recently hosted 50 Years of Art in Lander. Director Michael Lange said the summit emphasized that it is looking to the future, by connecting arts from people with different social and cultural backgrounds, giving them the means to learn from each other.

Wyoming artist Robert Martinez is co-founder of the Northern Arapaho Artists Society and the Creative Indigenous Collective, and he is also one of the recipients of the 2018 Art Fellowship for the Wyoming Art Council.

President Donald Trump’s first federal budget plan proposes a complete defunding of both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The potential eliminations could hurt many arts organizations across the state.

Representatives from the National Endowment for the Arts are in Laramie for a public event this evening. Chairman Jane Chu and Wyoming Arts Council Executive Director Michael Lange will host a town hall reception at the Gryphon Theatre at 6 p.m in honor of the NEA's 50th anniversary and Chu's first visit to Wyoming.

The Wyoming Independent Music Initiative will feature nine Laramie bands in a free concert Saturday, June 25. WIMI is a broad initiative by the Wyoming Arts Council to grow the state’s live music scene.

A national arts education organization has selected Wyoming to be part of a three-year program to strengthen the arts in schools. Americans for the Arts has awarded grants to ten states for pilot programs to improve arts education policies.

The Wyoming Arts Council’s Michael Shay says the first step is a survey to evaluate what resources art educators have and need.

The Wyoming Arts Council will host public meetings around the state July 13 through July 17.

The council hosts these meetings every five years in order to work on long term plans for the arts in Wyoming.

Executive Director Michael Lange says the public meetings help make sure the Council’s plans reflect the interests of Wyoming’s people.

 On Monday night, 8 high school students from around Wyoming competed in ‘Poetry Out Loud,’ an annual event that aims to get students engaged with great poetry.

Students memorize and recite works of their choosing—and are judged on their performance. This year’s winner was Arvada-Clearmont High School Senior Dylan Collins. Rebecca Delaney of Sundance and Lucy Martinez of Jackson were the runners-up.

Eighteen-year-old Collins says he might not seem like the type of guy who’d typically be interested in poetry.

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.

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.

If Governor Matt Mead’s eight percent budget cuts go through, Wyoming’s state parks would have to make significant cuts in services and staffing. Milward Simpson is the Director of the Department of Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, and he says every state park would be affected.

"We’ll be doing less hiring if these budget cuts come to pass. We’re also going to eliminate a currently vacant position at Hotsprings State Park, and we’re going to be reducing all of our supply and operations and maintenance budgets across the board, around the state," Simpson says.