Wyoming Office of Tourism announces co-op advertising project for 2013

Alan Dubberley, Deputy Director Wyoming Office of Tourism, shared this letter with the Wyoming Arts Council. We thought we'd pass it along in case there are any arts organizations or artists (or groups of artists) interested in placing a co-op ad for the national Family Motorcoach Association rally in June at CAM-PLEX in Gillette. Here's the info:  

 

Hello Tourism Partners,

 

The Wyoming Office of Tourism (WOT) is providing a new co-op opportunity for 2013 that will reach the RV audience.

 

The Family Motorcoach Association (FMCA) will be hosting their annual membership rally at the Cam-Plex in Gillette June 19-22, 2013. This is the association's 50th anniversary celebration and they are expecting a great turnout with over 2,200 RVs in attendance. These travelers will not only be spending their days in Gillette, they will be exploring all over the state and region. A great opportunity for us to give them plenty of reason to explore Wyoming.

 

The FMCA membership is over 100,000 strong and the WOT is providing a co-op opportunity in their March edition of Family Motorcoaching magazine. This co-op will not only reach the audience planning to attend the Wyoming event, but their entire membership.

 

WOT will purchase a full page ad and 1/6 page ads will be made available to all interested parties at $1,000 each. All ads will be placed in a Wyoming section to create a great presence for the state. The WOT is also supporting this buy with banners on the FMCA website and ads in the FMCA e-newsletter. The web banners and e-newsletter ads are not part of the co-op, but if you are interested in purchasing web advertising from FMCA, feel free to discuss that with the contact below.

 

If you are interested in participating in the co-op, you can contact:

Ranita Jones - FMCA sales manager

1-800-543-3622 ext. 214

rjones@fmca.com

 

Space reservation deadline: January 13, 2013

Materials deadline: January 20, 2013

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me back or call me at one of the numbers listed below.

 

Warmest Regards,

Alan Dubberley, Deputy Director

Wyoming Office of Tourism

5611 High Plains Road

Cheyenne, WY 82007

O: 307-777-8561

M: 307-214-1530

alan.dubberley@wyo.gov

www.wyomingtourism.org

www.wyomingofficeoftourism.gov

Entrepreneur magazine looking for artrepreneurs who make unique holiday gifts under $50

Entrepreneur magazine is looking for artrepreneurs who make distinctive holiday gifts priced $50 or less. Here are the details:

With the holiday season just around the corner, we want to hear from the artists, craftspeople, designers and other independent merchants who make one-of-kind gifts. 

From now until Nov. 1, we invite all eligible businesses to tell us about ONE item that you sell that is the perfect gift for someone special this holiday season. 

Please tell us in 250 words or less the story behind the item: the reason you decided to create it; why it's absolutely unique; why it's different than anything you'd find in a mass-market space; whom it's suitable for; and what customers say when they buy it. The item must be priced at $50 or less. (Read all entry rules in our FAQ section.) 

On Nov. 26, we'll begin unveiling the items that editors at Entrepreneur.com have selected for inclusion in our “Indie Merchant Gift Guide.” Editors will look at both the originality and creativity of the business owner's story, and take into consideration the gift idea's value, functionality and uniqueness, as well as variety. This year, we'll reveal our favorites in 10 categories: Pets, Jewelry, Kids, Unusual/Quirky, Food/Beverage, Eco-Friendly, Beauty, Practical, Apparel, Sports. 

The deadline for entry is Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. EST. Good luck and we look forward to hearing your story. 

Questions? Consult our FAQ 

View Sample Entry

We see Judd Grossman (and his band's ads) in all the best places

Saw this tall-and-skinny Judd Grossman Band display add on the Planet JH Weekly home page. We thought it would be worthwhile to reprint it on the blog. Judd Grossman is a long-time WAC roster artist. He is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who has performed his original contemporary folk music in concerts throughout the country. Judd was a winner of the Wyoming Arts Council Performing Arts Fellowship in 2003. He performs either solo or with members of his band, and he provides workshops for adults or students on songwriting, voice, folk guitar, and the business of music. Judd also works with younger kids on basic music skills, improvisation and spontaneous musical production. Bring Judd to your community through a WAC Arts Across Wyoming grant. Info at www.wyomingartscouncil.org. Click on the "grants" link on the left sidebar. 

Use that new Kindle or Nook to order ebooks by Wyoming writers

Cheyenne writer Mary Gillgannon is converting her earlier published novels to ebooks. Other writers are doing the same thing, once the rights revert to them from their publishers. Are you a Wyoming writer who’s doing this? We’d like to hear your stories about the process, good or bad or indifferent.

Two of Mary’s books have been reformatted and have new covers. Take a look at one of them at
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Maiden-ebook/dp/B006GCQ2IA/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322836944&sr=1-1

Mary reports that she has four more books to go (at least for now). Two are being formatted while the other two she’s in the process of getting ready to send to my formatter. She has covers for them all. “I’m excited,” she says.

Good luck, Mary!

Northern Arapaho artist Robert Martinez from Riverton wins First Peoples Fund fellowship

From a press release:

First Peoples Fund, a Rapid City-based national nonprofit organization supporting the work of indigenous artists nationwide, is proud to announce its 2012 Artist in Business Leadership and Cultural Capital Fellows.

2012 Artist in Business Leadership Fellows:

·        Robert Martinez (Northern Arapaho), a mixed media artist from Riverton, WY

·        Joseph Allen (Sicangu Lakota), a photographer from Ogema, MN 

·        Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy), a basket weaver from Princeton, ME 

·        Jereldine Redcorn (Caddo/Potawatomi), a clay/ceramics artist from Norman, OK 

·        Todd Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota), a mixed media artist from White River, SD

·        Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota), a Hip-Hop artist from Chicago, IL 

·        Ken Metoxen (On^yote?a*ka), a potter/sculpter from Oneida, WI 

·        Wade Fernandes (Menominee), a musician from Keshena, WI 

·        Gyasi Ross (Blackfeet), a writer/videoographer from Suquamish, WA

·        Sondra Simone Segundo  (Haida), a watercolor artist from Seattle, WA 

   

 2012 Cultural Capital Fellows:

·        Lois Chichinoff Thadei (Aleut), a printmaking/weaver artist from Olympia, WA

·        Bonnie LeBeau (Cheyenne River Sioux), a quilter/textile artist from Eagle Butte, SD

·        James Star Comes Out  (Oglala Lakota), a multi medium artist from Pine Ridge, SD

·        Pete Peterson, Sr. (Skokomish), master carver from Hoodsport, WA

The 2012 Artist in Business Leadership Program is an independent business arts fellowship program that features a working capital grant of $5,000 to be used to support a one year marketing plan/strategy or business goal as defined by the artist applicant.  Artists will receive technical assistance, a professional network of peers, as well as travel funds to participate in FPF's individualized professional development workshops. The fellowship also provides a focus on new works to stimulate creativity and a renewal of energy in Native art expression.

The 2012 Cultural Capital Program is a $5,000 grant that provides tradition bearers of tribal communities the opportunity to further their important cultural work. The program is designed to support previous year Community Spirit Award recipients allowing them to commit more time in teaching and sharing their ancestral knowledge and practices with others who want to learn.
 

The Fund is supported  in part by the Ford Foundation, Bush Foundation's Regional Arts Development Program II, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation (Minnesota), Nathan Cummings Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, Native Arts and Culture Foundation, The John T. Vecurevich Foundation, The HRK Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and Open Society Foundation.
 

For further information about First Peoples Fund or to apply for support through one of our programs, please visit www.firstpeoplesfund.org, or contact us at First Peoples Fund, P.O. Box 2977, Rapid City, SD 57709-2977 

Robert Martinez (www.martinezartdesign.com) is a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist. Bring him to your community through an Arts Across Wyoming grant. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Roster/Artist.aspx?ID=33

Save the date for "CLICK! A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists"

You might call this a save-the-date blog post to remind you to keep an eye out for the save-the-date postcard that soon will be landing in your mailbox.


Wyoming Artists, Save the Date for "CLICK! A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists." This multi-sponsor event takes place March 30-April 1, 2012 in Pinedale. Much info on building art opportunities, networking with new and old pals, sessions with WAC fellowship jurors, and more. Booking and hotel info forthcoming from mailings and blog posts from the WAC. Stay tuned and mark your calendars!

WOW social media sites offer marketing advice to artists

Wherever you may be in your arts career, sound marketing advice is crucial. Artrepreneurs in WY may want to get to know Felicia Follum and Works of Wyoming in Laramie. The Wyoming Arts Council has worked with WOW on a number of occasions, notably last spring’s visual arts symposium.      

Fellow artists, family and friends. I would like to introduce you to Works of Wyoming. I am currently the AmeriCorps intern working primarily on social media marketing as well as working in the gallery space and gift shop. (Last year I worked as the Graphic Design Intern for WOW and the WWBC. You can see my blog for that here.) 

As the social media marketing person (I would love to say coordinator, though I do not officially have a title) I have been posting some marketing tips on the WOW blog. My current goal is to post every week on either Tuesday or Thursday and sometimes both. In addition to weekly social media marketing tips, there are basic professional development tips for artists, some fun projects and of course announcements for our workshops and shows. 

It would make my day if you would check out the blog and share it with your friends, especially artists and small business owners who could benefit from our services.  In addition to sharing the blog with people, I would also love to have more examples to post.  If you would like to have your social media site, plans, or strategies in the blog, please comment below or contact me on the WOW Facebook page.  If you would like to contact me through WOW feel free.  Their phone number is 307.742.6574 and the email address is wow@uwyo.edu. 

If you are not from Wyoming and would like help with your social media comment below for more info.  If you are from WY not a part of WOW you should look into becoming a member. 

Contact
WOW
WOW Blog
WOW Facebook
307.742.6574
Personal
Art Facebook Page (I don't add people I don't know in real life to my personal page, so be sure to go to FeliciaFollumDesign not FeliciaFollum. Thanks!)

Arts Incubator of the Rockies may help young Wyoming creatives find ways to stay in the state

Dance Theatre at University Center for the Arts at CSU

Editor's Note: This is the second post in a two-part series about the Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) project.


Three Fort Collins, Colo., entities have banded together to create the Arts Incubator of the Rockies. State arts agency staffers (including the WAC’s Michael Shay and Rita Basom) joined them last week because we’re all trying to look ahead rather than behind. Our futures depend on it.

Traditional art forms are on the decline, and have been for at least a decade. Symphonies, opera, ballet, art museums, and all the rest see declining attendance. The audiences that remain are older. Expenses continue to climb. 

On the other hand, art schools continue to crank out record numbers of artists and writers and musicians. The supply side is thriving. The traditional demand side is shrinking. But a survey by Julliard shows that only 10 percent of music grads stay in the industry.

Beet Street in Fort Collins is trying to breathe some new life into both the creation and the presentation of the arts. They are joined in this regional endeavor by the CSU School of the Arts and the City of Fort Collins. They were partners in a successful National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town grant that brings $100,000 to the AIR effort. The Western States Arts Federation in Denver and nine state arts agencies gathered in F.C. last week to discuss our involvement.

In our previous post, we outlined some of the core and potential programs that will be addressed by AIR. The major physical effort will be the renovation of the old Carnegie Library into a regional arts center.

WAC staffers toured the building on Thursday. It's one of a cluster of historic buildings in City Park. Next door is the sprawling county library, which once was housed in the Carnegie Building, as was the case in hundreds of American towns and cities.

Exhibits, archives and storage for the Fort Collins Museum are now crammed into the Carnegie. All of it, along with the staff, will move to the new 47,000-square-foot Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center by the summer. This new public-private partnership will feature interactive exhibits that blend history and science. It also has a new Digital Dome Theatre that is part planetarium and part IMAX

Meanwhile, back at the Carnegie, Beet Street's Beth Flowers tells us about the plans for the space. It will feature physical classrooms, a virtual learning center, an AIR resource center, Beet Street offices, black box theatre, gallery and other public spaces. The city owns the building so will maintain and manage it. CSU will conduct community-based continuing ed courses as well as classes that will feed into its new minor in Arts Business and Leadership and Master of Music in Arts Leadership and Administration.

Yet to be decided is how neighboring states fit into the equation. We spent two days last week discussing options in the newly renovated Lincoln Center. Wyoming trains scads of artists at its lone four-year public university and its many community colleges. How will AIR serve them? 

Architect's drawing of exterior of new
UW visual arts building

The University of Wyoming could have its own CSU-like "A" for "Agricultural" on a mountain if one were close enough to campus. And that "A" could stand for "Arts." UW is in the midst of a complete revamping of its arts infrastructure. The massive new visual arts building, located strategically next to the award-winning UW Art Museum, will open in January. The old fine arts building will get a complete renovation over the course of the new two years. The English Department's creative writing program (ranked No. 30 in the nation by Poets & Writers mag) continues to be housed in the oldest building on campus (go figure).

Beefed-up endowments bring amazing performers, artists and writers to campus. Internationally-renowned dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones wraps up his UW residency this month. Rebecca Solnit, Camille Dungy, Colson Whitehead and Salman Rushdie have taught young writers the past few years. Visual artists such as Jesus Moroles, Deborah Butterfield and Ursula von Rydingsvard have taught at UW and their sculptures have been featured on campus.

But the problem remains. UW does not have an arts administration degree program. And students still get a limited exposure to the business side of the arts. Some will get teacher certification and teach. Some will go on to master's and Ph.D. programs and teach. Many others will want to make a living as artists and will have to figure it out for themselves.

We in Wyoming have an option that other regional players don't have -- we're right down the road from the AIR project in Fort Collins. Those arts business courses will be nearby. Some will be offered online, too. But since you're already traveling down snow-clogged roads to go to the hookah bar, why not take a workshop while you're there?

At last week's meeting, we talked extensively about ways that state arts agencies such as the Wyoming Arts Council could help sponsor AIR courses. Wyoming students could attend physical classes in F.C. Or maybe some of those courses could be offered at UW in some sort of cooperative agreement with border rival CSU. We talked about a partnership among regional land-grant universities -- all of our states have one.

We have hundreds of talented artists in Wyoming. We also have a problem with our college grads moving out of state to start careers in Denver, Salt Lake City, L.A., and Portland. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could find ways for our homegrown creatives to stay in Casper and Pinedale and Evanston? They will need business acumen to do so. Luck helps, too. But what's that famous saying about luck? "The harder I work the luckier I get." Maybe that should be: "The smarter I work the luckier I get."

We all need to work smarter in tough times. AIR could be one of the ways to work smarter. Wouldn't it be great if Cheyenne could claim a new motto that said: "Cheyenne: Where Fort Collins buys art and attends arts events." Maybe even this: "Cheyenne: Where Cheyenne shops and buys art and attends arts events." 

Wyomingarts will keep you posted on AIR developments. 

WAC wants your answers w/updates

Updated dates and times:

Help us build the WY Arts Council’s Communications Plan! Take 5 minutes to complete the on-line survey. Please respond by 11/18/2011.

The Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) is in the process of developing a Strategic Communications Plan which will include messaging, web enhancements and improved communications. Your input is very important to us. You do not have to be familiar with the WAC to respond.

If you would like to give more feedback in the development of our Strategic Communications Plan, the WAC will be hosting a web-based focus group on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The goal of the focus group is to get constructive feedback on the WAC’s current brand, marketing materials and communications and web site. If you would like to participate in the web-based focus group, please email Cassie Cowsert  by Nov. 18 and she will email you dial-in and login details.

FMI: Rita Basom, Wyoming Arts Council manager

Pipeline Artists' goal: "To live in a place we love and to have viable arts careers"

Attending fellowship biennial opening Nov. 4? Stick around for Art Association's "Business Skills for Artists" workshop

For those artists coming to Jackson for the fellowship biennial opening events Nov. 3-4:

Bruce Baker will be presenting a workshop entitled “Business Skills for Artists: Thrive not Merely Survive as a Studio Professional” on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., in the Art Association’s Borshell Studio at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. Fee is $175.

Description: Have you often wondered what it might be like making a living creating and selling your artwork? Do you want to learn what is entailed in participating in an art fair? Learn from one of the industry’s leading consultants, Bruce Baker who has conducted over 600 workshops on the subject. In this 2-day workshop Bruce will review booth design, sales and customer service, tips on slides for juried shows and trends and product development. His workshops are lively, entertaining and motivational. Whether a seasoned professional or just starting out, you will learn more than a gem or two from Bruce!

Registration and more info: www.artassociation.org

Pipeline Art Project artists accepted at Red Dot Art Fair at 2011 Art Basel in Miami

Stray Voltage (2009), JB Bond, mild steel and stainless steel, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

David Klaren in his Pinedale studio with "Mud Crab," graphite on Arches cover, 53x72 inches

The Pipeline Art Project has been accepted to the Red Dot Art Fair at Art Basel in Miami this December! Exhibiting Pipeline artists will be Sue Sommers, JB Bond, and David K. Klaren, all from Pinedale and vicinity. FMI: Pipeline Art Project or Red Dot Art Fair or Art Basel.

Focus group for Wyoming artists and arts professionals Sept. 22 at UW

From the UW Art Museum blog:

The Portland Art Museum's Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art, Bonnie Laing-Malcomson, will present a focus groups meeting for artists and arts professionals on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., at the UW Art Museum in Laramie.

The purpose of the meeting is to share information on opportunities for artists of the greater Northwest region (which includes Wyoming), a focus area for the Portland Museum of Art. Laing-Malcomson invites artists to bring CV's, exhibition catalogs, and CD of recent work for the museum's growing collection of contemporary NW artists.

Laing-Malcomson invites attending artists and arts professionals to join her in a no-host dinner following the meeting at Altitude's (320 S Second, Laramie). The event is free. Please RSVP by Sept 20 to Rachel Miller, UW Art Museum assistant curator, if you plan to attend. FMI: 307-766-1121.

Learn how to write your own press releases Sept. 14 at Factory Studios in Jackson

From Travis Walker, Teton Artlab:

Ever wonder how to get your art in the news? Meg Daly is teaching a DIY press release writing workshop on Wednesday, September 14 at the Factory Studios. This workshop is designed for artists, athletes, and other independent contractors who want to learn how to get their news and events in the local papers.

Let me know if you are interested and I will send you more information close to the date. Also please pass this along to anyone you think might want to attend. 

Workshop fee will be a mere $5.

FMI: 307.699.0836 or info@tetonartlab.com

Help wanted: Director of Marketing and Communication for Arts & Venues Denver

Arts & Venues Denver is currently looking for a Director of Marketing and Communications. The Director of Marketing and Communications of Arts & Venues Denver (AVD) oversees the marketing and communications functions for the division. AVD operates nine City-owned venues; administers the Public Arts Program; manages special events and community arts-based programs; and oversees the City’s creative sector initiatives.

The position is responsible for establishing the overall marketing and public relations goals, oversees the development of a comprehensive communications, marketing, and public relations plan including policies, procedures, guidelines and standards, and directs the development, design, implementation and evaluation of informational materials, programs, projects, and other outreach activities. This also includes overseeing the continuation of the sponsorship program and proper revenue maximization.

This individual will administer the financial operations of the department, including approving the annual operating budget, monitoring financial activities, developing required budget reports, preparing justification for programs and staffing levels, and submitting final budget for executive management approval.

The Director of Marketing and Communications acts as the spokesperson for the agency, advancing the primary mission and goals, and develops comprehensive communications strategies and programs. They will interact with internal and external stakeholders in order to develop partnerships and to create public awareness and implement media campaigns.

Arts & Venues Denver works to enhance Denver’s quality of life and economic vitality through premier public venues, artwork, and entertainment opportunities. They are also responsible for the acquisition, construction, maintenance, repair, management and operation of the City's public assembly facilities. Arts & Venues oversees many of Denver's most sophisticated, high-profile facilities: Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater; the three largest venues in the Denver Performing Arts Complex: the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Newton Auditorium, the Buell Theater and Boettcher Concert Hall, plus the historic Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center and newly acquired Crossroads Theater.

For full job description, go to http://agency.governmentjobs.com/denver/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=352392

To apply for this position, please visit http://www.denvergov.org/jobs.

Chanman Roots Band in concert Aug. 20 & 23

Upcoming performances by Peter Chandler's Chanman Roots Band:

Saturday, Aug. 20, Lakeside Lodge, Island Park, ID, barbeque and cookout
Tuesday, Aug. 23, Whiskey Creek Saloon, Dubois, WY

Chanman Roots Band is based in Jackson. You can bring band leader Peter "Papa Chan" Chandler to your community by applying for an Arts Across Wyoming grant through the Wyoming Arts Council. Peter is a member of the WAC artist roster. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Roster/Artist.aspx?ID=87

Get more info at www.papachanandjohnnycnote.com or www.chanmanrootsband.com

Chanman Roots Band web site uses an interesting marketing technique. On the home page are links to regional radio stations. The band urges you to "Request your favorite songs on your favorite radio stations."

Someone did that. One of the band's songs was on KUWR's "Morning Music" today. I'd heard it before, but there are thousands of others hearing the song for the first time.

SAVE THE DATE: May 21 workshops for visual artists at WOW in Laramie

SAVE THE DATE: On Saturday, May 21, the Wyoming Arts Council visual arts fellowship judges will each conduct a 90-minute professional development workshop at Works of Wyoming in the Laramie Civic Center. Two workshop sessions will be held in the morning and one in the afternoon. To wrap up the presentations, WAC staffers will preview the agency’s new online Artist Image Registry (AIR) that you've been hearing so much about. Fellowship winners also will be announced at lunch (details TBA). Saturday's sessions are free but registration is required. Call 307-777-5234 or e-mail mshay@state.wy.us.

Attention artists and artisans -- check out the Wyoming Made program

You may have seen Annie Wood of the Wyoming Business Council on Channel 5's early morning show. She promotes the Wyoming Made program. Her office annually issues a spiffy full-color Wyoming Made Product Catalog. In it, you'll find well-known homegrown companies such as Chugwater Chili Corp., Coal Creek Coffee in Laramie, High Plains Press in Glendo and Roy Pilcher's Bears and Company in Devils Tower. There are makers of soy candles, bison jerky, natural soaps, furniture, clothes, etc. Many of those featured in the catalog are artists and artisans.

Here's some background info:

The Wyoming First Program is a way to identify and showcase great products made in Wyoming. All of the companies call Wyoming home and are proud of the quality they represent. All of the Wyoming First products are unique and made in Wyoming.

The Wyoming First Program is designed to assist Wyoming companies with the identification and promotion of their Wyoming Made products or substantially enhanced products and services. Membership allows Wyoming First participants to use the familiar "Bucking Horse and Rider" design stickers and hang tags on their products.

Wyoming First is a program of the Wyoming Business Council. The opportunities for Wyoming First Members include: the ability to use the Wyoming First Bucking Horse and Rider stickers and tags, notification of marketing opportunities, listing on this Web site, one free roll of 250 stickers with the option to purchase additional rolls, eligibility for Trade Show Incentive Grants, Wyoming First posters, and more!

FMI: Annie Wood, Senior Marketing & Attraction Specialist, Wyoming First Program Manager, Wyoming Business Council. Direct: 307.777.2844  Cell: 307.275.5298

On the web at http://www.wyomingbusiness.org/ or http://www.wyomingfirst.org/

Wyomingarts encourages the state's artists to contact Annie about becoming a member. There is a small fee but you get a lot for your money.

Wyomingarts met with Annie from Wyoming First and Anne Dramko of the Arts Alliance of Cheyenne on Wednesday morning. We talked about ways we can work together to promote creative work by Wyoming residents. The Arts Alliance of Cheyenne works with arts organizations and individual artists in Laramie County. The Arts Alliance's user-friendly web site features a calendar of events and a directory of links to local arts and cultural resources.

Anne is interested in working with the Wyoming Arts Council in promoting artists. The WAC is in the process of putting its Artist Image Registry on its web site. It's been a long process but we at the WAC plan to have the AIR up and running in June. It will be a database searchable by artist's name, medium(s) and location. The AIR will show up to five images from each visual artist along with web site and/or blog addresses and other contact info. This will be one more way that the WAC supports the state's individual artists.

Anne at the Arts Alliance of Cheyenne already is planning to link up with the AIR. Down the road, the WAC will encourage its arts partners around Wyoming to provide links to AIR and encourage their local artists to register with it.

Both the WAC and Wyoming First have a statewide mission but both know that arts happen at the local level. More and more communities are forging local partnerships among artists, arts organizations, arts councils, retail businesses, farmers' markets, local governments, civic and church organizations, etc. The WAC even has Community Arts Partnership (CAP) grants that provides funding and technical assistance for these community-based arts initiatives. Get more info from the WAC's Randy Oestman at 307-777-7742.

Wyomingarts will keep you posted on the progress of the AIR project. Meanwhile, we'll see you at your local arts events this summer.

Welcome to Wyoming, Maggie

We at Wyomingarts get many interesting e-mails and phone calls from intriguing people. We've noticed one trend -- more inquiries from artists, writers and performers moving back to the state from elsewhere or moving here for the first time. One of the latter is Maggie Denton in Star Valley.

She started her free-lance efforts in 2009 by writing for greeting card companies. She and her husband moved to Wyoming last year. She was recently featured in "Names in the News" in The Star Valley Independent after placing 4th in an international essay contest, and has a growing list of publication credits. She lives with her husband and two mischievous cats who wreak havoc in her house on a regular basis -- "the cats, not the husband," she added. Maggie says that she "sometimes writes about the cats, admonishing them that they better make her some money, and start earning their keep."

We hear that the job market in Wyoming is pretty good. Not sure about jobs for felines, but we'll check it out.

Maggie sent us a long list of writing credentials. She writes non-fiction, fiction and poetry.

Wyomingarts invited her to join Wyoming Writers, Inc., and/or WyoPoets and sent her links to their web sites. If any of you fine Star Valley poets and writers want to e-mail a welcome to Maggie, send it to either mshay@state.wy.us or lcoatn@state.wy.us and we'll forward it.

Wyoming artists pumping their art through the Pipeline

The mission of the Pipeline Art Project:

The Pipeline Art Project is a group of five Wyoming contemporary artists who are committed to furthering their careers while maintaining Wyoming residency. Their work is in dialogue with the wider world beyond the American West, although it is inspired by this place.

The goal of the Pipeline is to place this artwork in an international context.

Five Wyoming artists are part of the Pipeline Art Project: Sue Sommers and David Klaren, both of Pinedale; JB Bond, Daniel; and Susan Moldenhauer and Wendy Bredehoft of Laramie.