Final Week to See "Laramie: A Gem City Atlas" Exhibition

Paula A. Wright, Alex Borgen, Shizue Seigel, Ben Pease, Quarries and Climbing, 2011, ink on paper, 22 x 34 inches, courtesy of the artist

This is the final week to view the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas at the Art Museum. The exhibition has been receiving a lot of positive feedback from museum visitors and the media. It features maps created by students in the UW MFA in Creative Writing Program who worked with Eminent Writer in Residence Rebecca Solnit to rethink how they view Laramie. The project was then opened up to the community to get their ideas and input of how they think of the town and the surrounding area. For several of the maps, local artists created original artwork in response to the maps, and that artwork is also on view.

The final day to see the exhibition is this Saturday, June 18. The Art Museum is open this week Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm and admission is free. Don't miss this exhibition and be sure to tell us what you think! For more information, call 307.766.6622.

Exhibition Featured in High Country News

LuLing Osofsky, Paulius Staniunas, Shizue Seigel, Wild Wild East, 2011, ink on paper, 22 x 34 inches, courtesy of the artist

The exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas, has been featured in an article in High Country News! You can read it online here. The article highlights some of the maps that are on view and discusses the process behind the project, as well as viewers' perspectives. A side bar has additional images, as well as audio clips from the cell phone audio tour that was recorded by each student who created a map for project. The cell phone audio tour is available for listening at the museum and is a free feature.

The exhibition will be on view at the Art Museum through Saturday, June 18. For more information about this or any other exhibition, please call 307.766.6622.

Cell Phone Audio Tour for, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas

Interested in learning more about the maps on view in the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas? The latest cell phone audio tour features prompts recorded by the creators of the maps. The students who first began working with Rebecca Solnit early in the semester when she was an Eminent Writer in Residence through the MFA in Creative Writing Program also wrote essays about the subject or subjects of their maps. A condensed explanation about the maps can be heard in their own voice, simply by dialing a local 307 area code number from your cell phone. These quick synopses are a great way to learn more about their creative process, the subject of the map, and maybe learn a little bit more about Laramie!

The complete essays are also available for public reading in the gallery. A specially created case holds all of the students' essays. These two unique opportunities really allow museum visitors to delve into the exhibition, whether it's through listening, looking, or reading!

Laramie: A Gem City Atlas Reception on Monday

Paula A. Wright, Alex Borgen, Shizue Seigel, Ben Pease, Quarries and Climbing, 2011, ink on paper, 22 x 34 inches, courtesy of the MFA in Creative Writing Program.

A reception sponsored by the MFA in Creative Writing Program for the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas, will be held on Monday, May 2, from 5-7 pm at the Art Museum. Readings by some of the students who have maps in the exhibition will begin at 5:15. The exhibition features 16 maps and accompanying artwork that examine the various ways in which Laramie and the surrounding area can be envisioned. Maps act as a visual representation of goods, services, people, and other factors that make up the community.

The project originated early in the semester with the UW MFA in Creative Writing Program and Eminent Writer in Residence, Rebecca Solnit. Solnit had completed a similar project in which she re-envisioned and re-mapped San Francisco. For the Laramie project, she worked with students to identify areas of interest that the students could research and map.

This Monday also marks the final Monday night when the Art Museum has extended evening hours until 9 pm. Summer hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. Please join us for the final Monday night at the museum by celebrating Laramie: A Gem City Atlas.

Upcoming Exhibition Featured in the Casper Star Tribune

University of Wyoming art student, Tessa Dallarosa, works on the beginning of a map for the UW project, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas. Courtesy of Christine Peterson and the Casper Star Tribune.

Last month, the Casper Star Tribune featured an article that highlighted some of the beginning steps behind the project, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas. An exhibition by the same name will open on Saturday at the Art Museum, featuring the final products.

A series of maps that re-imagine Laramie and the surrounding area, along with artwork that was made in reaction to the data on the maps, were created by UW students and members of the community. The Casper Star Tribune interviewed some of these students in March, in an article that discusses the backstory of the project, the inspiration, and the process of creating the maps. The article can be read online here, and is an opportunity for museum visitors to learn about the exhibition before it is on view.

For more information about the exhibition, please call the Art Museum at 307.766.6622. The exhibition opens this Saturday, April 30, and the Museum is open 10 am - 5 pm. Admission is free.

New Exhibition Opening This Saturday

LuLing Osofsky, Paulius Staniunas, and Shizue Seigel, Wild Wild East, 2011, ink on paper, 22 x 34 inches, courtesy of the MFA in Creative Writing Program.

Opening this Saturday is the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas, which features 16 maps and associated artwork that offer new insights into how we view and could map Laramie. The project originated with the UW MFA in Creative Writing Program who hosted Eminent Writer in Residence Rebecca Solnit earlier this semester. Solnit, who did a similar project of re-mapping San Francisco, worked with students to generate ideas of how the many factors and facets of Laramie could be translated onto a map. The project was then opened up to members of the community, who also provided maps that were a testament to the varied ways in which Laramie could be viewed.

Many students partnered with local and student artists who provided an artistic interpretation of the data on the maps. The result is 16 very different maps and accompanying art, which outline things from the locations of stray animals or doctors, the influence of Asian culture on Laramie, or the ratio of salons to saloons.

The Art Museum is open on Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm, and admission is free. For more information on this or any other exhibition, please call 307.766.6622.

Art Talk: Rebecca Solnit

Image courtesy of Rebecca Solnit.

An Art Talk by author, cultural historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit will be tonight at the Art Museum beginning at 7 pm. A book signing and reception will follow.

UW Eminent Writer in Residence through the MFA Creative Writing Program, Solnit will discuss her month-long efforts with university students and members of the Laramie community to “remap” the community and its resources. An echo of Solnit’s work on the “Infinite City” project in San Francisco in 2010, the Laramie Atlas Project is a unique opportunity for artist, writers, citizens, and students to rethink—and reimagine—their neighborhoods. Please join Solnit, one of the most original scholars of America and its arts, in this presentation of the Laramie she and her collaborators have mapped so far.

This event is free and open to the public.