"Carol Prusa: Emergent Worlds" exhibition opens this week at the UW Art Museum

Carol Prusa will give a talk about her work in the "Emergent Worlds" exhibition at the University of Wyoming Arts Museum. The talk is at 8:15 on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Visual Arts Building 111. Free and open to the public. On Friday, Feb. 1, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Prusa will lead a gallery walk-through, followed by an open reception for all of the museum's new exhibitions. The annual student awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m.

"Swing for Life" Jan. 18 features swing dance lessons and music by the UW Jazz Ensembles

This University of Wyoming event popped up on Facebook today:

Friday Night Fever is partnering with the Jazz Advocates of Wyoming, the Swing Dance Club, and ASUW to bring a Swing for Life event on Jan. 18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. 

There will be swing dancing lessons provided by the Swing Club and live ‘20s style swing music provided by the University of Wyoming Jazz ensembles. Free food will also be available at the event. The Jazz Advocates of Wyoming and the Swing Dance Club plan to give any optional donations collected at the event to I Love Life and The American Cancer Research Fund organizations.

Read all about it here. 

Poet and labor activist Mark Nowak wants to hear your story about "Working in Wyoming"

Poet, teacher and and labor activist Mark Nowak will serve as eminent writer-in-residence for the University of Wyoming creative writing program in February. He sent this info about the "Working (in Wyoming)" project he'll be conducting when he's in the state. Here it is:

Working (in Wyoming) is a community-building, creative investigation of what it means to labor in Wyoming.

A series of creative writing workshops will be held in southeastern  Wyoming (Laramie and Cheyenne) in February of 2013. These workshops will be facilitated by Wyoming writing instructors and students in the University of Wyoming's MFA program in creative writing. In these workshops, Wyoming workers of diverse backgrounds will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in the Wyoming community to create a short piece of creative writing (a poem, a parable, a short story, a piece of flash fiction/nonfiction, etc.).

Working (in Wyoming) will culminate in a large-scale yet intimate evening event in Laramie on February 28. Here working people from across the state will have the opportunity to share what it means to work in Wyoming with a presentation of pieces created in workshops.

FMI: Kay Northrop at knorthrop@uwyo.edu or Brie Fleming at briennafleming5@gmail.com

Read more on the project's Facebook page. 

New co-op gallery in Laramie holds artists' reception Dec. 2

Sean Hart is holding an artists’ reception at his new co-op gallery in Laramie, 404 S. Second St. It’s on Sunday, Dec. 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mimosas and coffee cake will be served, along with artwork by Bruce Amimanni, Patrick Kelly, Allison Wagg, and Sean Gote, photography by Jennifer Faulkner and Ryan Parker and jewelry by Dolores De Harte. Sean invites everyone to slide on by and see what these artists have to offer. See you there.

UW Visual Arts Gallery opens new exhibit Nov. 16

Tsehai Johnson and Melissa Haviland’s ceramic and printmaking exhibitions can be seen Nov. 16-Dec. 14 at the University of Wyoming Visual Arts Gallery, located on the corner of 22nd Street and Willett Drive. The opening reception is scheduled Friday, Nov. 16, from 6-8 p.m.The exhibitions and reception are free and open to the public.

Johnson is a Colorado-based artist who explores the boundaries between public and private life. Through porcelain objects, interactive installations and mixed-media wall pieces, she references dense ornamentation while also exploring the disorder of everyday life. An assistant professor in the Metropolitan State College of Denver Art Department, Johnson recently was awarded an Art in Architecture commission for Denver’s Rogers Federal Building.

Haviland's artwork explores lineage, ritual and practice within objects that are gendered and classed, such as fine china, which have both feminine and upper-class connotations. An artist-printmaker living in Athens, Ohio, she received her master of fine arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and bachelor of fine arts from Illinois State University. She currently teaches printmaking, drawing and papermaking at Ohio University.

The Visual Arts Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m-5 p.m. For more information, email Diana Baumbach at dbaumbac@uwyo.edu.

WOW offers workshops for the holidays

 Click on image for larger, readable version. Get more info here.

Students can expand their horizons at UW International Night

From a UW press release:

Students can experience cultures from around the world during International Night Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. the University of Wyoming Union lower level.

International Night will educate students through culturally diverse games, performances and information booths. Activities begin in the Skylight Lounge and will continue to the Union Gardens at 8:30 p.m. for an International Game PlayStation competition.  At 9 p.m., song and dance performances will start in the Skylight Lounge. Pizza will be served after the performances.

Additionally, the movie “The Bourne Legacy,” starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton, will be shown in the Wyoming Union Family Room at 6:30, 9, and 11:30 p.m.

Friday Night Fever and the International Student Association sponsor this event. For more information, visit www.uwyo.edu/cac. Individuals needing assistance to attend should call the Campus Activities Center at (307) 766-6340.

Opening reception Nov. 17 for June Glasson exhibit in Laramie

Call for applications: UW Gallery 234

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Applications for spring 2013 art exhibitions at the University of Wyoming Gallery 234 will be accepted through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4.All UW faculty, staff and students can apply. For an application, go to www.uwyo.edu/union/cac/gallery234/ and click on “exhibit application.” Applications can be submitted to the UW Campus Activities Center.

Gallery 234 is an educational gallery that provides a space for “creative and critical expression of the visual arts,” as well as offer “exhibitions of social responsibility and artistic substance” for the university. The gallery has hosted a variety of exhibitions this semester.

“Photographs are a common medium, but other media such as comic-book style storytelling, drawing and sculptures have been represented in the gallery,” says Ashley Dallum, the Gallery 234 coordinator.

"What Can I Do?" Multimedia Environmental Concert Saturday in Laramie

"What Can I Do?" Multimedia Environmental Concert
8 pm Saturday, November 3
Coal Creek Coffee Company
110 E. Grand Ave, Laramie

This is a 60-75-minute educational keynote presentation featuring the photography of renowned John Fielder, Karl Snyder and Laurie Dameron, video, information and live music. Special guest speaker Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist, City Council member in Laramie and Executive Director for Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. 

FMI: www.facebook.com/WhatCanIDoSpaceshipEarth and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml4gzZthi5o

WOW announces Nov. 10 deadline for Affordable Art Show

This Works of Wyoming (WOW) exhibition will showcase Wyoming artists working in varied media. Works are to be retail priced under $100. We'll be promoting this event as an alternative to the big box store's Black Friday. This was our most successful event last year for sales, and we're expecting even more this year! Back up inventory should be anticipated. Submit up to 5 pieces for consideration in the following categories: original 2-D paintings, drawings, mixed media, printmaking, digital media, & photography. 3-D work: sculpture, metal, ceramics, glass, jewelry and mixed media. All work must be new to the gallery at Works of Wyoming (not previously shown), not mass produced, and copyright adherent. All work must be suitably framed, mounted, and wired for installation. Non-glare glass is preferred for photography purposes. Jurors reserve the right to disqualify any work not suitably presented, or any work not corresponding to the entry image or community standards. Size restriction for 2-D work: Outside frame dimensions no larger than 100 total inches.

How to Submit: submit up to 5 images of work via email to:wow@uwyo.edu as an attachment in jpeg format. Please include title, media or technique, & size of the work in the body of your email. Application will be sent upon acceptance.     Schedule:  Nov 10:  Deadline for email submissions  Nov 13: Email notification  Nov 17: Work delivery deadline to begin set up. Nov 23-24: Opening of the show is Black Friday & Saturday, 10- 6pm. Join Us for cookies and a warm mug of hot chocolate. Help sell your and other's work! Jan 5: Show closes at 6 pm  Jan 8-9: Artist pick up their work     *When shipping work, pre-calculate the return shipping and enclose a check for that amount (made payable to WOW) with work. Application forms will be emailed to accepted artists and must accompany work, along with artist statement. $15 entry fee for accepted artists- NO CHARGE for members of WOW. Receipt of the completed application form constitutes your agreement to all conditions established in this prospectus. WOW will provide insurance for all work while onsite; artists are responsible for insuring work in transit. Consent to use photos of work for promotional purposes is assumed unless otherwise stated by artist. Sales: Wow promotes the show via website, email marketing, social marketing, posters, and press releases. Artists will set their own selling price. Wow will retain a 30% commission on all sales in the gallery and commissioned pieces as a result of the show. Questions? We are here to help! WOW Gallery/Gift Shop (307-460-3304), email: wow@uwyo.edu

University of Wyoming hosts Pink Prom Nov. 2 in Union Ballroom

From a UW press release:

Friday Night Fever, Spectrum, and ASUW are co-sponsoring a Pink Prom at 8 p.m. on Friday Nov. 2, in the Union Ballroom.

Pink Proms have the purpose of creating a welcoming atmosphere for the GLBTQ community who may have not had a friendly experience at high school proms. The dance will be themed as a fall festival prom and will last until midnight.

Additionally the movie “The Campaign,” staring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, will be showing in the Union Family Room at 6:30, 9:00, and 11:30 p.m.

For more information on the Friday Night Fever events please visit www.uwyo.edu/cac. Information about Spectrum can be found at uwacadweb.uwyo.edu. Information regarding ASUW can be found at www.uwyo.edu.

This event is sponsored by Friday Night Fever, Spectrum and ASUW. Individuals needing assistance to attend this event should contact the Campus Activities Center at (307) 766-6340.

"Color of Sound" exhibition at Gallery 234 blends jazz, hip hop and martial arts

From a UW press release:

An exhibition that mixes art, music videos and event photography can be seen Nov. 5-9 in Gallery 234 in the University of Wyoming Union. A reception for the show is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6-9 p.m.

“Color of Sound” is a partnership between Shaolin Jazz and University of Wyoming students. Invited artists have been asked to include jazz, hip hop and martial arts themes in their work.

Shaolin Jazz blends the vocals of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan with jazz instrumental sounds. Their musical genre includes rap, rock, soul and jazz influences.

The Student Activities Council, Gallery 234 and the Wyoming Arts Council sponsor this event. Individuals needing assistance to attend this event should contact the Campus Activities Center at (307) 766-6340. For more information, visit www.uwyo.edu/cac.

Photo: Shaolin Jazz mixes modern rap vocals with traditional jazz influences.

Touchstone Laramie Nov. 17-18 features work by professional artists of Albany County

Click here for a slide show of the work by participating artists

Crucial role of water in Wyoming is theme of UW Art Museum Symposium Nov.9-10

Reception for "Found, but not Captured" exhibit Nov. 2 at UW's Gallery 234

From a UW press release:

The exhibition “Found, but not Captured” by artist Jessica Neuwerth can be seen through Nov. 3 in the University of Wyoming Union Gallery 234 in Laramie.

A reception for the exhibition is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2.

A UW senior in biology and environment and natural resources, Neuwerth is a Wyoming native with a passion for photography. She says she uses her photography as a “semi-therapeutic form of expression.”

Neuwerth’s work is largely driven by Wyoming landscape and nature.

“Our state has gorgeous things, both large and small, and I hope to artistically express their versatility,” she says.

For more information about Gallery 234, visit www.uwyo.edu/cac.

Photo: “15 Fairytales” is one of Jessica Nueworth’s many works featured in the “Found, but Not Captured,” exhibition.

Author Brian Leung visits UW to speak about his novel based on 1885 "Chinese Massacre" in Rock Springs

From a UW press release:

Acclaimed author Brian Leung will visit the University of Wyoming Wednesday, Oct. 24, and Thursday, Oct. 25, for a reading of his work and campus visits.

His campus visit is sponsored by the UW MFA Program in Creative Writing, University Libraries, American Heritage Center and Multicultural Affairs.

Leung will give a free public reading at 7 p.m. Oct. 25, in William Robertson Coe Library, Room 506. A book sale and signing of his latest novel “Take Me Home” follows his presentation. A reception also is planned.

The book presents a fictionalized version of the “Chinese Massacre”-- the riot and killings of Chinese miners -- that occurred in Rock Springs in 1885. Leung conducted much of the research for his novel at the UW American Heritage Center and Coe Library.

Interested students and staff can meet with Leung Oct. 24, in the Wyoming Union’s Rainbow Resource Center (RRC) and the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). The RRC will host an hour-long reception at 10:30 a.m. From noon- 1 p.m., the MRC will have a question-and-answer luncheon with Leung about his latest novel.

He also will visit with writing students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at noon Oct. 25.

Leung was born and raised in California’s San Diego County -- a somewhat unlikely location, given that his mother was born in Battleground, Wash., and his father escaped from China in 1949. By coincidence, as a teenager in 1980, Leung took a train trip to visit relatives in Rock Springs -- the very town at the core of his “Take Me Home” novel, which won the Willa Award for Historical Fiction.

Leung’s other works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry have appeared in multiple magazines and reviews. His “World Famous Love Acts” won the Asian American Literary Award in 2005 and the Mary McCarthy Award for Short Fiction in 2002. He also has published another novel, “Lost Men.”

Leung’s short fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in Indiana Review, Runes, Crazyhorse, The Connecticut Review, Gulf Stream, Mid-American Review and numerous other publications. Leung recently was the recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation Mid-Career Novelist Award.

Since 2000, he has taught in Cincinnati and Los Angeles, and currently is a University of Louisville associate professor. Leung earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, and an M.F.A from Indiana University.

More information about Leung can be found at http://www.readbrianleung.com/.

For more information about his campus visit, call the MFA Program in Creative Writing at (307) 766-6453.

Photo: Brian Leung

Oct. 25 banquet in Laramie raises funds for women's education in Tanzania

October 19, 2012 — A University of Wyoming cross-cultural communication class will host a banquet to raise money and general awareness for the women of Tanzania Thursday, Oct. 25, from 7-10 p.m. at the Laramie train depot.

Women’s Education and Economic Centre (WEECE) Director Valeria Mrema will lead the discussion on gender equality and the economic stability of Tanzanian women. WEECE, a nonprofit organization that supports marginalized women and their families in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, joins the UW students to raise money.

“It is common in the Kilimanjaro region for girls to be uneducated or only educated through primary school,” Mrema says. “This limited education undermines women in their ability to be economically self-reliant; in their having the knowledge, skills and ability to exercise their rights; and in their ability to foster a healthy future for themselves and their children.”

Proceeds collected from the event will go toward expanding existing girls’ schools. Contributions purchase educational materials such as books, paper and writing utensils for the future education of Tanzanian women and children.

Catered appetizers and refreshments will be provided. The Wyoming African Students Association (WASA) and the UW Belly Dance Club will provide entertainment for the evening.

Tickets cost $15 for students, $25 for non-students and $40 for couples. Five tickets can be purchased together for $100. Children 12 and under are admitted for free. To purchase tickets and for more information, call Sierra Johnson at (307) 760-5440 or email teamingupfortanzania@gmail.com. Tickets also will be sold at the door.

The UW cross-cultural communication class also has held benefits for a water spigot in Botswana during 2011 and a silent auction for Kenyan orphans in 2010.

The UW African American & Diaspora Studies department sponsors this event. For more information, contact Tracey Patton at (307)766-3857 or teamingupfortanzania@gmail.com.

Photo: It is common in the Kilimanjaro region for girls to be uneducated or only educated through primary school.

Sean Hart's new Laramie co-op gallery is looking for artists

Painter Sean Hart has a gallery at 404 S. 2nd St. in downtown Laramie. It's called 2 Bazaar Gallery. He is opening another space. He describes his plans this way:

We own another building in downtown Laramie that has been vacant for over a year and I want to open it up to artists as a gallery based on a co-op model. There is about 5,400 square feet on two floors. The second floor has a stage, lighting and sound system and possible artist studio spaces. The university and others have done plays and events there. I am not doing this to make money. It is just that the space has been empty and I have done art shows and sales there with some success. Here is my plan as I see it now. I am open to suggestions and ideas. 

I plan to charge an 18 percent commission on sales. This is what I figure it will cost for insurance, utilities, credit card fees, maintenance etc. Each artist will be required to open the gallery on a Saturday on a rotating basis. If we have 12 artists that would be once every three months. We will set up a studio space in the front window where they can work on art pieces while they run the gallery.

In the beginning we will need to advertise. A 3x4 inch ad in the Laramie Boomerang newspaper is about $60.If 12 artists contribute, that's only five dollars each. Once a month or maybe twice a month we will have an artist reception with featured artists. 

The building is ready to begin accepting art and could be open soon with just four artists to start as early as Saturday, Oct. 20. We plan a big holiday sale. 

If you're an artist interested in this venture, contact Sean at 307-742-2888 or email him any time at LYSETTE555@earthlink.net.

FABulous Women's Art Show opens Oct. 13

FMI: http://www.worksofwyoming.org/