How Engaging Local Art Breaks Down Gatekeeping and Unites The Community
Small towns can feel like bland places to live, without distinct cultures or identities. The only option seems to be to drink and hang out at the myriad bars. However, the Laramie art scene offers a unique perspective on Laramie while challenging gatekeeping in the art world.
The musicians, visual artists, and artisans in Laramie can be hard to find for students who are just moving here, but if you take a second to look around, you will find a thriving art culture in Laradise.
Events like the farmers’ market are a great place to start finding the artists and artisans in Laramie. Local bakeries and visual artists set up their wares every Friday from June to September. Many of these pieces are more affordable than the alternatives you can buy online, and you will also be supporting the local art scene.
Artists’ markets frequently pop up at the Laramie Plains Civic Center. Here you can find local potters, authors, and visual artists, and also engage in community. This highlights local artisans and makes art more affordable to Laramie students.
So often, owning art seems like a silly and lofty goal for college students, but events like these offer accessible, affordable art. This can brighten homes and connect students to the broader Laramie community beyond campus and gamedays.
Even if buying art isn’t on the table for some, Laramie offers opportunities to engage with art through galleries spread across town. The Gorgon Gallery in the Laramie Plains Civic Center, the Cooper Center, and UW’s art gallery all host local artists and offer a great way to spend a day in Laramie.
The Laramie art scene extends beyond visual arts; the town is also home to many bands.
Battlesong Records and the Ruffed-Up Duck host frequent live music and have helped build the local music scene in Laramie. Many of these bands write about this town and have unique sounds.
One of such bands is “Everything I’ve Always Been,” who sang a song about the Ranger and pulled out a trumpet during their set at the Snowtrain music festival earlier this fall.
This band is just an example of the many unique musical performers that call Laramie home. Listening to and supporting local artists helps tear down the monopolies that gatekeep what people listen to through algorithms and can help individuals feel like they are a part of a community.
Laramie hosts a live performance scene with shows on and off campus. Relative theatrics, the Cooper Center, and the Gryphon Theater all host live performances, including plays for all of the fantastic talent Laramie has to offer.
In this day of online consumption, algorithms push us into categories that tear us away from physical communities. Breaking out of this algorithmic pull can open people up to the fantastic culture that it has to offer.
