​Ucross, WY — March 2, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, is pleased to welcome Ryan Landis as Residency Manager. Landis, an opera singer with a wealth of experience in arts administration, will support the work of Ucross artists in his new role.
 
Landis joins Ucross after a decade and a half working within nonprofit organizations in the arts and higher education, including with the Tuscaloosa Symphony, the Starkville-MSU Symphony, Mississippi State University, and most recently, the Whitney Center for the Arts at Sheridan College, where he was the Performing Arts and Concert Hall Coordinator.
 
“As one of the nation’s preeminent artist residency programs, the experience we provide to our residents is world class,” said Sharon Dynak, Ucross President and Executive Director. “Ryan will help us continue to offer a high-level experience to our resident artists from around the world.”
 
As a performer and assistant director, Landis has worked with the Red River Lyric Opera, Natchez Festival of Music, The Black Hills Playhouse, the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and the University of Alabama Opera Theatre. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Alabama with an emphasis in vocal performance.
 
“I am thrilled to be joining Ucross as the Residency Manager. I have always felt that the creative process needs time and space to truly blossom, and the ability to provide both to the residents at Ucross excites me,” said Landis. “The open and expansive nature of the landscape have captivated my heart and mind, and I know it does the same for the residents.”

Ucross, WY — February 24, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, is pleased to announce the establishment of a new partnership with Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. An annual fellowship will award four weeks of Ucross residency time to accomplished artists and/or scholars in the field of music. This year, the inaugural fellowship will be given to two composers, who will each receive two-week residencies at Ucross: composer and doctoral student, Nicky Sohn, and Assistant Professor of Musicology at Rice University, Danielle Ward-Griffin.
 
Ucross founder Raymond Plank (1922-2018) was a World War II veteran, business leader, and dedicated philanthropist. He founded Apache Corporation, which under his leadership became one of the world’s leading independent oil and gas companies. Recognizing that artists need creative space and time to produce their best work, Plank initiated Ucross Foundation’s first artist residencies in 1983. Since then, more than 2,500 artists have received the gift of time and space at Ucross’ spectacular 20,000-acre working cattle ranch, located in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.
 
These new endowed fellowships in music have been made possible by the vision and generosity of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund, and Deborah and Ed Koehler of Houston.
 
“The Ucross / Rice fellowships are a lasting celebration of Raymond’s legacy, honoring his commitment to Ucross and the importance of connection with nature to inspire artistic creativity and expression,” said Ms. Koehler, Executive Director of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund. “My husband and I are excited to establish this link between two institutions we hold dear and with which we have had long-standing commitment and affiliation.”
 
The Ucross / Rice fellowships will support the creative work of graduate students or faculty from the Shepherd School of Music who are selected to receive a Ucross residency.
 
The new fellowships further enhance Ucross’s reputation as one of the nation’s preeminent artist residency programs, one that provides a generative experience of the contemporary American West for artists from around the world.

Dean Robert Yekovich of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice stated: "Ucross residencies provide much-needed solitude and an escape from one’s day-to-day activities. Artists and scholars thrive in such an environment and often create their best work. The Shepherd School of Music is greatly indebted to the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund and Deb and Ed Koehler for making these new fellowships possible.”
 
From ballet to opera to Korean traditional orchestra, the wide-ranging talents of composer and fellowship recipient Nicky Sohn are sought after across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Sohn has enjoyed commissions from the world's preeminent performing arts institutions, including sold-out performances at the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, The National Orchestra of Korea, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra. She was recently commissioned by the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and her music has been featured at renowned music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Perlman Music Program, Les Ecoles d'Art Americaines de Fontainebleau, Ars Nova with Unsuk Chin and the Seoul Philharmonic, and Chelsea Music Festival with Ken-David Masur. Sohn holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music, and she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Shepherd School of Music with Anthony Brandt.
 
Fellowship recipient Danielle Ward-Griffin is an Assistant Professor of Musicology at Rice University. Her work focuses on how the performance and production of opera have been transformed through new media, and she is currently writing a book on opera on television in the 1950s and 1960s. Ward-Griffin has been published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, the Journal of the Society for American Music, Music & Letters, Cambridge Opera Journal, and Opera Quarterly. She has also contributed chapters to various books on the composer Benjamin Britten. One of her articles, "As Seen on TV: Putting the NBC Opera on Stage," won the 2019 Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson award from the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers. She holds PhD and master's degrees from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University.
 
Commenting on the new Ucross / Rice University fellowships, Sharon Dynak, Ucross President and Executive Director, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome these first Rice Fellows and know their experience at Ucross will be transformative. Our partnership with the Shepherd School of Music will further enhance our programs and open the doors to promising composers, musicians, and scholars from the university.”

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: 2021-22 Marion International Fellowship
 
The Marion International Fellowship is now accepting applications. The deadline for receipt of materials is March 15, 2021. This Fellowship is designed to support an artistic journey through which a creative project is developed, using the resources of the Marion Circle Member Organizations. Selected fellow(s) will demonstrate outstanding achievement and high professional potential in the arts. The Fellowship award is up to $18,000, which may be used for materials, travel expenses, technical or collaborative assistance, and includes a personal stipend up to $5,000. Applicants must be current or former affiliates of one or more of the Marion Circle Member Organizations, in roles such as artistic or professional staff, faculty, fellows, or artists-in-residence.

For more information, and to apply, click here or contact sarah.hamilton@fredonia.edu.

The Marion International Fellowship was created to connect The Circle Members, who have been generously supported by Cathy and Jesse Marion. The Marion Circle Members include: The State University of New York at Fredonia, The Chautauqua Institution, Ucross Foundation, Alley Theatre, The Alberta University of the Arts, Springboard Schools of Egypt. 

Ucross, WY — February 4, 2021 — Today, Ucross announced that it will receive an $11,000 award from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its prestigious artist residency program in northeast Wyoming. Specifically, this grant award will provide support for Latinx writers and artists in residence in 2021. Ucross is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.
 
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support Ucross,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Ucross is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”
 
“Ucross’s mission-driven commitment to artists is made possible through the generosity of our wonderful donors, partners, and grant-makers,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director of Ucross. “We are grateful to The National Endowment for the Arts for this grant award, which provides both a boost of confidence in our programs and the funds to translate vision into action.”
 
Through its Artist Communities program, the NEA is committed to providing assistance to artist communities for projects that encourage and nurture the development of individual artists and foster and inspire their creative processes. Ucross’s 2021 grant award will support its efforts to expand outreach to Latinx writers and visual artists, and it will support residencies for Latinx writers and visual artists. 

Ucross, WY — January 26, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program in northeast Wyoming, is pleased to announce the establishment of two new endowed fellowships with Yale University. The fellowships will provide residencies at Ucross to theatre artists, composers, and musicians from the Yale School of Drama and the Yale School of Music.  

Ucross founder Raymond Plank (1922-2018) was a World War II veteran, business leader, philanthropist, and Yale alumnus. After graduating from Yale with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he formed Apache Corporation, which under his leadership, became one of the world’s leading independent oil and gas companies. Recognizing that artists need creative space and time to produce their best work, Plank established the Ucross Foundation in 1981 and initiated the foundation’s first artist residencies in 1983. Since then, more than 2,500 artists have received the gift of time and space at Ucross’s 20,000-acre working cattle ranch, located in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.  

Made possible by the vision and generosity of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund and Deborah and Ed Koehler of Houston, these endowed fellowships are a lasting celebration of Raymond Plank’s legacy, honoring his dedication to both his alma mater and to Ucross. The fellowships further enhance Ucross’ reputation as one of the nation’s preeminent artist residency programs, one that provides a generative experience of the contemporary American West for artists from around the world.  

“I am deeply honored to continue serving Raymond’s vision and his lifelong commitment to Yale, Ucross, the arts, and nature conservation by establishing these endowed fellowships that will forge even stronger bonds between two of his loves: Yale and Ucross,” said Deborah Koehler, Ucross Trustee and the Executive Director of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund. 

Ucross provides uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains of Wyoming to emerging, mid-career, and established artists in all disciplines. Through its national partnerships and its twice-yearly open call, Ucross has supported a roster of distinguished Yale alumni and faculty members, including Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright; Tony Award winning composer-lyricist Adam Guettel; playwrights Philip Himberg and Josh Wilder; composers Missy Mazzoli, Dylan Mattingly, Sam Adams, and Benjamin Velez; and many others.   

“Ucross’s collaboration with Yale runs deep, from our founder Raymond Plank, to the extraordinarily talented Yale artists and alumni we’ve welcomed to our campus,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director of Ucross. “These endowed funds, and the residencies they support, will provide new ways for Ucross to foster creativity and nurture the work of some of the nation’s most promising artists.” 

The Ucross / Yale fellowships will support the creative work of graduate students or faculty from the Yale School of Drama and the School of Music who are selected to receive a residency at Ucross. Residency periods will range in length from two to four weeks, based on the needs of fellowship recipients. Each fellow will also receive a travel stipend. 

“Nothing would have pleased Raymond Plank more than the inauguration of these endowed fellowships that build a permanent bridge in the arts between Ucross and Yale, two institutions that Raymond loved dearly,” stated Ucross Board Chair Jim Nelson. “Along with our generous donors Deb and Ed Koehler and our entire board and staff, I look forward to welcoming artists from the Yale Schools of Music and Drama to these wide, open spaces bequeathed to us by Raymond.” 

Ucross typically welcomes about 100 artists each year from a variety of creative disciplines and provides meals, accommodations, and uninterrupted time to work and create. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza, Ricky Ian Gordon's operatic adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, and Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop are just a few of the acclaimed works that have been created in part during Ucross residencies. 

Ucross participates in a number of partnerships with national organizations that enhance its ability support outstanding individual artists with residencies. National partners include the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, the Whiting Foundation, the Ford Family Foundation, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, the Alley Theater, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, and others. In 2020, along with the Yale School of Drama and the Yale School of Music, Ucross forged several exciting new partnerships with an array of high-profile creative forces in the United States, including the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program, Cave Canem, and The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles).  

Ucross, WY— January 14, 2021 -- Ucross, a prestigious artist residency program and creative laboratory for the arts in northeast Wyoming, today announced playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as its newest board member. Jacobs-Jenkins, whose work includes Everybody (Signature Theater), Neighbors (Public Theater), An Octoroon (Soho Rep, OBIE Award for Best New Play), Appropriate (Signature Theater, OBIE Award for Best New Play, Outer Critics Circle nominee), Gloria (Vineyard Theater, 2015), and War (Yale Rep, forthcoming), is a former Ucross Fellow.
 
Jacobs-Jenkins joins current board members Jim Nelson, Ucross board chair and former energy executive; attorney Charlie Hart, Ucross board secretary; Deborah Koehler, executive director of the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund; attorney Kim Cannon; Steve Farris, former chairman and CEO of Apache Corporation; Lisa Hatchadoorian, executive director of the Museum of Art | Fort Collins, Colorado; Teri Rueb, Ucross alumna, artist, and professor of Critical Media Practices at the University of Colorado; Jesse Marion, founder of Millennium Seismic Ltd., a Calgary, Alberta-based company, and CEO and President of Integrated Corrosion Companies; author Dorie McCullough Lawson; Susan Miller, arts patron, collector, and former chair of the WYO Theater in Sheridan, WY; Kate Schutt, Ucross alumna, singer, songwriter, and producer living in New York City; and Scott Manning Stevens, director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program at Syracuse University.
 
“First and foremost, Branden is a writer, and we are proud to welcome him and his talents to the Ucross board,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director of Ucross. “As a Ucross Fellow, Branden came to Ucross where we were able to offer him the gift of time and space as he continued to develop his brilliant playwriting voice. As a board member, we know he will represent and support his fellow artists as we continue to build innovative programs for the artist community nationally and beyond.”
 
Jacobs-Jenkins plays have been performed at such venues as Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3, Soho Rep, the Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theater of Louisville, Center Theatre Group, Victory Gardens Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theater, The Matrix Theater, CompanyOne, Theater Bielefeld in Germany, and the HighTide Festival in the UK. He is currently a Residency Five playwright at Signature Theatre and master-artist-in-residence in the Playwriting MFA program of Hunter College, City University of New York. Other honors include a 2016 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the Paula Vogel Award, a Fulbright Arts Grant, a Helen Merrill Award, the Dorothy Strelsin playwriting fellowship, and the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award.
 
He is a Princeton alum from the Class of 2006, holds an M.F.A. in Performance Studies from NYU, and is a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard. In addition, he teaches in The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Fine Arts. He is a Ucross Fellow through its longtime partnership with the Sundance Institute Theatre Program.
 
"My time at Ucross remains one of the most memorable and transformative experiences of my creative life. It's an honor to be invited to return in this capacity,” said Jacobs-Jenkins. “I look forward to working to ensure that the gifts of this place and these wonderful, hardworking people be accessible to as wide a range of talented artists and thinkers as is possible."
 
Located on a 20,000-acre working cattle ranch on the majestic high plains of Wyoming, Ucross welcomes 100 artists from a variety of creative disciplines each year and provides meals, accommodations, and uninterrupted time to work and create. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza, Ricky Ian Gordon's operatic adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, and Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop are just a few of the acclaimed works that have been created in part during Ucross residencies.

Ucross, WY – (January 12, 2021) – Ucross is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition presenting artwork by the 2019 winners of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists. Marking Time: Heidi Brandow + Luzene Hill, 2019 Ucross Native American Fellows opens on January 11, and it will be on view at Ucross through March 26, 2021. Heidi Brandow (Diné/Kanaka Mãoli) lives in Santa Fe and Luzene Hill (Eastern Band of Cherokee) is based in Atlanta. Both were in residence at Ucross in 2019.
 
After being on view at the Ucross Art Gallery, the exhibition will travel to the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, where it will be on view from April 8 through June 27.
 
The multidisciplinary exhibition includes 25 works of art by Brandow and Hill, both distinguished multi-disciplinary artists. Brandow, as described by Suzanne Newman Fricke in the exhibition brochure introduction, is an artist with a background in science “known for her use of whimsical characters, bright colors, and lacquered surface.” Hill’s work in the exhibition includes a series of ink drawings from a series called Now that the Gates of Hell Are Closed, as well as an installation titled Missing that incorporates cochineal dyed silk and beeswax. Missing calls attention to the missing and murdered Indigenous women in the United States and Canada.
 
“It is a great honor to present Heidi and Luzene’s work in this exceptional exhibition, which is the second exhibition to feature winners of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists,” says Ucross President Sharon Dynak.  “We welcome the public to view this visually stunning and powerful work at the Ucross Art Gallery. We are especially grateful to the Yellowstone Art Museum for expanding the exhibition’s reach in our region.”
​
Marking Time is supported in part by the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the National
Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature. The Ucross Foundation Art Gallery is
located a half mile east of the intersection of Highways 14 and 16 East in Ucross. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The gallery will continue to follow current guidelines from the Wyoming Department of Health to ensure the safety of its guests and staff.
 
Brandow is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is commonly filled with whimsical characters and
monsters that are often combined with words of poetry, stories, and personal reflections. Hailing from a long line of Native Hawaiian singers, musicians, and performers on her mother’s side and Diné storytellers and medicine people on her father’s side, she has found that her pursuit of a career in the arts was a natural progression. Primarily a painter, printmaker, and social practice artist, Brandow’s work is centered on the inclusion of Indigenous people, and perspectives in the development of ethical and sustainable methods of creative engagement. Heidi K. Brandow is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, studied Industrial Design at Istanbul Technical University, and is currently a Master of Design Studies in Art, Design, and the Public Domain at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
 
Hill is a multi-media artist, best known for socially engaged conceptual installations and performances.  Her work reflects interdisciplinary scholarship in visual art, women's studies, Native American culture – topics that are integral to her background and personal journey. Through work informed by pre-contact culture of the Americas, Hill advocates for indigenous sovereignty – linguistic, cultural and personal sovereignty.  These concepts form the basis for her installations, performance, drawings, and artist's books. Recent work, employing indigenous matrilineal motifs, asserts female agency and challenges male dictated hierarchies. An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Hill lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Russia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Her awards include the 2019 Ucross Fellowship, the 2016 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellowship in Visual Arts, the 2015 Eiteljorg Museum Fellowship, and 2015 First Peoples Fund Fellowship.  Hill's work is featured in Susan Powers' book, Cherokee Art: Prehistory to Present and in Josh McPhee's book, Celebrate People's History!: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution, and the PBS Documentary, “Native Art NOW!”.
 
Initiated in 2017, the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists supports the work of contemporary Native American artists at all stages of their professional careers. It is open to disciplines that include, but are not limited to, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video, performance art, installation, ceramics, and projects involving multiple disciplines. Two Fellowships are awarded annually, one each in spring and fall. The Fellowship provides up to a one-month residency at Ucross, as well as a stipend of $2,000. Each Fellow is featured in an exhibition at the Ucross Art Gallery during the year following their residency. The next application deadline for the Fellowship is March 1, 2021.

For further information, contact (307) 737-2291, info@ucross.org, or apply online at ucross.org.

Ucross, WY (November 25, 2020) -- Ucross Foundation invites the community to experience “Silent Nights at Ucross,” a month-long opportunity to visit the festively decorated grounds in the Park at Ucross. Thousands of Christmas lights adorn the trees in the Park, which will be lit daily from dusk to dawn from November 27 through January 11.  The Ucross Chapel will also be open daily throughout the holiday season.
 
Powder River Energy Corporation has once again provided volunteer help with the Christmas tree lights. Special touches and additional decorations will be found throughout the grounds and in the Ucross Chapel.
 
Due to public health precautions, a public event will not be held this year. “While it was a difficult decision to forego our annual Ucross Community Christmas Celebration, we have chosen to be abundantly cautious, especially at the holidays,” said Ucross President Sharon Dynak. “We hope the dazzling lights and magical outdoor setting of the Park at Ucross will bring joy and peace to our neighbors, friends and families this holiday season.”  A special Ucross Christmas video, which will include a reading by Craig Johnson, will be created in early December and made available on Ucross social platforms and at ucross.org.
 
In the spirit of holiday giving, Ucross will make donations to Sheridan People Assistant Food Bank in Sheridan and the Bread of Life Food Pantry in Buffalo. This year, in light of the Ucross Native American Fellowship initiatives, donations will also be made to organizations in our region who are working to help Native American families.
 
The Park at Ucross and Ucross Chapel are located at the intersection of Highways 14 and 16 east in Ucross. For further information, visit www.ucross.org or contact (307) 737-2291 or info@ucross.org.  

Ucross, a prestigious artist residency program, and The Blank Theatre, a Los Angeles institution celebrating 30 years of imaginative theater, today announced the newly created Ucross + The Blank Theatre – Future of Playwriting Prize, a one-of-a-kind award for young playwrights nationwide. Ucross and The Blank are partnering to showcase the importance of emerging artists across the country and to celebrate the innovative work that is asking questions and evolving theater as we know it. Submissions for the national prize open today through December 21.
 
The award will be given annually to an emerging playwright (ages 21 to 30) who best personifies the “Future of Theatre”: someone whose voice will shape theater for decades to come, and who will bring new thoughts and views to the American theatrical conversation. Eligibility and submission guidelines can be found at TheBlank.com.
 
“The Blank has always supported and believed in young playwrights as seen through our Young Playwrights Festival and the incredible work we’ve produced over the years,” said Daniel Henning, the founding artistic director of The Blank Theatre. “This new award, developed alongside the Ucross team, will profoundly impact young, emerging voices by offering them monetary support, uninterrupted time and space during a residency, and a platform to showcase their work.”
 
The chosen playwright will receive a $5,000 cash award, a professionally produced staged reading in The Blank Theatre’s Living Room Series (a new play development program), and a two-week residency at Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains (including transportation). Two additional finalists will each be awarded $500 cash prizes. There is no entry fee.
 
At Ucross, artists in residence experience an inspiring combination of solitude and community, with expansive time for private work, as well as lively exchanges at group dinners with fellow artists. Facilities include four visual arts studios, four writers’ studios, and two composers’ studios, and a large loft space suitable for dance and theatre collaborations.
 
“Ucross is pleased to announce this new award with The Blank, as it expands our long-standing support of new and emerging artists across disciplines,” said Sharon Dynak, president of Ucross.

“For years we have watched the amazing work and development happening at The Blank and are excited to welcome a winning playwright to our campus.”

The Ucross + The Blank Theatre - Future of Playwriting Prize is made possible through the generous support of Deb and Ed Koehler and the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund.
 
The Blank was founded in 1990 by Daniel Henning and the theater’s over 70 mainstage productions have won 13 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards, eight LA Weekly Awards, five LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards, four NAACP Awards, 20 BackStage Garland Awards, four BroadwayWorld Awards, and received hundreds of other nominations. Named "One of the Best Theatre Companies in America" by the Drama League, The Blank was honored by the LA City Council and won the Hollywood Arts Council's Award "for pursuing artistic excellence and nurturing the next generation of playwrights.”

The Blank has offered thousands of diverse theatre artists the opportunity to stretch their abilities in a safe, nurturing, equal environment and is one of the nation's most important developers of new work and artists. Very early in their careers, The Blank supported Stephen Karam (2016 Tony Award-winner for Best Play for The Humans); Doris Duke Artist Lauren Yee, the second most produced playwright in the United States; Max Posner, whose play The Treasurer was a Critics Choice in the New York Times; Aliza Goldstein (2017 LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding World Premiere Play for her ground-breaking play A Singular They;  Austin Winsberg (First Date on Broadway and NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist); Kit Steinkellner (creator of Sorry For Your Loss on Facebook Watch), to name only a few.

Ucross was founded in 1981. Since its founding, Ucross has provided more than 2,500 residencies to established and emerging artists. Ucross provides a platform that nurtures and supports artists, many on the eve of major career breakouts. Ucross has been home to 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, eight MacArthur “genius” grantees, seven Tony Award winners, six National Book Award winners, and two Academy Award winners. Alumni include Billy Porter, Colson Whitehead, Yaa Gyasi, Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Adam Guettel. 

Nathan Gunn, Shaun Leonardo, and Ottessa Moshfegh amongst 28 artists selected for residencies in Wyoming’s majestic High Plains
 
Ucross, WY (October 26, 2020) — Ucross, a prestigious artist residency program and creative laboratory for the arts, today announced the Fall 2020 roster of artists in residence. Twenty-eight artists, working in a variety of disciplines, including visual art, writing, music, and performance art, were selected from nearly 300 applicants to receive uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations on Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.
 
Performer Nathan Gunn, multidisciplinary artist Shaun Leonardo, and writer Ottessa Moshfegh are among the artists scheduled for a Ucross residency this fall season. After a brief interruption in Spring 2020 due to the pandemic, Ucross welcomed back artists with new procedures and protocols in place to safeguard the health of the artists and Ucross staff. Ucross is a place that invites, and celebrates, distance and space for its fellows to let their work grow.
 
“In this year of great turmoil, Ucross knows how important it is for artists to keep working,” said Ucross President Sharon Dynak. “First and foremost, we continue to support those efforts through the gift of uninterrupted time to concentrate on creative work and thinking. By providing this crucial time and space, in an environment of safety and natural beauty, we hope to be a small part of the healing process and the exceptional work that artists are creating in 2020.”
 
The Fall 2020 list includes artists across the U.S., as well as artists coming to Ucross through partnerships such as the recently launched programs with The University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program and Cave Canem. Additional fellowship partnerships include the PEN/Hemingway Award, Ford Family Foundation, and Herb Alpert Award. The list also includes the most recent recipients of the Ucross Fellowships for Native American Visual Artists and Writers, which awards fellowships to Native American artists and writers at all stages of their professional careers.
 
"I’m in deep anticipation for this residency named for a beloved mentor, Toi Derricotte, whose love has nurtured my being and my creative voice for the entire fullness of my adult life, ever since hers were the wide open arms to welcome 25-year-old me to my first Cave Canem Retreat for Black poets,” said Karma Mayet Johnson, the Fall 2020 Cave Canem Fellow at Ucross.
 
Please find the full list of Fall 2020 artists in residence below:

• Literature: Brendan Basham, David Cote, Alyson Hagy, J.C. Hallman, Nell Hanley, Onyinye Ihezukwu, Karma Mayet Johnson, Rainey Knudson, Ottessa Moshfegh, Anna Paige, Misha Rai, Ben Sáenz, Austin Segrest, Michel Stone
• Visual Arts:  James Drake, Elizabeth Duffy, Nina Elder, Leila Hamidi, Shaun Leonardo, Nicole Sara Simpkins, Kerry Skarbakka, Patricia Sonnino, Kirsten Stolle
• Music/Dance: Andy Akiho, Michael Harrison, Jessica Pavone
• Theatre/Performance: Nathan Gunn, Anthony Hudson

 
At Ucross, artists in residence experience an inspiring combination of solitude and community, with expansive time for private work, as well as lively exchanges at group dinners with fellow artists. Facilities include four visual arts studios, four writers’ studios, and two composers’ studios, and a large loft space suitable for dance and theatre collaborations.
 
Ucross was founded in 1981 by Raymond Plank. Since its founding, Ucross has provided more than 2,500 residencies to established and emerging artists. Ucross provides a platform that nurtures and supports artists, many on the eve of major career breakouts. Ucross has been home to 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, eight MacArthur “genius” grantees, seven Tony Award winners, six National Book Award winners, and two Academy Award winners. Alumni include Billy Porter, Colson Whitehead, Yaa Gyasi, Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Adam Guettel.