Live bluegrass, food trucks, art giveaways — Ucross Foundation is hosting its first-ever festival on Sunday, Aug. 22, from 4-6:30 p.m. 

As part of Sheridan County’s Celebrate the Arts series, Music in the Park will be a free, family-friendly event held throughout the artist residency campus. 

The afternoon will feature live music by acclaimed bluegrass musicians Laurie Lewis, Darol Anger, and Sharon Gilchrist. Popular Sheridan-based singer-songwriter Sarah Sample will give the opening performance. The concert will be held at the Park at Ucross.

The festival will also include art giveaways and access to the exhibition American Memory: Inside Out in the iconic Big Red Barn.

Favorite local food trucks Bonafide and Stoked Pizza will be onsite in the Park throughout the event.

The Park at Ucross and the Raymond Plank Center are located just before the intersection of Highways 14 and 16 East in Ucross. The Big Red Barn is located at 30 Big Red Lane, a half-mile east of the intersection.
​
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Grammy Award-winning musician Laurie Lewis is internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, fiddler, bandleader, producer and educator. She was a founding member of the Good Ol’ Persons and the Grant Street String Band and has performed and recorded since 1986 with her musical partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum. Lewis has twice been voted “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association and has won the respect and admiration of her peers. She is a Ucross Fellow.

Fiddler, composer, producer and educator Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous path-breaking ensembles, such as his Republic of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, Montreux, his Duo with Mike Marshall and others. He has performed and taught all over the world with musicians such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Bela Fleck, Bill Evans, the Detroit Symphony and many more. Anger is a Ucross Fellow.

Sharon Gilchrist has long made her home in the American traditional acoustic music scene. Whether she's playing mandolin or upright bass, singing a traditional ballad or performing original material, you hear an artist steeped in traditional Appalachian music relaying those sounds through her own diversified musical lens. Gilchrist has performed with Darol Anger, the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet, Scott Nygaard and John Reischman, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, Uncle Earl, The Kathy Kallick Band, Bill Evans, Scott Law & the Bluegrass Dimension and the Ger Mandolin Orchestra directed by Mike Marshall. She is currently based in the Bay Area of northern California.

Sarah Sample is an award-winning songwriter with a “raw, graceful voice” (Salt Lake City Weekly) and beautiful songs that weave a trail of stories through folk, Americana and country and have garnered comparisons to Sheryl Crow, The Weepies and Bonnie Raitt. Sample has played several prominent festivals, including Merlefest, Cayamo, Folks Fest, Sisters, Telluride and Kerrville. She has also warmed up stages for artists such as Darrell Scott, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, Marketa Irglova, and Over the Rhine. Sample lives in Sheridan with her husband and two daughters.

Local art lovers are invited to a free reception for American Memory: Inside Out, the latest exhibition in the Ucross Art Gallery, on Friday, July 30, from 5-7 p.m.
 
The exhibition features work by former Ucross artists-in-residence Monica J. Brown of Chicago, Bill Will of Portland, and Sheridan’s own Brittney Denham-Whisonant. Curated by Ucross Program Director Tracey Kikut, the 31 works in the exhibition explore the idea of collective memory, offering a cross-section of Americana through a variety of expression, including sculptural work, quilted textiles, photo-collage and mixed media. The exhibition will be on view through Aug. 27.
 
Held in Ucross’s iconic Big Red Barn, the reception will include gallery walk-throughs, complimentary food and drink, and the opportunity to meet one of the featured artists, the local Denham-Whisonant. Joined virtually by Brown, the Ucross alum will also guide workshops with students of the Wyoming Girls School in the days leading up to the event.
 
The Ucross Art Gallery is located at 30 Big Red Lane, a half-mile east of the intersection of Highways 14 and 16 East in Ucross.
 
About the artists
Brittney Denham-Whisonant is a multidisciplinary artist, born in California and raised in Wyoming. She earned an MFA at The Ohio State University, and she is currently Gallery Director and Assistant Professor of Photography and Printmaking at Sheridan College. Her work has been exhibited nationally. Recent exhibitions include The Arrival: Works by Brittney Denham at COS Gallery in Visalia, California; Everything is Different Now at Stay Home Gallery in Paris, Tennessee; and Woman’s Work at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana. She lives in Sheridan, Wyoming.
 
Monica J. Brown explores memory, history, and personal mythology through visual art, sound, movement, writing, and performance. She has exhibited nationally and internationally; created murals with Chicago’s Hubbard Street Mural Project and Detroit’s Live6 Neighborhood Arts Project; and performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Prop Theatre, and the Columbus Performing Arts Center. In addition to Ucross, she has attended residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Ragdale, and the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. Brown earned a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and an MA from Columbia College Chicago. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.
 
Bill Will is a conceptual sculptor and installation artist whose work is known for its focus on contemporary social and political issues. In 2005, The Art Gym at Marylhurst University featured a 25-year mid-career retrospect of his work, and in 2006, he was awarded the 15th Bonnie Bronson Fellowship, which is an award made to outstanding artists living and working in the Pacific Northwest. In 2017, the Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art at Lewis & Clark College presented Fun House, a site-specific exhibition of installations and sculpture created by Will between 2005 and 2017. In addition, Will has completed more than 30 public art commissions. He is a Professor Emeritus at Oregon College of Art and Craft. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Ucross, WY (June 23, 2021) — Ucross is pleased to welcome two new employees to its full-time staff, Randy Rosalez and Caitlin Addlesperger.

Rosalez joins the Ucross team as the business manager, bringing with him more than 30 years of accounting experience. Rosalez grew up in the Sheridan area before attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where he obtained an accounting degree. Early in his career, he moved to Casper, where he became a Certified Public Accountant and specialized in nonprofit and government auditing, as well as tax accounting. For the last 20 years, he has worked as a private controller, largely for energy companies in Casper and Denver.  
 
“I am excited to return to my roots, both living near the Bighorn Mountains and working in the nonprofit sector,” Rosalez said. “And I am equally humbled and happy to now be part of the Ucross family.”
 
Addlesperger joins Ucross as the communications and special events manager. She grew up in Sheridan and attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she obtained a degree in modern languages and literature. Over the next decade, she worked in marketing for Umbra Institute, an American school in Perugia, Italy; the national headquarters of Eataly USA in New York City; and, most recently, The Sheridan Press, where she was director of special projects. Addlesperger serves on the boards of the WYO Theater and the Civic Theatre Guild, is a member of AAUW, and teaches the occasional Italian cooking class at Verdello. She lives in Sheridan with her husband and three-month-old daughter.
 
“I have always admired Ucross and its mission to provide artists with uninterrupted time in the place I love most—Wyoming,” Addlesperger said. “Ucross’s contribution to arts and culture are invaluable, as are the effects that the organization has had on our own local community through world-class programs and events. Now, I am thrilled to help spread the word about the artist residency program and its impact.”
 
“We are very pleased to have these two talented professionals join our team,” said Sharon Dynak, Ucross’s president and executive director. “Ucross has grown so much over the years, in many exciting ways. We’re fortunate that Caitlin and Randy are bringing their expertise and enthusiasm to our vibrant organization. I especially like that they both have roots in Wyoming along with national and international experience.”

Ucross, WY — June 14, 2021 — ​Ucross today announced the establishment of a National Advisory Council. 

The council, which officially launched in 2020, is a distinguished group of Ucross alumni; supporters; and business leaders who share a commitment to the organization’s mission, financial sustainability, and vision for the future. Ucross President and Executive Director Sharon Dynak and the Board of Trustees personally invited Advisory Council members, who serve as advisors to program staff and ambassadors in key geographic regions, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and the areas of the Mountain West.  

"Serving on the council is a deeply meaningful honor for me,” said Gene Back, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-chair of the all-volunteer group. “Ucross transformed my artistic perspective when I was a resident. The council is one way for me to give back to an organization that nurtured my artistic journey with its unparalleled natural surroundings and supportive staff. There are few places on Earth that can match the magical atmosphere of Ucross, and that's something I want to share with the next generation of artists."

Among other duties, Ucross National Advisory Council members will help spread the word about the distinctive residency program, celebrate the significant achievements of alumni artists, and advise staff and board on trends in contemporary arts and letters. In addition, members will promote fellowship opportunities to artists across the country, with a particular emphasis on prospective applicants from underserved communities, including Indigenous artists who may apply to Ucross’s prestigious fellowships for Native American visual artists and writers.

“The continued success of our residency program is connected to the deep relationships we’ve created with our alumni artists, partners, and leaders in the field,” said Dynak. “Our National Advisory Council allows us to extend our reach to new disciplines, new geographic areas, and new audiences.” 

The Advisory Council has 21 members, with two co-chairs who rotate on a biannual basis. They share a common devotion to supporting Ucross, as well as an understanding of the importance of residency programs to the artistic process.

“I am honored to serve on the National Advisory Council, as I am inspired by the extraordinary talent of the artists, writers, and performers the program supports,” said Christie Davis, Major Gift Officer of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. “Ucross provides a nurturing and vast environment where creative people flourish. It is a vital part of the arts ecosystem.”

2021 National Advisory Council members include: 

• Martirene Alcántara, Visual Artist, Mexico City, Mexico; New York, NY
• Gene Back (Co-Chair), Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Los Angeles, CA
• Christine Castro, Consultant, Santa Fe, NM
• Christie Davis, Major Gifts Officer, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
• Carolyn Eason, Former Ucross Trustee, Santa Fe, NM
• Judith Freeman, Writer, Fairfield, ID; Los Angeles, CA
• Mary Garland, Former Ucross Trustee and President of the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, Laramie, WY
• Andrea Hanley, Chief Curator at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM
• Anthony Hernandez, Visual Artist, Fairfield, ID; Los Angeles, CA
• Steve Jimenez (Co-Chair), Writer, Producer, Santa Fe, NM; New York, NY
• Rainey Knudson, Writer, Editor, Founder of Glasstire, Houston, TX
• Karen Kitchel, Visual Artist, Ventura, CA
• Josh Kun, Writer, Curator, Music Critic, Professor in Cross-Cultural Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communications, Pasadena, CA
• T. Allen (Tim) Lawson, Visual Artist, Sheridan, WY
• Gerald Peters, Gallerist, Santa Fe, NM; Jackson, WY; New York, NY
• John Ryan, Partner, Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, NY
• Elissa Schappell, Writer, Editor, Brooklyn, NY
• Lawrence Schiller, Photojournalist, Producer, Director, President of the Norman Mailer Center, Newtown, PA
• Louise Steinman, Writer, Artist, Literary Curator, Los Angeles, CA
• Josette Urso, Visual Artist, Brooklyn, NY
• Nina Wiener, Editor-in-Chief, Mayo Clinic Press, New York, NY

Ucross, WY (May 4, 2021) — Today, Ucross announced that the 2021 Raymond Plank-University of Houston Creative Writing Fellow is poet Niki Herd. The fellowship, named in honor of Ucross’s founder, provides a four-week residency and stipend to one writer each year. Herd is receiving uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations on Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.
 
The Raymond Plank-University of Houston Creative Writing Fellowship at Ucross, established in 2019, was made possible by the vision and generosity of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund, and Deborah and Ed Koehler of Houston.
 
“As one of the nation’s preeminent artist residency programs, the quality of the partnerships we have with academic institutions, artistic programs, theatres, and awards enhances our relationship with both established and emerging artists,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director of Ucross. “Niki’s talents are vast, and she is a welcome addition to our 2021 spring season.”
 
Herd’s poems have appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Lit Hub, The Rumpus, Obsidian, and the Academy of American Poets’ “Poem-a-Day” project, among other journals and anthologies. Her work has been supported by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and Cave Canem. She is the author of The Language of Shedding Skin and co-editor of Laura Hershey: On the Life & Work of an American Master, which features the poetry of and critical essays about disability activist Laura Hershey. Herd is currently at work on a prose meditation on memory, gender, and the act of speaking, as well as a collection of poems about violence in America. She is an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellow of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Houston. Herd was recently selected to serve as the 2021-2022 Visiting Writer-in-Residence in Poetry at Washington University, St. Louis.
 
Raymond Plank (1922-2018) was a World War II veteran, business leader, and philanthropist. 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 Ucross Foundation in 1981. Ucross welcomed its first cohort of artists in 1983.
 
Since then, more than 2,500 artists have received residencies at Ucross, including such distinguished fellows as Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. Recent National Book Award winners Susan Choi, Sigrid Nunez, and Sarah M. Broom have been residents, as have Academy Award and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Emmy Award winner Billy Porter, recent Pulitzer Prize winners Michael R. Jackson and Colson Whitehead, and current United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
 
Ucross participates in a number of partnerships with national organizations that enhance its ability to 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 Theatre, 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, Cave Canem, and The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles).

Ucross, WY — April 28, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, today announced its Ucross Spotlight spring calendar, featuring virtual events with acclaimed artists, authors, and journalists, including visual artist Karen Kitchel; art writer Leah Ollman (The Los Angeles Times, Art in America); acclaimed authors Joshua Ferris and Ottessa Moshfegh. Aura Estrada Prize Founder, Co-Director, and New Yorker contributing writer Francisco Goldman; writer and Aura Estrada Co-Director Gabriela Jauregui; and 2019 Aura Estrada Prize winner Natalia Trigo kicked off the spring series on April 22. The Aura Estrada Prize is given biannually to young female writers living in Mexico or the U.S. whose work is written in Spanish.
 
Ucross Spotlight, which started as a nationwide series of in-person, artist-centric events, is designed to bring diverse audiences together to celebrate Ucross’ esteemed alumni, their work, and their contribution to the nation's arts and letters. The first Ucross Spotlight, held in 2019 at Playwrights Horizons, welcomed Ucross Fellows and award-winning playwrights Michael R. Jackson and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Ucross Fellow and Tony/Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter, and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly. Since the pandemic, Ucross has transitioned the series to an online forum, hosting eight events to date that have reached thousands of viewers across Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.
 
Fifteen Ucross Fellows have been highlighted in the Spotlight series, including Ucross Native American Fellow Brendan Basham; artist and performer Anthony Hudson (Carla Rossi); musician Toshi Reagon; novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar; journalist and author Suki Kim; writer Natalie Goldberg; visual artist Susan York; performance artist, writer, and visual artist John Kelly; musicians Daniel and Patrick Lazour; composer Ricky Ian Gordon; singer Nathan Gunn; musician Beth McIntosh; choreographer Michael McGowan and Flight Path Dance Project; singer-songwriter Kate Schutt; and writer Sherwin Bitsui.
 
On June 10, Ucross Spotlight will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ucross and PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel partnership with two PEN/Hemingway winners Joshua Ferris (2008) and Ottessa Moshfegh (2016) who are also Ucross Fellows. Ucross participates in a number of partnerships with national organizations that enhance its ability to support outstanding individual artists with residencies.
 
Upcoming Ucross Spotlight virtual event dates are:
 
May 20 — Karen Kitchel and Leah Ollman 
June 10 — Joshua Ferris and Ottessa Moshfegh
 
To register for the free online events, visit Ucross.org.
 
In the current climate, Ucross’s role as a sanctuary and source of support for artists is more important than ever. The unemployment rate for musicians is 27.1 percent, 52.3 percent for actors, and 54.6 percent for dancers and choreographers, according to a January report from the National Endowment for the Arts.
 
“At a time when so many artists are struggling, all of us at Ucross are doing our part to keep morale high and showcase the breadth and depth of the inspiring artistic work happening across the country,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director, Ucross. “We want to amplify the important conversations happening in our culture and offer new possibilities for connection.” 
 
In addition to Ucross Spotlight, the residency program has welcomed back artists to its spectacular 20,000-acre ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains with new Covid protocols in place. For spring 2021, 29 artists, working in a variety of disciplines, including visual art, writing, music, and dance, are receiving uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations at Ucross. As part of its continued commitment to support artists, the program is offering $1,000 stipends to every incoming resident for the first time.
 
Since its first residencies in 1983, more than 2,500 artists have received the gift of time and space at Ucross. 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 (Pulitzer Prize in Drama, 2020) are just a few of the acclaimed works that have been created in part during Ucross residencies.
 
Ucross’s 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. Last year, 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 — April 12, 2021 — Ucross, a prestigious artist residency program and creative laboratory for the arts in Wyoming, and The Blank Theatre, a Los Angeles institution celebrating 30 years of imaginative theatre, today announced the winners of 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 theatre as we know it.
 
The competition was originally designed for an individual winner. Said Daniel Henning, The Blank’s Founding Artistic Director, “With the amazing cornucopia of talent, we were faced with such a difficult decision that we realized we had to recognize two winners.” They are, in alphabetical order, Kori Alston and Dave Osmundsen. The winners were chosen by The Blank Jury [Ryan Bergmann, Beth Bigler, Shelli Boone, Melissa Coleman-Reed, Lisa Sanaye Dring, Josh Gershick, Fay Hauser-Price, Daniel Henning, Kate Jopson, Levi Jelks, Kila Kitu, Jully Lee, Jer Adrianne Lelliott, Amir Levi, Annie McGrath, Angela Oh, Bree Pavey, Michael A. Shepperd, Cece Tio, Joseph Valdez, Carolina Xique, and Prize Program Director Jennie Webb] in consultation with representatives of Ucross and funders Deb and Ed Koehler and the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund. An additional finalist, A.K. Payne, has been named as the recipient of a $500 cash prize.
 
The chosen playwrights will receive a cash award of $5,000 each, professionally produced staged readings in The Blank Theatre’s Living Room Series (a new play development program), and two-week residencies at Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains (including transportation).
 
Kori Alston is writer, poet, and activist based in Brooklyn, New York and the Berkshires in
Massachusetts. A previously Chicago-based artist, Alston is a graduate of Northwestern University where he began his work as a playwright. His work has been featured at the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, Victory Gardens Theater, as well as other smaller venues, and has earned him the Agnes Nixon Award for Playwriting. As a middle school teacher in Brownsville, his work takes a particular interest in the way in which young people of color process trauma. Most recently, he has finished his year as a Clubbed Thumb (NYC) Emerging Writer and his play A Case for Black Girls Setting Central Park on Fire received its world
premiere production at Lycoming College in March of 2020.
 
Dave Osmundsen is an autistic playwright and dramaturg whose work explores the intersections of queerness and neurodiversity. He is a resident playwright with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble, a neurodiverse theatre company based in Providence, RI. His work has been seen and developed at KCACTF Region 8, Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Playwrights Workshop, B Street Theatre, William Inge Theatre Festival, Midwest Dramatists Conference, Phoenix Theatre Company, and more. His play Light Switch was the 2021 Distinguished Achievement recipient of the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award. His one-act play A Firework Unexploded was a semi-finalist for the NYC Audio Theatre Writing Contest and was produced by Pint-Sized in London. In addition to playwriting, he has had short stories published on ScholarsAndRogues.com. His plays have been or will be published by The Dionysian, Canyon Voices, and The Exposition Review. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Dramatic Writing at Arizona State University.
 
A.K. Payne is a playwright, womanist, artist-theorist, and theatre-maker. She holds a BA in English and African-American Studies from Yale College and is currently pursuing an MFA in playwriting from Yale School of Drama. She is an alumna of the Mellon Mays Fellowship Program and has served as leadership of several Black theatre ensembles. In 2019, she received the Leadership Award for Community Arts and Service at the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale and the Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts for her work as an artistic director and playwright. 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. 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.
 
The Blank was founded in 1990 by Daniel Henning and the theatre’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 Back Stage 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.”
 
Ucross + The Blank Theatre Future of Playwriting Prize is made possible by Deb and Ed Koehler and the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund.

​Ucross, WY — April 6, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, today announced that energy executive Chad Deaton has joined its Board of Trustees. Deaton is chairman of the Board of Directors at Transocean and a director of the University of Wyoming Foundation. He has also served as co-chair of the Wyoming Governor’s Task Force for the University of Wyoming’s new Engineering and Applied Sciences Center.
 
Deaton 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; Obie Award-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; 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, CEO and president of Integrated Corrosion Companies; author Dorie McCullough Lawson; Susan Miller, Ucross board vice president, 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.
 
“Having been born and raised in Wyoming, it’s an honor to have the opportunity to be involved with an organization like Ucross,” said Deaton. “It’s a special place, and what it can offer an aspiring artist is unique. I am very much looking forward to contributing in whatever way I can to Ucross and its mission.”  
 
Ucross trustee Steve Farris, who for decades has played an instrumental role in the success of the foundation’s artist residency program, noted: “All of us on the board are thrilled to have Chad join our efforts on behalf of this exceptional program based on one of the most captivating, historic ranches in the American West. He shares our deep commitment to preserving the Ucross legacy and land for future generations of artists.”
 
Deaton’s previous roles include executive chair of Baker Hughes Incorporated as well as chair and CEO. He began his career with Schlumberger in 1976 and served in a variety of international capacities, including as executive vice president and as a senior advisor. From 2002 until 2004, Deaton was the president and CEO of Hanover Compressor Company. Currently, he serves as a director for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: CRR), and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO).
 
In addition, Deaton is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, a director of the Houston Achievement Place, and was previously a member of the National Petroleum Council.
 
“After retiring from an illustrious, international career, Chad has been a leader in furthering educational opportunities for the next generations of students in Wyoming and beyond,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director of Ucross. “His longstanding interest in the arts at Ucross will help strengthen our roots and expand our capacity to provide quality experiences to artists from multiple disciplines.”

Ucross, WY — March 24, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, today announced artist Eliza Naranjo Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo) will receive the Spring 2021 Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists. Naranjo Morse is the seventh Native American artist to receive this award, which includes a four-week residency at Ucross. Naranjo Morse is an artist whose work explores aspects of life journey through drawing and sculpture. She is receiving uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations on Ucross’s spectacular 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, as well as a $2,000 stipend and a featured exhibition.
​
“Eliza is an extraordinary multi-disciplinary artist; we are so fortunate to have her join us this year. It is contemporary and diverse artists like her that will continue to shape the artistic landscape of this country. Now more than ever artists need our support, and we are pleased to welcome Eliza as a Native American Visual Fellow,” said Sharon Dynak, President and Executive Director at Ucross. 
 
Informed, inspired, and challenged by current events, generational exchange and spiritual existence, Naranjo Morse’s artworks tell stories about who we are. Her aesthetic and narrative expression weave the land-based, creative, and cultural information of her elders, the cartoons she grew up watching, and global art history together. Naranjo Morse was born in 1980 in New Mexico where she lives and works. She is also the proud art teacher at Kha'p'o Community School in Santa Clara Pueblo. 
 
Naranjo Morse has shown her work nationally and internationally including: Cumbre de el Tajin (Veracruz, Mexico), Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts (Ekaterinburg, Russia), Chelsea Art Museum (New York, New York), SITE Santa Fe (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Axle Contemporary (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona), and the Museum of Contemporary Native Art (Santa Fe, New Mexico). 
 
“Being invited to experience Ucross on this Apsaalooke land reaffirms to me two things: 1). That a stunning and interconnected strength comes from individuals who have plenty using their resources to support others to grow, and 2). That creating a respectful and loving relationship with land uncovers its all-encompassing power. I am humbled to bear witness to this combination of power expressed in this precious place and am thankful to all those who have put their hands into making it so,” stated Naranjo Morse.   
 
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, two composers’ studios, and a large loft space suitable for dance and theatre collaborations.
 
Since its first residencies in 1983, more than 2,500 artists have received the gift of time and space at Ucross. Residencies are awarded to 100 artists each year. Ten artists are in residence at one time, typically a mix of four visual artists, four writers, and two composers.
 
The Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists was established in 2018. Two Ucross Fellowships for Native American Visual Artists are awarded each year. Those selected for the fellowship are offered a four-week residency, a stipend of $2,000, and a featured gallery exhibition at Ucross the following year. The current exhibition, MARKING TIME: Heidi Brandow + Luzene Hill, which features the 2019 Ucross Native American Fellows, is on view in the Ucross Art Gallery through March 26, 2021. The exhibition will then travel to the Yellowstone Art Museum to be on view April 8 to June 27, 2021.