Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning, University of Wyoming Visual Arts students will be in Lander, Wyoming, for the Wyoming Arts Summit sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council. The summit is a two and a half day conference focused on supporting and improving the arts and artistic livelihoods across the state. The summit also gives educators a chance to earn credit toward their licensure.
“The incredible thing about the artists in Wyoming is their strength across disciplines,” Wyoming Arts Council Executive Director, Michael Lange, said. “The focus is to connect this big rural area and help people communicate and learn from one another. Wyoming really is one big town connected by very long roads.”
Most of the events and workshops will be held at Lander’s new Community and Convention Center. Some workshops will be held around Lander at Fort Washakie and Eagle Bronze Foundry. Thursday night’s events will officially open with a reception honoring this years Wyoming Art Council Fellowship recipients. UW’s own painting and visual foundations professor, Patrick Kikut is among the honorees.
The days are scheduled tightly from beginning to end on topics ranging from supporting non-profits, publishing creative writing and the neurological effects of art making. The evenings will be marked by music and performance from various Wyoming bands, actors and writers.
Keynote speakers include: Kealoha, Hawaii’s first Poet Laureate; Savannah Barrett, Director of Programs for Art of the Rural and Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange; Maria Lopez De León, President, CEO and board member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures.
“This is the 50th anniversary of the Wyoming Arts Council so I think rather than seeing a challenge, we can really look back at those 50 years and realize what the next 50 years of arts in Wyoming will look like,” Lange said. “We have to keep enriching communication and collaboration with all these rural areas, it’s vital.”
The University of Wyoming is currently overhauling their Art Education program to meet the demands of both the School of Education and the Visual Arts Department. Students mainly from UW’s Student Art League will arrive Thursday afternoon and evening to participate with other artists from around the state through Friday evening.
The UW Symphony Orchestra will also be performing with a special guest. Friday night’s performances take place at Lander Valley High School. The Wyoming Independent Music Initiative, part of the summit’s core, will showcase many musical talents including Laramie and Centennial’s own Bob Lefevre, Whiskey Slaps and J Shogren Shanghai’d at both the Middle Fork Restaurant, Friday evening, and at the Lander Bar & Grill later Friday night.
