AVA Center holds reception for "Community Art Show" on October 10

Cheyenne Depot Museum hosts visual arts series and Oktoberfest

The Cheyenne Depot Museum's Visual Arts Series art is provided by The Link Gallery. Each week, Monday through Friday, a different artist and subject in a variety of mediums including painting, photography, pyrography, and sculpture will be on display in the Depot lobby. Each Tuesday, a reception to "Meet the Artist" whose work is on display that week will take place at 6:30 p.m. Hours for viewing are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Following is the remaining schedule:

September 29-October 3 -- subject is "Indians" Reception is Tuesday, September 30.
October 6-October 10 -- subject is "Impressionists" Reception is Tues., Oct., 7.
October 13-October 17 -- subject is "Wit/Humor" Reception is Tues., Oct., 14.
October 20-October 24 -- subject is "Wildlife" Reception is Tues., Oct., 21.

Cheyenne Depot Museum's Oktoberfest is Friday and Saturday, Oct., 17-18. Authentic German foods and beverages will be offered, along with German entertainment. The Willkommen Reception, a taster's party for authentic German beers and foor, will take place on Oct., 17 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Depot lobby. There will be live entertainment. Tickets for the reception will be $35 per person, or $60 for a couple. Advance tickets are required and are available through October 14. Call the Depot Museum at (307) 632-3905 to purchase.

On Saturday, the Oktoberfest will be held in a large heated tent on the Cheyenne Depot Plaza beginning at 9 a.m. Craft and specialty vendors will be open all day. Authentic German entertainerment begins at 9:30 a.m. Throughout the day, German foods, beers and deserts will be available until the festival concludes at 8:00 p.m. The Oktoberfest is entertainment for the whole family.

Story Time at the Depot -- Saturday, Oct., 11, and Saturday, Nov., 8. This is a free reading program to encourage reading and literary development in children. Storytime is held the second Saturday of each month, September through May, in the Cheyenne Depot lobby. Each child receives a free educational packet and a free book.

Spend Saturday touring sculpture in Laramie

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming Art Museum has scheduled free walking and bus tours of the sculptures installed throughout Laramie and on the UW campus Saturday, Oct. 4. The tours will begin at the UW Art Museum, located in the Centennial Complex, 2111 Willett Drive.

Bus tours and discussions of all of the off-campus works in "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" will be at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. There is no charge, but the seating is limited. Call the Art Museum at (307) 766-6622 to reserve the tickets.

Walking tours of the sculptures located at the Art Museum and Prexy's Pasture will be at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. No reservations are necessary.

Education Curator Wendy Bredehoft suggests that walking tours participants wear comfortable shoes and plan to spend up to two hours exploring these sculptures.

"These tours, which are led by museum staff and trained museum volunteers, are a fun way to learn more about the artists and the sculpture they have created," Bredehoft says. A self-guided tour map is also available at the Art Museum lobby and at each sculpture for those who want to view the sculptures on their own.

"Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" has been organized by the UW Art Museum in partnership with Laramie Parks & Recreation, Laramie Economic Development Corporation and the Albany County Public Library. The exhibition continues through July 2009.

FMI: (307) 766-6622 or visit www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or the museum's new blog, www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com.

Needle Trade Art Show opens at WWCC in Rock Springs

Kolodzey's "Floating Insects" 42" x 38"

“Needle Trade” presenting the works of Carmen Hay Kolodzey and Miriam Schaer will open at the Western Wyoming Community College Art Gallery October 6. The shows name was chosen in reference to the labor intensive histories of the thread medium in the US, prior to the design simplification which came about with the use of the computer.

“Needle Trade” includes pieces using altered fabrics and mixed mediums. These artists achieve lyrical results from their nontraditional materials of fabric backing and items of clothing that are reconstructed. Both artists deconstruct and then reinvented to create their art.

As Kolodzey states, she “deconstructs before I construct.” She uses colorful patterned fabrics which she deconstructs into “fringes which are then hand-sewn in hundreds of layers onto canvas, Lutrador, or paper.”

Born in Germany, Kolodzey has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and Textile and a Master’s in Fine Arts and Textile Education for Secondary Schools, both from German Universities. She taught fine arts and textile in Germany for 11 years before moving to New York in 1990 to work as a professional artist.

Since 1990 she has shown her work at many shows in such places as New Mexico, Colorado, New York, California, Germany and Argentina, to name a few.

“My body of work encompasses abstract work as well as work addressing socio-political issues,” she explains. “I consider it an achievement if the viewer of my work is attracted by its beauty and at the same time is inspired by its social message.” Schaer often relates the works to literary sources both appropriating and expanding for today’s time and place.

Schaer uses everyday objects in her art. “My work is often about transformation,” she explains. “For example, I often use garments — especially bustiers, bras, girdles, kitchen aprons, children’s clothing and gloves — as both means and vehicles of containment.” Included in Western’s show is an object which began as found objects — gloves lost on the streets of New York City. They take on a new life as a woven snake.

Schaer earned Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degrees from Philadelphia College of Art and from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has been a visiting artist at several institutes including the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, University of Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro at most recently at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Her works have been show worldwide including such places as New York, Canada, Egypt and Estonia.

The WWCC Art Gallery is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. “Needle Threads” is free and open to the public.

Lower left: Kolodzey's "AiryDay"

Terry Tempest Williams keynote speaker at UW's Got Equality event

Went to the Got Equality event at the UW conference center at the Hilton Garden Inn. What a great facility. Got Equality encourages UW young women into leadership roles. Two workshops were offered at the event. The one I attended was about how women can run a successful campaign. The White House Project sponsored this workshop and I don't think we have to much to worry about as far as the younger (female) generation's civic involvement.

We broke up into groups. Each group had to choose the candidate that was going to run, what office they were going to run for, what their important issues and values were. The rest of the team -- a campaign manager, a volunteer coordinator, a press secretary, financial manager -- had to come up with all of the other ideas in running a campaign. After about twenty minutes, each candidate from each group got up and gave their campaign speech. Each young woman did a great job. These were UW students, from all different areas of study.

The dinner was buffet and the keynote speaker was Terry Tempest Williams, who has just released her new book, Finding Beauty in a Broken World. It is about her brother's death from cancer, a prairie dog settlement that was being killed off, and her travels to Rwanda. She brought her own special perspective about leadership, talking about a grandmother, who led their Rwandan village through the healing process with many of the other young women there.

She also talked about her "Weather Report" Project at UW last year during her term as their first "Eminent Professor Writer in Residence" role, and the people (women) she has met around the state that have been instrumental in dealing with environmental, political and social problems. She read Beth Howard's piece, who came to the Casper "Report," about why she writes -- as a pacifist mother who has two sons in the military; both were in Iraq at the time. Terry talked about a woman in Pinedale, who fought the oil people back in the 80s, when the idea was circulating that nuclear bombs should be exploded below the earth's surface to release the trapped gas. She read a story about her mother, (read Terry's book, Refuge) who went on a spiritual journey into the desert, and came back with a better understanding of herself. It was incredibly inspiring and she received a very enthusiastic standing ovation.

Next Wyoming Book Festival set for 9/19/09

The Wyoming Center for the Book at the State Library has announced that the next Wyoming Book Festival will be held in Cheyenne September 19, 2009.

WCFB Director Tina Lackey will be coordinating the event, which debuted last year on the grounds of the State Capitol and surrounding government buildings. It was a festive atmosphere, with scores of readings, book signings and panel presentations by more than 70 Wyoming poets and writers. The Wyoming Arts Council staffed an information tent in front of its historic building, and our backyard was the site of the poetry tent. WAC staffer Mike Shay (also your trusty wyomingarts correspondent) read from his book of stories and appeared on a nature writing panel with Gary Ferguson, Jeff Lockwood, and Chip Rawlins.

Get updates on the 2009 festival from Tina Lackey at 307.777.6338 or mailto:bookfest@state.wy.us.WCFB web site is http://www-wsl.state.wy.us/wcb/

David Lee headlines Utah fund-raiser

From our pal at the Utah Arts Council, Guy Lebeda:

The Entrada Institute Fall Fund-raiser will be held on Saturday, October 11, 6 p.m., at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Tickets are $35 each; includes food, beverages and entertainment. To order, call Nan Anderson at 435-425-2118.

Join us as we welcome special guest poet David Lee and honor artist Bonnie Posselli.

The former poet laureate of Utah, David Lee now divides his time between his native Texas and the Oregon coast. He is the author of A Legacy of Shadows, News from Down to the Cafe, and Wayburne Pig among others. A longtime friend of Entrada, he will debut new narrative poems at the event.

At the award ceremony, Bonnie Posselli will receive the Ward Roylance Award. A Utah native, Bonnie is well known for her meticulous rendering of trees and her stunning depictions of the red-rock country. In addition to being a widely collected and acclaimed artist, she has donated her time to many charitable causes, including two terms as a board member of the Entrada Institute in Torrey, Utah.

FMI: http://www.entradainstitute.org/

Reply now to WAC survey of individual artists

From Mike Shay, individual artists program specialist:

Greetings to all Wyoming artists!

Wyoming Arts Council Manager, Rita Basom, wrote about the importance of individual artists in the latest issue of the WAC newsletter, Artscapes. She noted that one of the agency's priorities is the support of individual artists. The WAC's 2006-2010 strategic plan lists a goal to support "individual artists with awards and associated programs designed to create an appreciation of and a heritage for the arts in Wyoming to benefit the economic and cultural climate of its residents."

The programs for individual artists were consolidated under one arts specialist two years ago. I didn't anticipate how busy I would be. Up until 2006, we had a specialist for literary arts (me), one for visual arts (Liliane Francuz) and one who devoted part of her time to the performing arts. That was Rita Basom, who was kicked upstairs to be our director.

At the same time, the Wyoming State Legislature agreed with our constituents that the WAC needed to reinstate a print newsletter. The staffer with the requisite writing and editing experience turned out to be me. I received permission to hire an excellent assistant editor in Linda Coatney, and we were on our way. To make matters a bit more complicated, the WAC had signed on to be one of the co-sponsors of the Equality State Book Festival in Casper. I was WAC point man on the committee that year. Now it's all Casper College, ARTCORE, and a group of very dedicated planners in Casper. I'm pleased to have been on the ground floor of a very successful event, but my time now is devoted to individual artists in the state.

So, as I catch up with fellowships, Individual Artist Professional Development grants, artist roster, Artist Image Registry (AIR), and the planned visual arts symposium in Laramie with the UW Art Museum next April, it's time to survey our artists. We need to know about your priorities. Do we need more fellowships? Is there a need for statewide gatherings for individual artists? What about technology grants to writers, artists and performers?

So, please click on the link below and answer our 10-question survey. Don't be afraid to complain, or to compliment. We need to know how to best serve you.

Click Here to take survey

"Love Makes a Family" exhibit at UW Gallery

From a UW press release:

A touring photo-text display created by the award-winning Family Diversity Projects of Amherst, Mass., will be featured at the University of Wyoming ASUW Gallery Sept. 30-Oct. 24 with the opening reception at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30.

An exhibition of "Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and their Families," shows the love, caring and connection that are basic to all these families. Spectrum and ASUW host the exhibition. Photographs by Gigi Kaeser are accompanied by text edited by Peggy Gillespie, who conducted in-depth interviews with family members who speak candidly about their lives, their relationships and the ways in which they cope with the realities of prejudice, bias and intolerance.

Since it began touring in 1996, the exhibition has been seen in more than 1,000 communities.

For more information go to www.familydiv.org, e-mail info@familydiv.org or call (413) 256-0502.

Governor's Arts Awards deadline Oct. 1

FOR AN APPLICATION, CLICK ON BOB SEABECK'S BUFFALO IN ARTWORK ABOVE.

UW a busy place last week

Bill Harney, Judinung: Dreaming for the Tauwny Frog Face Owl (not dated, paint on linen). Harney says of this painting, "Owl sang all night at the burial ground. It makes people in spiritual darkness happy. It danced back and forth all night." Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Got over to Laramie on Thursday last week to hear Salman Rushdie answer audience questions at the Albany County Library. Stimulating answers to some interesting questions. He is one of the great minds in literature and politics of our time. He also took some time to sign books.

Also in Laramie was Bill Harney, the last fully initiated male custodian of the Wardaman Aboriginal culture. There all week, he informed classes in art, anthroplogy, American Indian and International studies. He also used the Art Museum lobby as a studio, painting his unique art on-site; he brought pieces from his personal collection for exhibition.

Bill Harney poses with one of his paintings Thursday at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie. Looking on is Leah Griffin, recently retired from the Albany County School District.

Unveiling Oct. 3 of governors' portraits

The unveiling of the official portraits of five Wyoming governors will be held on Friday, Oct. 3, 10:30 a.m., at the Wyoming State Capitol Building in Cheyenne. The event is free and open to the public.

The unveiling will include portraits of J.J. "Joe" Hickey, Stanley K. Hathaway, Clifford P. Hansen, Michael J. Sullivan, and James E. Geringer.

This was a project of the Capitol Facilities Committee, the Governor's Portrait Committee, and the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. The Wyoming Arts Council is an agency within SPCR.

Deadline Nov. 3 for Wyoming Arts Council Folk & Traditional Arts grants

Wyoming’s diverse folk and traditional arts are celebrated each year through the awarding of Arts Council grants to artists who strive to preserve their cultural and traditional talents. The application deadline for this year’s Folk and Traditional Arts Mentoring Project grants is November 3.

This effort to financially support the continued participation in traditional practices reveals the value of cultural heritage to the Wyoming experience. Previous project grant recipients have taught the arts of overshot weaving, old-time fiddle tunes, round dance drumming, rawhide braiding and bead and buckskin work from the Wind River Reservation.

The Folk and Traditional Arts Mentoring grants fulfill the mission of the program in identifying, documenting, preserving, presenting, and honoring the rich and unique artistic traditions found throughout the state. From the artists of Shoshone beadwork to Basque dancing to Scottish bagpipe music, the program encourages all those who understand the importance of artistic traditions, as well as the continuation and sharing of these traditions to submit an application.

This year, four grants of $3,000 each will be provided for master artists to teach their skills to qualified apprentices. The apprenticing artist must study with a master that shares a common heritage, whether it is a family, ethnic, occupational, tribal, religious, or geographic community.

The grants are available statewide. To receive an application, please call 307-777-7742, or visit on- line at wyoarts.state.wy.us.

Guadalupe Barajas sculpture at Governor's Residence to be dedicated Oct. 2

A dedication celebrating the installation of "Open Season," a bronze sculpture on the grounds of the Wyoming Governor’s Residence, will be held at 3 p.m., Oct. 2. The dedication is open to the public.

The sculpture of three deer, one buck and two does, by Cheyenne artist Guadalupe Barajas, will be a permanent fixture at the Governor’s Residence.

"This sculpture 'Open Season,' portrays the unique and inspiring beauty that Wyoming has to offer," First Lady Nancy Freudenthal said. "This piece is not only a tremendous example of Wyoming artwork, but is also a grand example of the wonderful wildlife that is seen throughout the state."

Barajas is a graduate of East High School in Cheyenne, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was an art instructor in Chicago before devoting himself full-time to producing bronze sculpture. His most recent outdoor sculpture work includes work for the Sierra Trading Post, the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, Lincoln Park, Brimmer Park Softball Complex and Martin Luther King Park all in Cheyenne.

Fay Whitney signs books in Laramie Oct. 2

From a press release:

University of Wyoming professor emerita of nursing Fay W. Whitney will sign copies of her new book Thursday, Oct. 2, at Chickering Books, 203 South Second Street in Laramie.

Whitney and co-author Elinor Miller Greenberg's new book is "A Time of Our Own: Celebrating Women Over 60," a guide for women in the "third third" of life.

"In short, it is a compilation of materials for women and men about this phase of adult development (age 60 and older) using examples of a 40-person qualitative interview survey," says Whitney. "I think we were successful in representing the things important to women in this third of life."

"A pioneering work that helps all of us understand the dramatic changes in our world that make growing older for women a new beginning... What a thorough, well-organized, well-written book. A much-needed and significant exploration and celebration," says Barbara Love, editor of "Feminists Who Changed America."

Both Whitney and Greenberg are wives, mothers and grandmothers. Greenberg designs innovative higher education programs for adults. She has written, co-written or edited nine books and numerous articles and pamphlets.

Whitney, who concentrated on her career in nursing for 47 years, finally got a chance to celebrate in "A time of Our Own." She taught at UW from 1993-2002, and served as director of UW's nurse practitioner program. To help provide care for seniors, she helped open a wellness clinic at Laramie's Eppson Senior Center.

"Yes, we should celebrate! We are the first generation of women to reach their sixties in good health and ready to exhale and do what we want! A great read! You'll love it," says Patricia S. Schroeder, president and CEO, Association of American Publishers.

Whitney and Greenberg plan to have several other book signings of their book, published by Fulcrum Publishers in Golden, Colo.

Ciao Gallery features Ray Shaw's wildlife art

Sheridan hosts Native American Days

On October 10th and 11th, 2008, Sheridan College will sponsor the second annual Sheridan College Native American Days.

Powwow dancers will be attending from North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. This year's event will include two days of dancing and competition. Winners will be selected by audience cheering and Native American judges.

Sheridan College is donating two scholarships to be awarded to the best male and female high school senior dancers. Cash prizes will be given for the 1st and 2nd places in every category. All monies earned from the raffle of a Star quilt and a Pendelton blanket go into the prize fund. There will be teepees set up on the College lawn and elementary students will be treated to the telling of Crow and Sioux stories by members of the tribes.

Come see seven different tribes dancing Shawl dances, Jingle dances, Fancy dancers, Traditional dances and the Tiny Tots dances. This event is FREE. Located at the Golden Dome AT Sheridan College Sheridan,WY. Contact carolgarcia@sheridanedu. (307)674-6446(2303)

New Musical Theatre competition

This from Andrea Press, producer at ANMT, the Academy for New Musical Theatre, in Los Angeles:

We want to link composers, lyricists, playwrights and theatre companies from Wyoming who would like to create brand-new musicals, written specifically as part of a national series of musicals exploring American themes and culture. The goal of the Interstate Musical Theatre Project is for the Academy for New Musical to provide three workshops for each of the projects which qualify, perhaps as many as "fifty states, fifty musicals." The winner will receive a $10,000 prize and a concert reading; all entrants will receive table readings and dramaturgical feedback from ANMT staff, half-way through Act One, at the conclusion of Act One, and upon final draft. These would be brand-new musicals, written specifically as part of a national series of musicals exploring American themes and culture. Participating musicals pay ANMT to provide actors, pianists, rehearsal space, music directors and dramaturgs.
ANMT will finance the final concert reading.

Complete information about the process and the Interstate Musical Theatre Project can be found at http://www.anmt.org/. We're looking for writers and theatres that might represent Wyoming in the Interstate Musical Theatre Project.

FMI apress@anmt.org 818.506.8500 Link: http://www.anmt.org/

Lander Community Concerts announces its 2008-2009 events schedule

Lander Community Concerts Association has announced its schedule for 2008-2009. Here it is:

T Minus 5
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Golden Dragon Acrobats
Monday, November 10, 2008
I Love a Piano
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
"Oh, Mr. Sousa!"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Fine and Pleasant Misery
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Dallas Brass
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Swan Lake
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

All concerts take place in the new Lander Valley High School Auditorium.

Check out the sculpture at UW & Laramie

Here's one-half of the wyomingarts blogger team checking out the sculpture made of saplings that's situated on Prexy's Pasture at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The sculpture, "Shortcut," is by Patrick Dougherty and was installed this summer with the help of UW students, staff and faculty. It's part of "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" that's brought a variety of public artwork to UW and the community. Read more about it in the August issue of the Wyoming Arts Council newsletter, Artscapes.

Art show and silent art auction liven up Gillette this weekend

Ariane Jimison at AVA passed along this news about weekend arts events in Gillette:

An artist reception and open house for artist Dorothy Redland's "Western-Landscapes-Wildlife" will be held on Friday, Sept. 26, 6-8:30 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 27, 2-4:30 p.m. It's hosted by Joel and Diana Ohman and Debbie Mader, 3730 Overdale Drive, Gillette.

"Please join us for an afternoon or evening of fellowship and art! Everyone is Welcome!"

After that Saturday event, don't forget about the Miniature Art Silent Auction at AVA. It's from 6-9 p.m., and the cost is $25.

FMI: Ariane Jimison, AVA Community Art Center, ariane@avacenter.org, 307.682.9133

WAC Artist Roster insert lists wrong website address

Seems like no matter how much proofing one does, there's always something missed. Our new Artists' Roster insert has just such an error. On the front page in the lavender box, the web address for accessing the WAC website is listed incorrectly, taking you into internet limbo. WAC's website is listed correctly on the bottom of the page in the footer, which is wyoarts.state.wy.us. The entire address is http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/, and you can always just do a search for Wyoming Arts Council. On our home page, the link for Artist Roster is now listed in the menu box on the left hand side.

Either way, you can still get there by other avenues. Sincerest apologies for any inconvience that this may cause.

Fellowship winners read at book festival

The Wyoming Arts Council's 2009 creative writing fellowship recipients in fiction read from their work on Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Goodstein Foundation Library at Casper College. Kevin Holdsworth (top left), who lives in Green River and teaches at Western Wyoming Community College, read an excerpt from "Silver Wings." Val Pexton of Laramie (top right) read her award-winning story "Riding the Fences." Doug Reitinger (bottom row), who told the crowd that he was on the verge of giving up writing before the WAC fellowship announcement, read his story "Follow Through." The fellowship reading was part of the second annual Equality State Book festival at Casper College and other Casper venues. Photos by Linda Coatney.

Globe-trotting journalist to speak at UW

From a UW press reelease:

Steve LeVine, a veteran foreign affairs journalist, will be the keynote speaker at the 12th annual Susan B. Horton Cone Family Distinguished Lecture Friday, Oct. 3, at the University of Wyoming.

LeVine's presentation, "Russia, Pipelines and the Great Game," begins at 4 p.m. in the College of Education auditorium. The lecture, sponsored by the UW Department of History, is free and open to the public.

Currently the chief foreign affairs editor for BusinessWeek, LeVine has also reported for several prominent publications -- including Newsday, Newsweek, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal -- over the past 18 years.

LeVine is author of two books, including the recently-released "Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder and the Dark Heart of New Russia," which examines the powerful men of Russia and their use of murder and other eccentric actions to maintain their power. His first book, "The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea," was released in October 2007.

For more information on LeVine's visit to UW, call the UW Department of History at (307) 766-5101.

Historian speaks about Lincoln in the West

From a State Parks and Cultural Resources press release:

Abraham Lincoln and his connection to the American West is the focus of a lecture by Dr. Richard W. Etulain at Fort Bridger State Park in Uinta County at 7 p.m., on Friday, October 3. Dr. Etulain is author of "Lincoln Looks West: From the Mississippi to the Pacific."

Sponsored by the Fort Bridger Historical Association, Dr. Etulain’s presentation, titled "Abraham Lincoln and the American West," will examine Lincoln’s important links to the West.

According to Dr. Etulain, Lincoln, even before the mid 1840s, was known as a man of the West. As president (1861-65), Lincoln connected with the trans-Mississippi American West. He supported the building of a transcontinental railroad, the launching of a homestead act, and the funding of land-grant agricultural schools. He dealt with complex Indian and military policies in lands beyond the Mississippi and continued to oppose slavery in western territories.

Lincoln is also credited with appointing more than 200 men to western political positions and in doing so, established the Republican Party as a political organization in these new western states and territories.

Dr. Etulain, a centennial historian at the John E. Riley Library at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho, is the author of "Lincoln Looks West: From the Mississippi to the Pacific.

FMI: Linda Newman-Byers, 307-782-3842

Netniintoonoo exhibit at Teton Co. Library

On Saturday, Oct. 11, the Teton County Public Library in Jackson will open its new exhibition, "Netniintoonoo" or "The Place Where We Live," from 10:30-11:30 a.m. For this exhibit, First and 6th grade students from the Arapahoe School, families and elders used black-and-white film to capture images of their community to create an Arapaho photo dictionary. It will be on display Oct. 10-Nov. 10 during regular library hours. Cost: Free. Location: Library’s Exhibit Gallery. Contact: Adult Humanities Coordinator, 733-2164 ext. 135.

Deadline for WHC regular grants is Oct. 1

The Wyoming Arts Council isn't the only granting organization in the state.

The deadline for Wyoming Humanities Council regular grants (over $2,000) is Oct. 1, for projects beginning Dec. 1 or later. That's next Wednesday, so get busy.

The WHC also offers mini-grants of up to $2,000. That deadline is the first of every month beginning Nov. 1. We the People Preservation and Access grants also have a first-of-the-month deadline.

FMI: www.uwyo.edu/humanities

Collaborative photo & music exhibit at Cam-Plex Heritage Center Gallery

"100 Responses to Narcissistic Gourmand Cannibalism," a collaborative exhibit of Photo-Graphics by F.R. Olveda and and music by John Fink, Jr., will be on display at the Cam-Plex Heritage Center Gallery in Gillette Oct. 1-Nov. 12. OPening reception will be held on Friday, Oct. 10, 5-7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

The Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 307-682-0552.

Williams keynote speaker at "Got Equality"

From a UW press release:

"Got Equality," an event celebrating the contributions of Wyoming's outstanding women leaders, will be held Friday, Sept. 26, from 4-9 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn and University of Wyoming Conference Center.

A variety of workshops for students will be offered from 4-6 p.m. A social hour is set for 6-7 p.m., with the banquet to follow. During dinner, award-winning writer Terry Tempest Williams' keynote address will examine "equality and contemporary issues facing women in the Rocky Mountain West."

Each year, the University of Wyoming selects a group of women to help promote women's leadership programs on campus, says Sara Axelson, UW vice president for student affairs.

"This year, this group of women will host an event that will involve both women student leaders from UW and women in established leadership roles from across the state of Wyoming," she says. "Our goal is to bring together the women providing leadership in business, industry, education, politics, and the environment today to meet the women student leaders at the University of Wyoming who will be providing the leadership of tomorrow."

For more information, visit the Web site at www.uwyo.edu/womenleaders or e-mail caires@uwyo.edu.

Equality State Book Festival scenes

WAC fellowship winner John Nesbitt of Torrington (right) talks to WAC staffer Linda Coatney at the Equality State Book Festival Saturday at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper.

Wyoming Arts Council board member Susan Stubson (right) talks to Laramie writer Mark Jenkins (far left) about his latest book. They were some of the hundreds of people who came to the Equality State Book Festival in Casper Sept. 18-20.

Library opens doors to fellowship winners

Thanks to Keith Cottam and Jane Young at the Casper College Goodstein Foundation Library for providing a fine venue for the Wyoming Arts Council's creative writing fellowship reading yesterday afternoon.

We were the first literary event the library has hosted in a very long time, but it won't be the last. The event was over just a few hours when I was talking WAC grants with Jane. "Did you know that the Arts Council has grants to support readings, workshops and all kinds of library events." People usually start running the other way when I mention grant writing. But Jane was very gracious, saying she might look into it. By the way, unlike telephone solicitors and city police, WAC staffers do not operate on a quota system. It may seem like it at times....

A crowd of around 40 listened to award-winning work by fellowship recipients Doug Reitinger of Sheridan, Val Pexton of Laramie, and Kevin Holdsworth of Green River. All of them brought family members and significant others for moral support. Val's parents drove over from Douglas for the event. Rounding out the readings was fellowship judge Laura Pritchett, a talented fiction writer from Fort Collins, Colo.

The audience first heard from me and then WAC board chair Bruce Richardson, who's no stranger to Casperites as he's been teaching at the UW Casper campus for 20 years. Doug's short story, "Follow Through," is a funny and ultimately serious tale about two buddies who go on an outing to a sporting clay shooting course" on the Wallop Ranch (name sounds familiar) near the Big Horns. We used to call this "shooting clay pigeons" but the pastime has gone upscale. In the story, one of the main characters calls it "golf -- only with guns." But that's only the setting for a story with a very serious undercurrent. Let's just say it has something to do with the merits of being incompetent with a shotgun.

Val's story, "Riding the Fences," asks the question: "When is someone crazy or just eccentric." The story is set in Wyoming ranch country where Val grew up. Kevin's story "Silver Wings" takes us to Utah. "Silver Wings" is a Merle Haggard song, but that's only one of the musical influences in this quirky piece. "I always wanted to write a story with Kansas lyrics in it." He's referring the the seventies rock group Kansas, and not the state. The story is also influenced by Kevin's grandfather, who once raised guinea pigs for experiments in biological labs. Kevin said that "Silver Wings" has not been published -- not yet, anyway. His next book will be out soon.

Laura read a story from her collection, "Hell's Bottom, Colo.," published by Milkweed Editions. The story is called "Dry Roots" and takes a gruesome twist at the end. It involves a loaded gun and a crippled calf. This was Laura's first published story, way back when.

A great reading. Thanks again to Keith and Jane at the library. See you again soon!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Linda Coatney snapped photos of this reading -- and will be doing the same thing for the other Equality State Book Festival events today and Saturday in Casper. We'll add them later.

WAC fellowship winners read at bookfest

Doug Reitinger of Sheridan, Kevin Holdsworth of Green River, and Valerie Pexton of Laramie will join Colorado's Laura Pritchett in a fiction reading on Thursday, Sept. 18, 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Goodstein Foundation Library on the Casper College campus. The reading is part of a three-day schedule of Equality State Book Festival events, and is free and open to the public.

Reitinger, Holdsworth and Pexton were selected by Pritchett as winners of the 2009 Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowships in fiction.

So come to the fellowship reading -- and stay for wacky children's writer Jack Gantos at 4 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium, and Thursday's featured speaker Alexandra Fuller who'll be talking about her latest book, "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant," at 7:30 p.m. in the Aley Fine Arts Center's Durham Hall. These events are also free. Both authors will be signing books after their presentations.

Get a full schedule of events at the bookfest web site at http://www.equalitystatebookfest.org.

For more info on fellowships, contact Mike Shay, WAC, 307-777-5234.

"Oliver" goes to the mall

This comes from Rose Wagner at Cheyenne Little Theatre Players in Cheyenne:

Take some time out on Saturday, Sept. 20 -- that's in two days -- to drop by Frontier Mall to see the "Oliver" cast perform some of the songs from the musical! They'll be in costume and in fine form at 1 p.m. for a half-hour performance, then do a repeat at around 2 p.m. The cast members will also be setting up a kiosk for our "Oliver" mall display! It'll be a high energy, good time, fun outing for a Saturday! By the J.C. Penney store!

FMI: Rose Wagner, Marketing/Outreach Coordinator, 307-638-6543

Call for Entries: Wasatch Journal

Ten years after: Tectonic returns to Laramie

Excellent article by Patrick Healy in today's New York Times focusing on the upcoming 10th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's murder in Laramie -- and the creation of the Tectonic Theater Project's play, "The Laramie Project." Here's a sample:

Near the end of “The Laramie Project,” the widely praised and frequently staged play about how this small city grappled with the notorious murder of the gay college student Matthew Shepard, one of the characters wonders if the convictions in the killing will help Laramie heal.

“Maybe now we can go on and we can quit being stuck, you know?” says Reggie Fluty, a local policewoman. She is one of the real-life characters whose words, collected on tape, make up the actors’ entire script.

Ms. Fluty was among 200 people interviewed in 1998 by the Tectonic Theater Project, a New York City company that created “The Laramie Project” shortly after Mr. Shepard was tied to a fence by two Laramie men, pistol-whipped and left to die in the frigid Wyoming night. And Ms. Fluty is among those whom the theater company is re-interviewing this week to explore whether Mr. Shepard has a legacy here on the high plains, 10 years later.

“Hurt’s hurt and pain’s pain, and I think people in Laramie see that now,” Ms. Fluty, now retired, told Moisés Kaufman, the artistic director of Tectonic, during a conversation in her sun-splashed living room just north of town.

“Sometimes you got to just, as a community, get slugged before you wake up and grow up,” she said. “I don’t think we’re all grown up, but I think people are trying.”

For Mr. Kaufman and his colleagues, returning to Laramie, a town of 25,000 near the Colorado border, is far from a theatrical exercise. They plan to use the new interviews to write an epilogue to the play before the 10th anniversary of Mr. Shepard’s death, on Oct. 12; it will be added to the published version of the script and will be included in future performances of “The Laramie Project,” which has had about 2,000 productions since it opened off Broadway in 2000.

Read the entire article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/theater/17laramie.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin

Reggae jam with Roots of Creation Sept. 24

Roots of Creation will perform a reggae jam at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the University of Wyoming Union lower level in Laramie. The show is free and open to public.

"Rock and reggae have always been odd bedfellows, then along comes Roots of Creation, a quartet from, of all places, Boston, that deftly if not delicately blurs Bob Marley, P.O.D., Rage Against the Machine and Phish influences," says UW student Michael Poke.

The group's members are Brett Wilson, Tal Pearson, Mike Chadinha and Chris Beam. The band recently released a new album called "Rise Up." It's a live version that captures the reggae and rock flavor.

"This reggae-based group has proven their ingenuity on "Rise Up," their second album. Using reggae's rhythms and mindset as a starting point, ROC proceeds to integrate the infectious hooks and song writing of rock, the instrumental alchemy of jazz, and the pulse-pounding beats of hip-hop into their energetic sound," says Bryan Rodgers, Homegrown Music Network.

For more information about Wednesday's concert, contact Mike Lange at mlange@uwyo.edu or call (307) 766-6340.

Blanchan/Doubleday deadline is Oct. 31

The postmark deadline for applications to the 2009 Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Awards is Friday, Oct. 31, 2008.

The $1,000 Blanchan Award is given to a writer whose work, in any literary genre, is inspired by nature. The $1,000 Doubleday Award is given to the best manuscript submitted by a woman author. To apply, you must be at least 18 years old and a Wyoming resident.

The competition is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council and funded by artist and arts patron Neltje from Banner.

Judge for the competition is prize-winning poet Laurel Blossom from South Carolina. Her most recent book is Degrees of Latitude, a book-length narrative prose poem exploring the geography of a woman's life. Her other books include Wednesday: New and Selected Poems; The Papers Said; What's Wrong; and Any Minute. Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies, including AFTER SHOCKS: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events; 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day (Billy Collins, editor); and in national journals including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, Pequod, The Paris Review, The Carolina Quarterly, Many Mountains Moving, and Harper's, among others.

Blossom co-founded The Writers Community, the writing residency and workshop program of the YMCA National Writer’s Voice and edited its 1997 anthology, Many Lights in Many Windows: Twenty Years of Great Fiction and Poetry from The Writers Community. She’s received writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council and the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Applications are being mailed today to writers on the WAC mailing lists. Get your own printable application and guidelines at the WAC web site, http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/. You can also pick one up at the WAC table at the book fair in the Nicolaysen Art Museum during the Equality State Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 20.

FMI: Michael Shay, 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.

Pinedale presents Afro-Punk band

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council presents ALPHA YAYA DIALLO in concert on Wednesday, September 17, 7:30 p.m.

Alpha Yaya Diallo is a master guitarist from Guinea and leader of the Bafing Riders, a seven piece afro-funk band featuring guitar, bass, drums, djembe, balafon and two female dancers.

For more info on this fine musician and his band, go to the web site at www.alphayayadiallo.com.

New dates for AVA paper mache class

UW: Arts "essential for Wyo. quality of life"

On Friday, the University of Wyoming announced a goal to raise $150 million during the next four years that will support nine fundraising priorities.

In its recent meeting with the UW Foundation Board, the UW Board of Trustees outlined nine major areas of emphasis for fundraising:

-- Exploring creativity and imagination in the arts: Fine and performing arts
-- Enhancing the graduate experience: Graduate student support
-- Empowering the nontraditional learner: Nontraditional student support
-- Reaching out to Wyoming: Service to Wyoming and its residents
-- Powering Wyoming's future: Energy, environment and natural resources
-- Promoting political and cultural leadership: The Simpson Family Fund for Excellence in Political and Cultural Leadership
-- Cultivating a global perspective: International student experiences
-- Advancing athletic excellence: Athletic program support
-- Fostering academic innovation: Academic program support

While you can make the case that all of these goals involve creativity, at least two of the nine are geared to support arts and culture at UW and in Wyoming.

In a speech to the UW Foundation Board:

[President Tom] Buchanan made special note of three of the priority areas saying funding for the fine arts is important for long-range economic development in Wyoming because a vibrant presence in the arts is "essential to Wyoming's quality of life."

REEL ROCK Film Tour in Laramie Sept. 19

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming will play host to a stop on the third annual REEL ROCK Film Tour at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19, in the College of Arts & Sciences auditorium in Laramie.

The event is sponsored by the University of Wyoming Outdoor Program, Cross Country Connection, and Mountain Hardware, The REEL ROCK Film Tour is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The 80-city tour features some of the top climbing and adventure films in the world and provides a forum for climbers ranging from spectator to expert.

The Laramie stop will include a special guest appearance by renowned climber Micah Dash, a three-year member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue Team. He is known for having the first one-day ascent of Nameless Peak in Pakistan and for his free-climbing in Greenland. Dash's climbing was featured on a film that won the Best Climbing Film award at the 2005 Banff Mountain Film Festival.

The REEL ROCK Film Tour, presented by Windstopper and The North Face, features films that have received multiple awards including a Sports Emmy. This year's films by Sender Films and Big UP Productions include world-renowned climbers completing incredible routes and ascents in Colorado, Yosemite, Moab, the Grand Canyon, Czech Republic, Italy and South Africa.

Attendees will be encouraged to make a donation to the Access Fund, which serves as an advocacy organization representing 1.6 million climbers and helping to protect climbing areas across the U.S.

For more information, contact the UW Outdoor Program at (307) 766-2402 or go to the REEL ROCK Film Tour Web site at www.reelrocktour.com.

Jane Applegate offers tips for small business

From a press release:

Bresnan Communications, Bloomberg Television and the Wyoming Entrepreneur.Biz network have joined together to present two free luncheon programs featuring author and business expert, Jane Applegate. "Clear the Way to Unlimited Success" will be held at the Laramie Hilton in Laramie on Monday, October 6, and at the Commons in Powell on Tuesday, October 7. Both programs begin at 11:30 a.m.

Jane Applegate is the author of The Entrepreneur's Desk Reference and 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business. For 12 years she wrote a weekly syndicated column, Succeeding in Small Business, for the Los Angeles Times and hundreds of newspapers around the world. Applegate was named "National Media Advocate of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1994. In 2000 she founded SBTV.com (Small Business TV). Currently, Jane is a columnist for Forbes.com and Success magazine. Free admission includes program, lunch and copy of Jane's book. Pre-registration required by October 1.

Click "Local Classes" to register on-line.

Latest issue of Artscapes in the mail today

This is what the office looks like on newsletter mailing day. Close to 4500 go out to locations all over Wyoming, around the country. Even a few go out of the country. Look for your copy of the WAC newletter landing in your mailbox in the next week or so.

The upcoming Book Festival in Casper is the front page headliner, along with the art that was featured at the Western Governors Association's meeting in Jackson in late July. Casper is the featured arts community in this issue. There's an article about Wyoming's new Poetry Out Loud schedule (September and October). See a couple of photos from the Wyoming High School Art Symposium exhibit going on in the WAC Gallery. There's a great article by Misty Moore about the outdoor sculpture invitational taking place in Laramie, sponsored by the UW Art Museum, and our wonderful board chair Bruce Richardson, has done another timely and lively article on advocating for the arts.

If you would like a newsletter and are not on our mailing list yet, call Evangeline at 777-7742 and she'll add your name and we'll get one out to you.

Artist making comeback after cancer

Great article about painter Greg McHuron by Mary Grossman on the Planet Jackson Hole site:

Greg McHuron, a Jackson Hole resident, is a formidable figure amongst plein aire painters countrywide. His work hangs in five galleries, including Trailside Galleries, and he is preparing for a show with Jim Wilcox at the Art Association in November. On Monday, he turned 63.

A year ago, however, McHuron thought he would never see another birthday. After battling an unusually fast-growing cancer in 2007, ultimately losing his eye and part of his jaw, he is back painting and teaching among the sagebrush and dusty roads of Wyoming.

Read the entire article at planetjh (click on link above).

More public art in Chattanooga

FREE MONEY is a bronze of two cartoonish figures dancing on a bag of money by artist Tom Otterness. Part of an incredible array of public art in Chattanoog

Wyomingarts is in Chattanooga, Tenn., this week with several WAC colleagues.

Chattanooga crazy about its public art

PURE AMERICANA by A.T. Crawford. The detail of the photo is not great. But if you see what looks like a winged oil can, you're right on target. This is in front of the original building of the Hunter Museum.

Chattanooga has public artworks scattered all over town. Some of it is whimsical, such as this piece, some more traditional. In front of the public library is a 15-foot gleaming metal sculpture of a stack of books. Not sure how much it encourages reading, but it's an attention-getter.

Fisk Jubilee Singers at NASAA Conference

The Fisk Jubilee Singers listen to their director play an accordion in front of the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn., during National Assembly of State Artas Agencies (NASAA) conference. The vocal group was founded in 1871 and then toured the country to raise funds for the foundering Fisk University of Nashville which had an open admissions policy instead of "whites only." That original group, with its coterie of "ex-slave singers" performing "Negro Spirituals," raised enough money to keep the school afloat and to build the first permanent building on campus. They're still going strong 137 years later.

Parton presented National Medal of the Arts at annual NASAA Conference

On Thursday, Dolly Parton became the first person from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to be awarded the National Medal of Arts.

She also became the first person to ever receive the nation's highest medal for artistic achievement out of the annual White House ceremony in D.C.

Parton couldn't attend the D.C. ceremony because she's extremely busy with a few small projects, such as a new album and a Broadway musical. So NEA Chair Dana Gioia flew from D.C. to Chattanooga to present her the medal personally at the annual gathering of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, an organization that represents those that work at 56 state (and territorial) arts agencies. That includes the Wyoming Arts Council (and your intrepid correspondent, wyomingarts).

Parton's dress sparkled in the spotlights. She was pretty sparkly herself, wearing one of her "Book Lady" dresses, more modest than her well-known low-cut attire. She talked about her favorite subject -- free books for young children.

"I've been trying for a long time to get this medal," she said after an introduction by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. "I just flew in from Los Angeles because they're making a musical of '9-to-5' and I'm writing all of the music."

"9-to-5" was one of the most successful movies of the 1980s. It featured Parton and other working women being stepped on by an overbearing boss. Her title song was a top-ten hit the year the movie came out. It also won a Grammy.

She said that someone asked her if she was reprising her role in the musical. "I said no -- it's called '9-to-5' not '95'."

She's most energized about her "Imagination Library." It began as a county-wide project to give free books to every child from birth to five years old. It's expanded all across Tennessee, the U.S. and into the U.K.

"We've mailed out 15 million books since it started," Parton said. "Call us greedy or crazy, but we do whatever it takes to help a child read more, learn more and be more."

The project has garnered a lot of partners along the way, including the Tennessee Arts Commission and United Way.

Parton's inspiration came from her father who couldn't read or write. He went to work as a young boy and kept on working to feed his own 12 kids in backwoods Tennessee.

"He's the smartest man I ever knew," she said. "My dad was still alive when I started this program. He's the one who started calling me Book Lady."

Fifteen million volumes later, the Book Lady is still at it.

Dana Gioia will step down as chair of National Endowment for the Arts in January 2009

Dana Gioia announced today that he will resign in January 2009 as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. The poet and former corporate CEO took the job at the NEA in 2003. He has accepted a half-time position directing the arts programs for the Aspen Institute, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Aspen, Colo. He plans to devote more time to his poetry when he returns home to northern California, and hopes that "the muse revisits me."

Gioia's announcement came in front of a crowd of 400 arts administrators gathered in Chattanooga, Tenn., for the annual conference of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

FMI: http://arts.endow.gov/.

Wyomingarts is at the NASAA conference in Chattanooga, along with four other members of the WAC and two board members.

Bill Harney art work

Art work by Yidumduma Bill Harney

Yidumduma Bill Harney in Wyoming during September

Yidumduma Bill Harney is recognized throughout the world as an artist of high esteem on many different stages. He is a master storyteller, songman, didjeridoo player/maker, painter, and writer. All his art forms have the deepest roots in the celebration of his Wardaman Aboriginal heritage and his unique ability to “walk in both worlds” and communicate the joy of his culture to a global audience. Yidumduma grew up in the “Bush University”, undergoing the fullest Wardaman ceremonial traditions and education. Being of mixed descent, he successfully evaded being a victim of the “Stolen Generation.” He avoided being taken away from his Aboriginal upbringing by the government. Today Yidumduma is the last fully initiated male custodian of his people, the last male “Emeritus Professor” of his culture. He has been formally acknowledged as one of “Australia’s living national treasures” and his knowledge has been described by anthropologists as “encyclopedic” in nature.

Bill will be in Wyoming for most of the month of September, touring the state. During his time in Laramie, Bill will be working on a painting at the UW Art Museum, as well as giving talks on anthropological topics related to his Australian homeland. The Bill Harney Exhibit opens September 22 at the UW Art Museum. He will conclude his painting project on Thursday, September 25, as well as perform a public concert in the Fine Arts Recital Hall, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

His new recording, Leedi/Grasshopper Man (Kiva Records) is a product of the Wardaman Dreaming Project, an ongoing endeavour to document Wardaman culture under the direction of Yidumduma. It records songs, stories, birds and marlugbarr, or the didjeridoo. Paul Taylor, a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist who is mentored by Yidumduma, produced the CD, along with Russ Hopkins of the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, Colorado.

"In Citizen's Garb" at Wyo. State Museum

An exhibit exploring the way dress and life changed for many Southern Plains Native Americans during the late-1800s is on display at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne through October 5.

"In Citizen’s Garb: Southern Plains Native Americans, 1889-1891," examines the ways dress -– and life -– changed for the Kiowa, Comanche and affiliated tribes during the 1880s and 1890s.
Indian Reservations in Oklahoma and Indian Territories opened during this era, coinciding with large-scale efforts by the United States government to force western Native American tribes to adapt to Euro-American ways.

These efforts were meant to "civilize" the native peoples. "In Citizen’s Garb" is toured by ExhibitsUSA, which is the national touring division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a non-profit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Mo.

Williams J. Lenny and William L. Sawyers were among the many white entrepreneurs quick to capitalize on the romantic lure of the tribes. They set up shop in Purcell, Okla., one of the many towns that sprang up on former Indian lands, to make photographs of formerly "wild Indians" for eastern consumption, where there was a great appetite for image of the West. The 53 photographs that comprise this exhibition are modern re-strikes made from Lenny and Sawyer’s original glass negatives.

Some of the photographs show obvious – yet powerful - details of the acculturation process. Images of Native Americans in both citizen and native dress reflect the transition that occurred between the tribes’ past and their radically different future.

"In Citizen’s Garb" is curated by John Hernandez, director of the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, Okla. The purpose of this and other ExhibitsUSA shows is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities.

ExhibitsUSA is a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private nonprofit organization founded in 1972.

Where for art thou, Antimetabole?

What is antimetabole and where can you find out more about it? Here's an article on its prominence in recent political speeches: http://www.slate.com/id/2199536/

David Gonzalez performance in Gillette

Get 'em while they're hot: writing workshops

Laurie Lye and Tom Rea, Equality State Book Festival co-directors, send this information on the fest's writing workshops:

There's still space available in the writing workshops Sept. 18 and 19 at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper. Space in each workshop is limited to 20 students, however, and we wanted to give you this chance to sign up before our final advertising push begins.

Watch for full-color, 16-page programs Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Casper Journal and on Sunday, Sept. 14, in the Casper Star-Tribune. See much more on the entire festival at http://www.equalitystatebookfest.com/

Workshops cost $50 for students; $75 for others. The fee covers two, two-and-one-half-hour sessions. They're being offered by four faculty members of the University of Wyoming's Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing. All four are accomplished, inspiring teachers and fine writers.

Register through secure server at http://www.equalitystatebookfest.com/index.php/pages/registration/, or by calling Laurie Lye at Casper College 307-268-2639.

Japan Arts Day Sept. 20 in Casper

The "Japan Arts Day" celebration will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. in the John F. Welsh Auditorium at Natrona County High School. Admission is free.

The event will feature Taiko and Koto music performed by Toni. Y. Yagami, Lance B. Acker, and Jungo Shigeta (shown in photo)

Sponsored by The Consulate General of Japan in Denver, ARTCORE and Natrona County School District No. 1.

Wyomingarts suggests that you take in the Equality State Book Festival in Casper on Saturday, Sept. 20, and stay for the Taiko music in the evening.

Meet bookfest presenter Annette Chadet

Annette Chaudet established Pronghorn Press in 1998 after producing several books for private clients. She then started a writing contest to produce Hard Ground, Writing the Rockies, the first in a series intended to capture contemporary life in the West in poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction. The book was a success and followed by four more Hard Ground collections as well as Dry Ground, Writing the Desert Southwest; Dense Growth, Writing the Pacific Northwest; and Foreign Ground, Travelers’ Tales.

Pronghorn Press has since expanded into other genres. It publishes a new poetry title in the Women & Words series each year, have a sci-fi/fantasy imprint, Antelios, as well as Higher Shelf, a metaphysical/self improvement imprint. Pronghorn has recently added PrairieWinkle for children’s picture books.

Although Pronghorn is a small press, Annette is gratified that there are 54 titles on her list and some of them have garnered national reviews. Montana Spring by Richard Magniet is an award-winning novel of life in the early days in Montana and Never Summer (Pronghorn’s first poetry collection in 2002) by Chris Ransick, won the Colorado Book Award and saw the author become the Poet Laureate of Colorado.

The list at Pronghorn Press is an eclectic mix and Annette likes it that way, enjoying working with a variety of material. The High Country Gardens series by Cheryl Anderson Wright has also been a success with three titles in that series. Pronghorn’s current best selling title is Men to Match Our Mountains by Wyoming’s Chief Game Warden, Jay Lawson.

Chaudet is an editor AND writer. She's found a variety of outlets for her work over the years in anthologies, books, magazines and newspapers. In the 1980s and 1990s she published two small cookbooks, two small gift books and a collection of Christmas poetry. She also created a self awareness set called Take The Power. She has five titles currently in print including Beyond the World, a Novel of 18th Century France, a collection of short stories and two nonsense verse children’s books, A Jungle Book and The Nose Book. She is currently at work on the "autobiography" of Mary Magdalene.

Annette will appear on the Equality State Book Festival panel, "Publishing from the Ground Up" at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Nicolaysen Art Museum and will be available to sign her books following the panel.

http://www.pronghornpress.org/

Chris Amend exhibit at AVA in September

Humanities Council's new book discussion wiki

Jenny Ingram at the Wyoming Humanities Council in Laramie sends this news about the organization's new book discussion wiki:

WHC has just launched a wiki for readers in its popular "Reading Wyoming" program, with the hopes that it will give them a forum to take discussions beyond their monthly meetings and share ideas with other readers in the state. All participants, past and present, are welcome to join.

FMI: http://wyominghumanitiescouncil.pbwiki.com/Reading-Wyoming

Park Co. Library moving to new location

Ruffin Prevost of The Billings Gazette wrote this story about the new Park County Public Library in Cody (story also appeared Sunday in the Casper Star-Tribune):

Though the signs say "Closed" outside the old Cody branch of the Park County Library, staff members inside are busy reviewing and organizing the 75,000-volume collection in preparation for the move later this month to the new location at the Park County Complex.Workers there have finished all major elements of construction, and are busy with last-minute details, including installing furniture, fixtures and hundreds of feet of new shelving.

"It's glorious, it's beautiful, it's open, it's roomy, it's clean, and I think it is a very pleasing space," said Frances Clymer, library director.

Construction costs for the extensive renovations to the ground floor of the Park County Complex will likely top out at $4.9 million, with $2.2 million funded through a 1-cent capital facilities sales tax approved by voters in November 2006.

Additional public and private money will cover the difference, with a few extra amenities trimmed from the project due to budget constraints."We've had to
reign in our ambitions in some areas, but the overall project is going to be what we had in mind when we got started, and it's going to be a beautiful space and a functional space," Clymer said. Library workers are going through the entire collection to weed out items that are out of date, damaged or otherwise unsuited for moving to the new location, Clymer said.

"Any books or items that have a value to someone else will be sold in a book sale or
passed on to other libraries," she said, adding that the book sale is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26-27.

The new branch will open for regular business beginning Oct. 6, she said.

The Oct. 4 open house will feature a silent auction of 23 larger-than-life bear sculptures, part of the "Gathering of Grizzlies" fundraiser and public art installation
aimed at raising private funds for additional library amenities.

Other open house programming will include bear stories from Jim Garry, a Park County folklore and storytelling specialist (and former Wyoming Arts Council roster artist), and performances from Charlie Williams, an entertainer from Issaqua, Wash., known as "The Noiseguy."

Clymer said she expects the new location to generate a spike in patron visits and circulation, and she has approval from Park County commissioners to hire additional part-time staff to handle the increased traffic, if necessary.

NEA National Heritage Fellows highlighted in Kennedy Center

Eleven master artists from around the country will arrive in Washington, D.C. the week of September 15th for a series of celebratory events to honor their receipt of a 2008 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. The fellowship is the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Representing a cross section of cultures and art forms, these awardees were chosen for their artistic excellence, cultural authenticity, and contributions to their field. The fellowship includes a one-time award of $20,000. The NEA National Heritage Fellowships program is made possible through the support of the Darden Restaurants Foundation and family of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, and Seasons 52 restaurants.

For the full release and more specific information on these events, please go to http://www.arts.gov/news/news08/Heritage2008advisory.html

Rocky Anderson addresses global warming

From a UW press release:

Rocky Anderson (pictured above), one of the world's top activists on climate change according to Business Week, will speak from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Wheeler Auditorium, Room 103 of the Wold Physical Science Center at Casper College. The lecture is free and open to public.

Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's lecture on "Climate Change and the Leadership Imperative" will kick off this year's free public lecture series sponsored in Casper every fall by the University of Wyoming Helga and Otto Haub School and William Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, the UW/Casper College Center and the UW Outreach School.

The Natrona County Commission will also hold a public workshop discussion on the how-to of dealing with climate change for local government at 4 p.m. at the county courthouse, before the night event.

Anderson, mayor of Salt Lake City from 2000-2008, led the city to achieve a nearly one-third reduction in municipal government greenhouse gas emissions -- and significant budget savings.

Mark Barron, mayor of Jackson, where municipal government is working on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission issues, will join Anderson in the series kickoff talk.

The two local government leaders will give an update on the latest understanding of climate change, along with how-to advice on the everyday challenges of climate change and the money local governments can save via energy efficiency efforts.

The talks will launch the new lecture and discussion series, "Climate Change in Carbon Central -- Developing Strategies in Wyoming," presented by the University of Wyoming/CC Center. Among the featured speakers in the rest of the series this fall are Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Jim Posewitz, executive director of Orion: The Hunter's Institute and a renowned speaker on hunting issues.

The central theme of the UW series is how climate change is part of almost every familiar issue in Wyoming -- from affordable housing to hunting and fishing -- and how addressing those issues from a climate change perspective may provide new ways to solve persistent problems, said series organizer Anne MacKinnon. Ways Wyoming people can work to slow the course of climate change and to adapt to changes already under way will be the focus of six evenings of talks, MacKinnon said.

All talks are from 7-9 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium, Room 103 of the Wold Physical Science Center. The series schedule:

Sept. 11, Wyoming Cities and Towns (speakers: Anderson and Barron).

Sept. 25, Workforce Housing (speakers: Mark Woolley, developer of a project in Rawlins; and Scott Kane, owner of Creative Energies renewable energy company in Lander).

Oct. 9, Hunting and Fishing (speakers: Posewitz; and Steve Jackson, UW botany professor).

Oct. 23, Paying the Bills (speakers: Howard Geller, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project; and Mary Byrnes, member of the Wyoming Public Service Commission).

Nov. 6, Kids (speakers: Scott Beall, innovative 7th grade science teacher, New York State; and Craig Sorenson, superintendent of Sweetwater County School District #2).

Nov. 20, State Finances (speaker: Gov. Dave Freudenthal, schedule permitting).

All talks will be downloadable starting the next morning after each event, from the UW Web site: http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/podcasting.asp

FMI: UW/CC Center at (307) 268-2713 or (877) 264-9930; or www.uwyo.edu/uwcc.