Eiko J. Ozawa exhibits

Northwest Gallery in the Cabre Building presents Eiko J. Ozawa in a sculptural installation, September 11-October 12, 2oo7. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays.

Hear "The Women of Jackson Hole"

News about "The Women of Jackson Hole Fifth Anniversary Concert:"

Friday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., at The Center Theater, 265 S. Cache Street, Jackson. Tickets: $15 adults, $10 students and Jackson Hole Music Experience members, plus service fee.

Headlining this fabulous array of female musicians is the valley's own Beth McIntosh. Featuring locals Margo Valiente, The Miller Sisters, Willowstar, Sacred Mountain Drummers, Sarah Carlson, Lina Marquis, Strings Attached and African drumming and dancing group, Djembe Fo.

All funds raised will benefit the Women's and Students Music Scholarship Fund through the Jackson Hole Music Experience.

The West in Fact and Fiction

Here's info about a late addition to the Wyoming Book Festival schedule:

Make plans to join us at the Wyoming Book Festival from 6-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14 at the Cheyenne Depot Museum, 121 W. 15th St., for a special, high-profile panel discussion: "The West in Fact and Fiction."

If our stories shape us, then is the West better served by fact of fiction? Does our cowboy image celebrated on our new state quarter reflect Wyoming's reality? Do we live up to our heritage as "The Equality State?" A lively discussion that brings together high-profile panelists to discuss the stories - real and fanciful - about the West.

Panelists are:
Pete Simpson -- former State Legislator and long-time University of Wyoming instructor, hes a fourth-generation Wyomingite and part of one of the states most prominent political families.
William Bradford Ross III -- grandson of Gov. Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first female governor in the United States and the first woman appointed to head the U.S. Mint.
Sam Western -- his controversial 2002 book, "Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for Its Soul," has sparked numerous debates.
Martin Murie -- western novelist and long-time natural sciences professor, he grew up in Jackson Hole and is the son of famed conservationists Olaus and Mardy Murie.
Kathleen O'Neal Gear -- historian, archaeologist, and co-author with her husband, W. Michael Gear, of the bestselling North America's Forgotten Past Series.
Candy Moulton -- author or co-author of 11 history books including "Steamboat: Legendary Bucking Horse."

The discussion is moderated by UW history professor Phil Roberts, who is also a co-author of the Wyoming Almanac.

Read more about all our panelists at http://www.wyomingbookfestival.org/authors.html.

"The West in Fact and Fiction" is part of our "Wyoming Talks -- About Books" series of programs at the festival sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council.

Gears featured at Wyo. Book Festival

Michael and Kathleen Gear, the best-known fiction-writing and buffalo-ranching team in Wyoming, will be appearing at the Wyoming Book Festival Sept. 14-15 in Cheyenne. They will be speaking about their work at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the fiction tent, which will be followed at 11:30 with a book signing. They will be part of a panel "From Sci-Fi to Romance: Genre Fiction," at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Atlas Theatre.

Here's some bio info:

W. Michael Gear, who holds a master's degree in archaeology with a specialty in physical anthropology, has worked as a professional archaeologist/anthropologist since 1978. He is currently principal investigator for Wind River Archaeological Consultants. With his wife, Kathleen O'Neal Gear, he has written the international and USA Today bestselling North America's Forgotten Past Series and Anasazi Mystery Series. Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a former state historian and archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has twice received the federal government's Special Achievement Award for "outstanding management" of our nation's cultural heritage.

Check out their web site at http://www.gear-gear.com.

Write like Will Rogers

From a Will Rogers Writers' Conference press release:

Entries are being received for the 2007 Will Rogers Writing Contest.

Sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the contest is open to writers everywhere who are interested in the writings of Will Rogers.

Authors of entries that best reflect the Rogers' style of writing will be awarded cash prizes. The first place winner will receive an award of $200. The prize for second place is $100 and third place, $50.

An entry consists of an essay of 500 to 750 words (maximum) written in the style of Will Rogers. Detailed rules and information may be found at the NSNC Web site or at www.willrogersok.org (click on What's New? and scroll down to the September 2007 newsletter). The deadline for receipt of entries is October 1.

PQBP on stage at UW Sept. 20

On Thursday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m., the Thursday Night Garden Party presents the jazz duo of Peter Queal and Bill Plummer, Wyoming Union Gardens, at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The concert is free and open to the public. Both musicians are members of the Wyoming Arts Council artists' roster. Go here for more info.

Quilters' work displayed at State Museum

From a Wyoming State Museum press release:

“Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters,” a temporary exhibit on display at the Wyoming State Museum, is a dazzling survey of some of the most innovative quilt work currently produced. The exhibition is on display Sept. 10-Oct. 5.

Many of these contemporary quilt artists, including Cheyenne’s own Do Palma, incorporate highly unconventional materials in their work, such as paint, paper, beads, metal and wood. Today’s art quilts show a wide range of creativity that melds ideas of home and hearth with cutting-edge technologies of the digital age.

Juror Robert Shaw, author of “The Art Quilt,” has selected 40 new works for this exhibition from members of the Front Range Contemporary Quilters, one of the oldest art quilt guides in the United States.

Front Range Contemporary Quilters is made up of artists, both men and women, from Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Kansas, and has sponsored annual juried exhibitions since its inception in 1988.

The members of Front Range Contemporary Quilters share a common interest not only in the art of quilting, but also in a prevailing theme surrounding the elements themselves. Weather, water fluctuations, wildfires, and expanding population, among other challenges, heavily impact the Front Range area. The natural elements—earth, air, fire, and water—intertwine with the locality and geography of the group to provide both poetic and practical subject matter. “Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters” is curated by Lorri Flint and showcases the guild's dedication to promoting innovative quilt making and fiber art.

FMI: Manny Vigil, Wyoming State Museum, 307-777-7025.

Los Llaneros in Pinedale Sept. 28

Los Llaneros (Los Yah-NEH-Ros) will perform at the Pinedale Auditorium on Friday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. This group "brings to the stage the energetic and haunting melodies of the Colombian/Venezuelan Llanos or plains that surround the vast basin of the Orinoco River in South America. The Llanos music evolved from the contact between nomadic Indians and Jesuit settlers five hundred years ago and remains one of Latin America’s best kept secrets."

This is a Pinedale Fine Arts Council season event. Individual tickets are available two weeks prior to the performance. Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $7 for students and are available at Rock Rabbit, Pony Express Photo, The Cowboy Shop, Office Outlets (Big Piney & Pinedale), the Big Piney Library and at the door. For information on purchasing season tickets ($50 adults, $28 students), call 307-367-7322.

2007 Deadwood Jam, September 14 and 15

Catch Blues Traveler, along with Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Cracker, Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band, and others at the The 2007 Deadwood Jam, one of the premier music festivals in the Midwest, accessible to us westerners as well.

Blues Traveler formed in 1983 in New Jersey and has sold more than 10 million records, going platinum numerous times.

Randolph and the Family Band hit the music scene and haven't looked back. They've had numerous hits with their mix of blues, jazz and funk.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show for the Friday, September 14 Blues Traveler show. For a full day on September 15, tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show. A two day pass is $40 in advance. FMI call (800) 838-2855 or (605) 578-7702.

Stage III launches 2007-2008 season

Hocus Pocus by Jack Popplewell -- runs September 7-8, 14-16, 20-22. Two twin brothers, one a country vicar and the other a shady London financier, must trade homes, jobs and girlfriends to avoid financial ruin.

My Three Angels by Sam and Bella Spewack -- runs November 2-3, 9-11, 15-17. A heartwarming comedy about three escaped convicts who use their unique skills to help a hard-pressed family that runs the local general store.

Dancing at Lughnasa By Brian Friel -- runs January (2008) 11-12, 18-20, 24-26. A drama about five unmarried Irish sisters who sustain each other through the challenges of life.

The Voice of the Prairie by John Olive -- runs February (2008) 29- March 1, 7-9, 13-15. A comedy-drama set in the 1920s about the power of storytelling and the mystique of the radio.

Chain of Circumstances by Conrad Sutton Smith -- runs April (2008) 18-19, 25-27, May 1-3. A mystery about rival playwrights guarding their new works to the death.

A Night of One-Acts: Razzle Dazzle by Steph DeFerie and The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang -- runs June 6-7, 13-15, 19-21. Two comedies that will explore a 1940s radio broadcast gone terribly wrong and the terrifying dream of an actor who is thrust into role after role--despite his plea that he's really an accountant.

FMI about Stage III go the http://www.stageiiitheatre.org/

Deadline Sept. 17 for 2008 Blanchan & Doubleday writing competition

Postmark deadline for the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday writing awards is Monday, Sept. 17. Judge for this year's competition is Shaun T. Griffin, a poet and nature writer from Virginia City, Nevada. For a printable application form, go to the WAC web site and scroll down to the link in the "News" section. For more info, call Michael Shay at 307-777-5234.

PBS begins their fourth season of art:21

Contemporary art is the art of today. It is relevant to all audiences, providing teachers and students with a rich resource through which to consider current ideas and rethink the familiar. Contemporary artists work in globally influenced, culturally diverse and technologically dynamic milieus. In the U. S., as elsewhere, contemporary artists reflect a varied and changing landscape of identity, values, and beliefs. The artists featured in the Art:21--Art in the Twenty-First Century series demonstrate the breadth of artistic practice across the country and reveal a wealth of intergenerational and multicultural talent. Their art is a dynamic collection of materials, methods, and subject matters that provoke curiosity, dialogue, and debate. The series presents artists speaking directly to the audience and encourages viewers to find their own innate abilities to engage contemporary art and explore creative thinking and self-expression. Each one-hour program has been loosely organized around a broad category or theme -- Protest, Paradox, Romance or Ecology -- that can help audiences analyze, compare, contrast, and juxtapose the artists profiled.

Premiering Fall, 2007. Check local TV listings for dates and times. FMI go to www.pbs.org/art21 or www.art21.org

Fall Exhibitions at the NIC

Impact Dance -- Friday, September 14, at 7:30 p.m. Also Friday-Saturday, October 19-20 at 7:30 p.m. (This performance coincides with the Wyoming Arts Summit and the Casper College Literary Festival).

Mary Lucier -- gives an artist talk, Saturday, September 15, at 10:30 a.m. Commissioned by the North Dakota Art Museum

Richard Renaldi -- gives an artist talk, Friday September 14, at 6:30 p.m. There will be a catalog for purchase.

The opening reception will be Friday, September 14, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.

Leonard and Ritchie at WWC Art Gallery

Passage, running from August 29 -September 27, at the Western Wyoming College Art Gallery in Rock Springs, Kate Leonard and Mark Ritchie featuring monotypes and monoprints.

Casper College's 2007-2008 Performance season

Thoroughly Modern Millie -- October 12-13, 16-20, 23-27 -- Directed by guest artist Kurt Stamm, on the McMurry Mainstage

Inspecting Carol -- December 6-8, 11-15, on the McMurry mainstage

Galileo -- February 29, March 1, 4-8, on the McMurry mainstage

Contemporary Dance concert -- March 28-29, 1-5, 2008 in the Scifers Dance Performance Theatre

Fahrenheit 451 -- May 2-3, 6-10 in the Black Box Theatre

Martin Stupich available for interviews at UW

Portrait of a Place­—Wyoming’s Red Desert, photographs by Martin Stupich is on view at the University of Wyoming Art Museum. Stupich will be in Laramie on September 14th. He will be available for interviews after 4 p.m. that day. He will answer questions about the photographs in his exhibition and promote the upcoming symposium, The Red Desert: Among Dead Volcanoes and Living Dunes, A Public Conversation on the Value of Place, which is scheduled for September 28-29 at the museum.
Stupich will be attending the opening reception for new exhibitions on Friday, September 14th from 6-8 p.m. For more information or to schedule an interview with Stupich, please contact Mollie Hand Steinke at 307-766-6841 or mhand4@uwyo.edu.

Gambling in Wyoming nixed a long time ago

The Wyoming State Museum lecture series continues with “Women, Churches and the Battle over Gambling in Harry Hynds’ Wyoming,” a discussion by Dr. William Moore, September 13, at 7 p.m., in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Historians have generally downplayed the influence of churches and religion in early Wyoming. While debating extensively the origins of women’s suffrage in Wyoming, historians have paid scant attention to any consequences that were the result of the enfranchisement of women.
Dr. Moore, a professor of History at the University of Wyoming, argues that the frenzied debate over gambling in early 20th century Wyoming reflects the power of both women and organized religion. In 1901, by emphasizing the power of Cheyenne gambling entrepreneur Harry Hynds, Protestant ministers in the state mobilized women voters and forced traditional male politicians to enact the McGill Anti-Gambling Act. More than a century later, that statute still sets forth the state’s basic policy toward gambling.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne. For more information about this and other State Museum programs, please call 777-7021.

Art classes at UW offer A-plus instruction

Art classes will commence in September at the University of Wyoming Art Museum. The Shelton Art Studio offers classes for students of all ages, from preschool to adult.

Portrait of a Place – Our Evolving Landscape will give children from PreK to grade 6 a chance to explore the "neighborhood" of the art museum to create a small book or journal of their responses to the changes they see happening – those created by man and by nature.

PreK – Kindergarten classes meet on Thursdays, 3:30-4:30, September 6, 13, 20 and 27. Grades 1, 2 and 3 assemble on Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30, September 4, 11, 18 and 25. Artists in grades 4, 5 and 6 will learn on Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30, September 5, 12, 19 and 26. The four September classes are $25. Different themes for these classes are scheduled for October and November.

Students ages 10-14 can join the Advanced Studio Classes on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Using a wide variety of media, including photography, drawing, writing, and printmaking, students will have a chance to create a book or books that reflect their view of the world around them.

Painting Our Favorite Places is the theme for the Monday Night Classes. This class is for anyone who loves to paint or who would like to learn how to paint. The Monday Night Classes take place from 7-9 p.m. September 10 through November 26. Four classes are $50, with a “drop in” rate of $15 per class. Scholarships are available for each of these classes. All classes take place in the Shelton Art Studio. For information or to register for classes, contact Wendy Bredehoft, Education Curator, at (307)766-3496 or wbredeho@uwyo.edu.

What would Dorothea Lange do?

She'd apply for an American Masterpieces "New Deal" grant. This Wyoming Arts Council program provides funds for projects that celebrate American New Deal era artists and their work. Click here to start a new application.

Dorothea Lange was a photographer best known for her work during the 1930s for the Farm Security Administration. She was a trailblazer in documentary photography.

Writing workshop Nov. 10 in Cheyenne

Fort Collins, Colo., writer Teresa R. Funke is offering her six-hour writing workshop, “That Book Inside You: How to Write it, Publish it, Sell it,” on Saturday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Nagle Warren Mansion Bed & Breakfast, 222 East 17th Street, Cheyenne. Cost is $175 and includes lunch plus Teresa’s “That Book Inside You” workbook. Register at the Northern Colorado Writers Association web site at http://www.ncwc.biz/.