Travis Ivey, Hollyhock Haven, work in progress

Photo courtesy UW Art Museum

The third mural for the Laramie Mural Project is well underway and expected to be complete in the next two weeks.  Travis Ivey's Hollyhock Haven is located on Custer between 1st and 2nd Streets.  It was the subject of a front page article in the Laramie Boomerang today. 

Smithsonian Museum Day is this Saturday

This Saturday, September 24, the UW Art Museum will be participating in Museum Day. This annual event is sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine and provides free entrance to many participating museums.

While admission to the UW Art Museum is always free, it's a great way to follow in the spirit of the Smithsonian Institution's free admission policy and to encourage museum visitation!

If you're going to be in Laramie this weekend, be sure to join us in celebrating museums and visit the UW Art Museum on Saturday either before or after the big football game!

If you're planning on visiting a different museum, a list of those participating in Museum Day can be found on Smithsonian Magazine's website, which also has the free printable tickets you'll need for entrance into those museums that normally do charge an admission fee.

Opportunity for Artists and Arts Professionals

The Porland 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 pm.  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.

First Sessions of Faculty Teaching Institute This Week

Margaret Cogswell (l) shares new work with education

curator Wendy Bredehoft (r)

Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Margaret Cogswell is in the Art Museum this week to further her research for her solo exhibition scheduled at the museum in the fall 2012 and to be part of the first sessions of the new Faculty Teaching Institute organized by Wendy Bredehoft, the museum's education curator.

Cogswell has been in residence the last three weeks at Ucross.  She shared her work with Bredehoft and the museum's director and chief curator, Susan Moldenhauer, today and conversations ensued about the logistics of her forthcoming exhibition.  Wyoming River Fugues will synthesize her research in publications, video, audio, interviews, drawings, and video stills into a site specific installation in the museum's galleries. 

The Faculty Teaching Institute is a yearlong program for UW faculty who are interested in integrating the original resource materials in the Art Museum into their curriculum.  Cogswell will participate in the first sessions this week and will return in the spring to continue the dialogue and planning.  Faculty will be part of a symposium in October 2012 where they will present their findings and experience in the Institute.

Cogswell's exhibition is funded in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.  The Faculty Teaching Institute is funded by the Colonel Rogers Excellence Fund at the University of Wyoming.

Extended Monday Hours Begin Tonight

Starting tonight the Art Museum will have extended hours until 9 pm on Mondays. With all new exhibitions open, it's a perfect time to take advantage of later hours! The extended hours will continue through the end of the fall semester.

If you're a student using one of the exhibitions in a class project, this is a great time to finish up some research! Or, if you can't get to the Art Museum in the evenings because you're at work, Monday nights make it easy for you to come see what's on view!

For more information or to help plan a visit to the Art Museum, visit our website or call 307.766.6622.

Travis Ivey begins third mural for the Laramie Mural Project

Travis Ivey, Hollyhock Haven, artist's sketch

Courtesy of the artist

 Travis Ivey preparing wall for Hollyhock Haven mural

Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Preliminary sketching out of Hollyhock Haven

Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

This week, Laramie artist Travis Ivey started work on the third mural for the Laramie Mural Project.  Hollyhock Haven is located on Custer between First and Second.  Travis will be on site over the coming weeks to complete the mural.

The Laramie Mural Project is a partnership between the Laramie Main Street Associates and the University of Wyoming Art Museum.  It is funded by the Guthrie Family Foundation, the Wyoming Arts Council, the Laramie Beautification Committee, and the City of Laramie.  Our thanks to Vince Arbour for contributing the wall for Hollyhock Haven.

Margo Grant Walsh conducts Gallery Walkthrough of her collection exhibition

Margo Grant Walsh (center)

Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Art Museum board members, docents, faculty, and students enjoy the Gallery Walk Through with 20th century silver collector, Margo Grant Walsh.  Walsh's collection, Silver & Metalwork from the 20th Century: The Margo Grant Walsh Collection, is on view in the Art Museum through mid-November and features 20th century silver from North America, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Europe.  Walsh was in the museum for the official opening of the exhibition.

Silver & Metalwork from the 20th Century: The Margo Grant Walsh Collection was funded in part by Roy and Caryl Cline, FMC Corporation, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum, and Wyoming Public Radio.

Talal Cockar and Meghan Meier nearing completion on Laramie Mural Project mural

 Artist Talal Cockar shares his design for the mural at the
Big Hollow Food Co-op with UW Art Museum National
Advisory Board President Ruth Arnold
Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Lainie McElwee (l) with mural artist Talal Cockar (r)
Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Talal Cockar's mural, Tierra y Libertad, at Big Hollow Food Co-op nears completion.  Tala was on site today but took a few minutes out of his work to discuss the mural project with the President of the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum, Ruth Arnold and to pose for pictures.  The mural is scheduled for completion by the end of September.

Meghan Meier, Grainery Grove
Courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Just a few steps away in the alleyway by Whole Earth Grainery is Meghan Meier's Grainery Grove.  Finishing touches of silver detailing on the trees in her composition add sparkle to her colorful and upbeat work.

The Laramie Mural Project is an extension of the University of Wyoming Art Museum's exhibition of public art, Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational.  Organized in partnership between Laramie Main Street Alliance and the UW Art Museum, the project is funded by the Patricia Guthrie Family Foundation, the Wyoming Arts Council, Laramie Beautification Committee, and the City of Laramie.

UW Art Museum National Advisory Board tours new Art Department facility

 From left: Richard Walje, Kathryn Boswell, Jacque 

Buchanan, Caryl Cline, Ruth Arnold, Tom Davidson, 

Margo (?), unidentified, Al Simpson, Ann Simpson

 Ricki Klages (l), art department head, touring Art Museum 

National Advisory Board and guests

 

From left: Caryl Cline, Margo (?), Ann Simpson, Ricki Klages

Merl Haworth

The University of Wyoming Visual Arts Center is under construction on a site adjacent to the Art Museum.    During its fall meeting, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum toured the facility with the Art Department head, Ricki Klages, and with Merl Haworth, Facilities Planning.  The facility is on schedule for a completion in December 2011.  Spring semester classes will be taught in the new facility.

Convergence Conference planned in Cody

 
Wyoming’s culture is unique, but are we leveraging this culture to help build prosperous communities?
The Convergence Conference brings together Wyoming’s Creative, Cultural and Historical Resources to take a look at Wyoming’s cultural heritage for the visitor, increase cooperative planning across communities and unite under common goals. Interactive sessions and cultural tours will allow attendees to share resources, learn from successful cultural projects and generate partnerships that will improve statewide cultural outreach. Register today and join with other representatives from the arts, humanities, libraries, historic preservation, education and business sectors to strengthen and leverage Wyoming’s unique cultural heritage and creative economy.

Early registration is now open for the Convergence Conference in Cody, WY!  Go to the website for information, schedule, and hotel accommodations.  The Wyoming Arts Council is also offering travel stipends for arts and cultural groups and for individual artists.  For more information, contact the arts council at 307.777.7742.

Art Talk: Margo Grant Walsh, tonight at the Art Museum

Pampaloni, Pitcher, 1970s-1980s, sterling silver, Florence, Italy, 10 x 6 ¼ x 4 inches, N0027N0027, courtesy of Margo Grant Walsh

Collector Margo Grant Walsh will present a public Art Talk tonight at 7 pm at the Art Museum. A selection from Grant Walsh's collection of silver is currently on view in the exhibition, Silver & Metalwork of the 20th Century. The exhibition presents over 200 items from her unique collection that emphasizes design and functionality.

The Art Talk tonight will give an overview of silver and Grant Walsh will also discuss how and why she collects. Tomorrow, she will give a more informal Gallery Walk Through at 4:30 pm and discuss the specific work on view.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information please call 307.766.6622.

Art Museum Annual Gala Scheduled for Nov. 5!

The annual Art Museum Gala is scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2011!  To be sure you are on the invitation list, please contact Bev in the Art Museum office, 307-766-3477. 

Art Museum Closed Monday for Labor Day

The Art Museum will be closed on Monday, September 5 for Labor Day, but there will be plenty of other activities later in the week! We will be open on Saturday, when a new exhibition, Talismans of Protection from Choson Korea: Antique Locks, Latches, and Key Charms opens.

Next week we will be holding two public programs with silver collector Margo Grant Walsh. On Thursday evening, September 8 at 7 pm she will present an Art Talk. On Friday, September 9 at 4:30 pm she will host a more informal Gallery Walk Through. Both events are free and open to the public.

On Friday, September 9 from 6-8 pm we will celebrate the opening of all of our new fall exhibitions with a free opening reception.

If you have any questions about public programs or exhibitions, you can visit our webpage or call 307.766.6622.

New Exhibition of Korean Antique Metalwork Opens Saturday

Peony Patterned Lock, Late Chosŏn, lock; nickel, 3 x 5 x 1-3/4 inches, key; iron, 6-1/2 x 1-3/4 x 3/8 inches, courtesy of The Korea Society and The Lock Museum

A new exhibition of rare antique locks, latches, and key charms from Korea opens Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Art Museum.

Talismans of Protections from Chosŏn Korea: Antique Lock, Latches, and Key Charms presents objects that are richly symbolic and exquisitely decorative examples of traditional Korean aesthetic and craft traditions.

The Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910) was the longest and last imperial dynasty in Korea. This rare collection includes metal and wood objects in the forms of dragons, turtles, butterflies, fish, bats and swallows. Although the objects had functional purposes, the beauty of their design underscores the symbolic nature of the protections they afforded.

The exhibition is on loan from the Lock Museum in Seoul, Korea and organized for national tour by The Korea Society, New York.

A free opening reception to celebrate this and other new fall exhibitions will be at the Art Museum Friday, Sept. 9, from 6-8 p.m. For more information about this or any other upcoming exhibitions, please visit the Art Museum webpage or call 307.766.6622.