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The mission of Ucross Foundation is to foster the creative spirit of deeply committed artists and groups by providing uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains while serving as a responsible steward of its historic 20,000-acre ranch.
The vast spaciousness of our Wyoming location has a powerful and life-changing impact on artists, writers, composers, choreographers, and collaborative groups. Situated in northeast Wyoming at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Ucross was established by Raymond Plank in 1981. The residency program opened in 1983. For more than thirty-five years, Ucross has been giving space and time to artists who come from all disciplines, including literature, visual arts, music, choreography, film, performance, and multidisciplinary art. In our complex of private studios and residences, visiting artists build a small, intense community hard at work in the midst of 20,000 acres of Wyoming ranchland. Ucross is set on a working ranch at the confluence of three creeks, and its purpose is to bring deeply committed artists into the heart of an unparalleled landscape. We believe that being a responsible steward of the land closely resembles being a good artist, and vice versa—both require dedication, imagination, and the best possible use of the resources at hand. In addition to supporting the work of individual artists, Ucross is a meeting and working place for groups, a multi-disciplinary laboratory for creative thinking. We sponsor and host educational programs, conferences, and special events at our public art gallery, which is a cultural landmark in northern Wyoming. UCROSS UNINTERRUPTED
Ucross kicked off spring with a special evening at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The festivities featured a powerful poetry reading by M.L. Smoker, the Spring 2022 recipient of the Ucross Native American Fellowship for Writers.
Before the reading, Wheelwright Chief Curator Andrea Hanley, a Ucross National Advisory Councilmember, gave an after-hours museum tour, and Wheelwright Director Jean Higgins provided welcoming remarks. Then, Ucross Board Chair Jim Nelson presented a traditional gift to honor, a Pendleton blanket, to former Ucross President Sharon Dynak, who retired in April. For more Ucross videos, visit our YouTube page. EVENTS
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ALUMNI NEWS
RECENT PRESSPASATIEMPO
Nourishing the Creative Spirit [LINK] WYOFILE Nourishment and Knife Skills: Cooking for Artists on a Wyo Ranch [LINK] THE NEW YORK TIMES Artists and the Food That Inspires Them [LINK] WYOMING PUBLIC RADIO Ucross is set to change leadership this spring [LINK] Ucross chef shares her recipes [LINK] THE SHERIDAN PRESS Ucross to receive $100,000 grant through National Endowment for the Arts [LINK] BROADWAY WORLD New Ucross Native American Art Curator Project Gets $47,000 from Warhol Foundation [LINK] CASPER STAR TRIBUNE Head of Ucross, artist community in northern Wyoming, to retire in April [LINK] |
UCROSS FOUNDATION
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Ucross Foundation acknowledges with respect that it is situated on the aboriginal land of several Indigenous communities, including the Cheyenne, Crow, and Lakota nations. Indigenous people continue to live in this area and practice their teachings and lifeways. Today, this region remains an important place for many Indigenous peoples. As a Wyoming institution, we recognize and respect this historical context and are working to build reciprocal relationships with the Native nations on whose lands we are situated. In partial fulfillment of that commitment, Ucross established Fellowships for Native American Visual Artists in 2017 and Native American Writers in 2020. |
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Photo credits: Board and staff photos courtesy of William Coupon; additional website images courtesy of Martirene Alcantara, Trine Bumiller, Jennifer Garza-Cuen, Bill Megalos, and Neerja Kothari: video on homepage courtesy of Bill Megalos.