Sculpture Documentary to air on WY PBS

Patrick Dougherty's site-specific sculpture, Shortcut, is one of 18 sculptures included in the exhibition Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. The exhibition, and Dougherty, were highlighted in a documentary by UWTV that will air in September on Wyoming PBS.

Photo courtesy of the Art Museum.

A documentary by UWTV, Imagine Learning from the Masters: Public Art and Community Partnership will air on Wyoming PBS on Sunday, Spetember 13 at 5:30 pm. The film, narrated and filmed by UWTV's Mary Jung, features interviews with several of the artists who contributed work to the exhibition, Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. In addition to hearing from artists such as James Surls, Patrick Dougherty and John Henry, the documentary includes comments from UW and city administrators.

Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational was organized by the UW Art Museum in the summer of 2008, during a time when the Museum's galleries were closed for renovation. The exhibition has sparked an over-year-long discussion on public art and continues to receive enthusiastic responses. A public art symposium was held in April, during which time the documentary was first shown.


Be sure to tune in Sunday night, September 13 to hear insider stories about the installation process, artists' motivations and a discussion on the positive aspects of having public art in Laramie.

20:20 - A New Program to be Held at "Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection"

Open Book, by sculptor Charmaine Locke, stands outside the Albany County Public Library in Laramie. Locke will be presenting at the UW Art Museum symposium, "Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection."

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum

20:20 is a new program in conjunction with the Wyoming Arts Council and University of Wyoming Art Museum symposium, Public Art and Community, Inspiration and Reflection. Scheduled for Thursday evening, April 2 at 10:00 pm, it follows the opening reception and Art Slam with artists Jesús Moroles, Ursula von Rydingsvard and John Henry. 20:20 is a fast-paced presentation format whereby presenters are allotted 20 images (either in slide format or a PowerPoint), which are shown for 20 seconds each. The total presentation time is therefore only 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Advance sign-up is required and offered on a first come, first served basis. Presentations by individual artists, community organizations, art groups and educators are welcome. 20:20 is an opportunity to share new work and new ideas from across the state and the region. It’s a chance for communities, groups and artists to show their work and share their accomplishments!

The Art Slam and 20:20 are free and open to the public. Anyone who signs up to participate in 20:20 will also be invited to the opening reception at the Art Museum.

The format of 20:20 is borrowed from a program that was first developed in Japan by two architects who were looking for a new way to present design ideas in an upbeat and exciting way. Events like 20:20 now occur internationally as specially organized evening events where the focus is on sharing information and community participation.

For more information on 20:20, or to sign up, please contact Rachel Miller at 307.766.6621 or rmiller@uwyo.edu.

Professional Development Opportunity for UW Students

UW Art Museum interns Jed Cracco (left), Kara Peterson (center) and Jamie Fritz (right) help with the installation of Charles Parson's sculpture Molto Allargando in Prexy's Pasture this past summer.

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum

The Office of the President and the UW Foundation have supplied funding for 50 students to attend the UW Art Museum Symposium “Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection,” April 2-4. Students will have the opportunity to hear presentations from state legislators, internationally recognized artists and distinguished UW professors. Lunch on both days, and invitations to the opening and closing receptions are included. This opportunity is open to students of any class level and from any college, but may be of particular interest to students in American Studies, the Arts, Public Policy, Public Administration, Law, Education, Philosophy, Creative Writing, Business and Engineering.

Students must attend symposium sessions on Friday and Saturday. Interested students should submit their name, college and class level, email and phone number, and a 50-100 word statement that answers the question, “How would attending this event contribute to your professional goals?” Submissions and inquiries can be emailed to Rachel Miller at rmiller@uwyo.edu. The deadline for submissions is noon on Monday, March 30.

For more information on the symposium, please visit www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or call 307-766-6621.

Symposium Round Table Topics/Schedule Announced

The Wyoming Arts Council and the UW Art Museum have announced the following schedule for roundtable discussions at the public art symposium. Please note that sign-up is required for the afternoon and evening round tables. On Friday, the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF)will also have a round table set up during the lunch hour. On Friday and Saturday during lunch, the UW Art Museum Education Department will host a round table for educators.

Friday, April 3, 7 a.m., Coal Creek Coffee adjacent to the Hilton Garden Inn
*No sign-up required*

Topics: General discussion of Wyoming Arts Council programs for individual artists
Staff present: Mike Shay and Rita Basom

Friday, April 3, noon, Hilton Garden Inn luncheon round table
*Lunch is part of registration fee, but you will need to sign-up at the registration table for this round table.*

Topics (and moderator):
1. Folk Arts and Visual Arts (Annie Hatch)
2. Fellowship application/guidelines and AIR (Mike Shay)
3. Artist Roster (Marirose Morris)
4. Individual Artist Professional Development (IAPD) grants (Rita Basom)
5. Art in Public Buildings (APB) and Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibit (Ann Larson)
6. Individual Artists’ Survey (Randy Oestman)
7. Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) programs (Anthony Radich)
8. Learning from the Masters: A Close Look at a Successful After School Enrichment Pilot Project (Brendan Magone, UWAM Lead Teacher, Camellia El-Antably)

Friday, April 3, 5:30 p.m. (meet in lobby at 5:15 p.m. for transportation), dinner at Laramie restaurants
*Need to sign up at registration table*

Topics: General discussions
Locations/staff:
Anong's Thai Restaurant/Camellia
Jeffrey’s Bistro/Mike
Hilton Garden Inn Restaurant/Marirose
Corona Village/Rita

Saturday, April 4, 7 a.m., Coal Creek Coffee adjacent to the Hilton Garden Inn
*No sign-up required*

Topics: General discussion of Wyoming Arts Council programs for individual artists
Staff present: Mike Shay and Rita Basom

Saturday, April 4, noon Hilton Garden Inn luncheon round table
*Lunch is part of registration fee, but you will need to sign-up at the registration table for this round table.*

Topics (and moderator):
1. Opportunities for visual artists other than WAC -- WESTAF, NEA, etc. (Marirose)
2. Current economy and impact on artists; stimulus bill and arts impact (Camellia)
3. Future gatherings of visual artists (Rita)
4. Connectivity, newsletter, blog and listservs (Mike)
5. Utilizing Sculpture as Inspiration for Interdisciplinary Studies in the Classroom (Wendy Bredehoft, UWAM Education Curator)

PTSB Professional Development Credit available for Teachers

Steven Siegel, whose site-specific installation
It Goes Under is sited along the Laramie Greenbelt,
is one of ten sculptors in Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational
scheduled to discuss his work during
Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection
Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Wyoming's K-12 teachers will be able to attend Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection for PTSB credit. In addition to the more than 30 presenters who are scheduled for the symposium, round-table sessions for teachers are scheduled over the lunch hours on Friday and Saturday. Conversations will focus on ways to utilize art and other original resources as inspiration for teaching and learning, based on the Art Museum's model of observe, question, explore, create, and reflect.

Participating teachers will develop ideas on how they can use original art in their own communities to achieve teaching and learning across disciplines and meet academic standards. They will also begin to build a resource portfolio of ideas that can be implemented when they return to their classrooms.

For more information, contact Wendy Bredehoft, education curator, at 307-766-3496 or wbredeho@uwyo.edu.

For symposium information, registration form, and schedule of presenters, click here.

For information on Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational, visit the Art Museum webpage.

Student Fees to Attend Public Art Symposium Reduced

In an effort to encourage students to attend the symposium, Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection, rates have been reduced to:

$25/single day (includes lunch and opening or closing reception)
$40/both days (includes 2 lunches and both receptions)

This is a great rate for students to meet artists of national and international prominence, learn about public art programs and how they work, gain insight on issues of public policy and copyright, and be involved in a great event with colleagues and art world professionals.

If you need a registration form, visit the UW Art Museum webpage or if you have questions, please call Rachel Miller, interim assistant curator, at 307-766-6621. You may also email her at rmiller@uwyo.edu.

Early Bird Rates End March 15 for Arts Symposium and Laramie Hotel Rooms

The early registration deadline is March 15 for the Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection symposium April 2-4 at the UW Conference Center in Laramie. Register by Sunday, March 15, to receive the $100 rate, which includes the full conference, opening and closing receptions and two lunches. NEW! Registrations postmarked on Monday March 16 will be considered advance registrations for the reduce rate!

Registrants should keep in mind that a block of $99/night hotel rooms are available only through March 15. Lodging in Laramie that weekend will be at a premium as 12,000 Elton John fans hit town for his April 3 benefit concert.  

For information or downloadable registration forms for this exciting symposium, please visit the UW Art Museum web page at or the Wyoming Arts Council web site. The Art Museum and WAC are co-sponsors of the event.

Wyoming visual artists! This is your first opportunity since the WAC’s ARTSPEAK conferences to gather together with fellow artists from around the state. You are invited to attend a series of roundtable discussions with WAC staffers on Friday and Saturday to discuss the agency’s programs for individual artists. Stick around for the closing reception at 5 p.m. Saturday when the WAC will award its 2009 visual arts fellowships. Meet this year’s fellowship jurors Greg Esser, Gina Ruggeri and Lawrence Argent.

Conference attendees will have a chance to hear inspiring talks by renowned artists such as Texas’s Jesus Moroles, winner of a 2008 National Medal of Arts; Lawrence Argent, creator of the “Big Blue Bear” sculpture at the Colorado Convention Center which has become the most photographed site in downtown Denver; Charmaine Locke, whose six-foot-tall multi-armed “Open Book” bronze now greets Laramie’s library patrons; and Ursula Von Rydingsvard, a New York-based monumental sculptor whose work was influenced by a childhood in World War II Germany and post-war refugee camps.

Three artists featured in Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational--Moroles, von Rydingsvard and Tennessee sculptor John Henry--will stage an “Art Slam” at 7:30 p.m. on the symposium’s opening night on April 2.

UW’s Jeff Lockwood brings a philosophical and scientific slant to sculpture during a 9:20 a.m. talk on April 3. At 1:40 p.m. on April 4, UW Music Professor Rod Garnett will perform a musical interpretation of UW’s year-long Sculpture Invitational. Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal speaks later that afternoon (4:20 p.m.) about her involvement in the arts. 

Symposium Schedule Announced

The University of Wyoming Art Museum, in partnership with the Wyoming Arts Council, is pleased to announce the schedule of speakers and topics for the forthcoming symposium, Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection.

For the symposium schedule, click here.

Hotel blocks and early bird registration ends on March 15 (postmark for registration).

For registration forms, click here.

To visit the UW Art Museum webpage, click here.

Public Art Symposium Registration Now Open

Jesus Moroles, Granite Windows, Prexie's Pasture, 2009

The University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Arts Council are pleased to announce that registration for the forthcoming symposium, Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection is now open. To download information and the registration form, click here.

To see the press release on Public Art and Communities: Inspiration adn Reflection, click here.

Sculpture Symposium Fees and Accommodation Information

Public Art and Community: Inspiration and Reflection
A 2-1/2 day symposium for artists, community leaders, students, and the public
UW Conference Center, Laramie, WY
April 2 - 4, 2009

REGISTRATION FEES

Advance Registration (postmark March 15, 2009)

Full Conference
(includes opening and closing receptions and two lunches)
$100

One Day
(includes opening OR closing reception and lunch)
$60

Regular Registration (postmark after March 15, 2009 and on-site)

Full Conference
(includes opening and closing receptions and two lunches)
$125

One Day
(includes opening OR closing reception and lunch)
$75

Student Registration (copy of photo ID required)

Full Conference
(includes opening and closing receptions and two lunches)
$50

One day
(includes opening OR closing reception and lunch)
$30

TO REGISTER, DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM, COMPLETE, AND SEND WITH PAYMENT (CHECKS SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO THE UW ART MUSEUM) TO:

Public Art Symposium
c/0 Wyoming Arts Council
2320 Capitol Ave
Cheyenne, WY 82002
PH: 307-777-7742
FAX: 307-777-5499

Note: Registration Forms will posted to this blog by Friday, Feb. 13, 2009

ACCOMMODATIONS

Hilton Garden Inn
2229, Grand Ave, Laramie, WY 82072
$99 +tax/night; includes hot breakfast in the American Grill Restaurant
307-745-5500; request Sculpture Symposium Room Block
Reserve by March 3, 2009

AmericInn Lodge and Suites
4712 E Grand Ave, Laramie, WY 82070
$84 +tax/night; includes hot breakfast
307-745-0777; request Sculpture Symposium Room Block
Reserve by March 3, 2009

Baymont Inn
1655 Centennial Drive, Laramie, WY 82070
$70 +tax/night
Reserve by March 10, 2009
307-742-6665; request Sculpture Symposium Room Block

See previous posting for information on the Symposium Schedule.

Moroles on location to complete Granite Windows

Jesus Moroles, assisted by Art Museum Chief Preparator Sterling Smith, works on assembling Granite Windows Tuesday on Prexy's Pasture. Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

Texas artists Jesus Moroles returned to the University of Wyoming campus today to assemble his new work, Granite Windows, for Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational which has been organized by the University of Wyoming.

Charles Parson's Molto Allargando completed on Prexy's Pasture

Molto Allargando by Charles Parson on Prexy's Pasture, University of Wyoming. Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

With sod work complete, Molto Allargando by Charles Parson now rises magestically from Prexy's Pasture on the campus of the University of Wyoming. The first of five works that will be placed in this newly renovated center of campus, it is the first of 16 works placed outside the museum that will comprise Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational.

Public programs planned with the exhibition include:
July, day TBD
Public Art Talk by Patrick Dougherty

Sept. 12, 4 - 5:30pm
Public Opening Celebration, Prexy's Pasture

Apr. 4-5, 2009
Public Art and Communities: Impact and Inspiration (working title)
UW Conference Center
A two-day symposium with artists in Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational and more that 20 additional presenters who will discuss the impact and important of public art in our communities and on our campuses.

Press release for Charles Parson, click here.

For complete information, www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum.