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.

Ucross, WY — March 22, 2021 — Ucross, the renowned artist residency program, today announced the Spring 2021 roster of artists in residence. Twenty-nine artists, working in a variety of disciplines, including visual art, writing, music, and dance, will receive uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations on Ucross’s spectacular 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.
 
As part of Ucross’ continued commitment to support artists, the program is proud to offer $1,000 stipends to every incoming resident for the first time. The stipends will help defray the cost of travel and other expenses associated with a residency.
 
Fiction writer Rachel Kushner, photographer Sandra de la Loza, and composer Jerome Ellis are among the resident artists this spring season. Ucross is welcoming 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.
 
“This season, Ucross is reasserting our commitment to individual artists by offering stipends, a goal we are very happy to meet after hearing from our artists,” said Sharon Dynak, Ucross President and Executive Director. “We recognize the expenses incurred with a residency and want to help lessen the burden so that the work comes first for our residents. A gift of residency isn’t a gift if it’s a hardship to attend.”
 
The Spring 2021 list includes artists from 12 states and four countries, as well as artists coming to Ucross through partnerships with The University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Additional fellowship partnerships include the Aura Estrada and Herb Alpert awards. The list also includes the most recent recipients of the Ucross Fellowships for Native American Visual Artists.
 
Please find the full list of Spring 2021 artists in residence below:
​
Literature: 
Brendan Basham, Fiction, Nashville, TN
Lucas Bessire, Nonfiction, Norman, OK
Rebecca Donner, Nonfiction, Brooklyn, NY
Allyn Gaestel, Nonfiction, Pasadena, CA
Meghan Garvey, Fiction, New Orleans, LA
Niki Herd, Poetry, Houston, TX
Michael Jackson, Playwriting, New York, NY
Josh Kun, Nonfiction, Pasadena, CA
Afabwaje Kurian, Fiction, Iowa City, IA
Rachel Kushner, Fiction, Los Angeles, CA
Juliet Lapidos, Fiction, Brooklyn, NY
Eleni Sikelianos, Poetry, Providence, RI
Natalia Trigo, Fiction, Sugar Land, TX

Visual Arts:
Marina Ancona, Printmaking, Brooklyn, NY
Teresa Baker, Drawing/Mixed Media/Painting, Los Angeles, CA
Nelleke Beltjens, Drawing, Roermond, Netherlands
Sandra de la Loza, Photography, Los Angeles, CA
Noelle Garcia, Drawing/Painting/Sculpture, Highland Park, IL
Margeaux Klein, Drawing, Santa Fe, NM
Eliza Naranjo Morse, Drawing/Sculpture, Espanola, NM
Georgia Rowswell, Mixed Media, Cheyenne, WY
Valeska Soares, Sculpture/Installation, Brooklyn, NY

Music/Dance: 
Jerome Ellis, Music Composition, Brooklyn, NY
Allie Hankins, Dance, Portland, OR
Lisa Nevada, Dance, New York, NY
Emily Rice, Music Composition, Los Angeles, CA
Laurie Schwartz, Music Composition, Berlin, Germany
Nicky Sohn, Music Composition, Houston, TX
Ken Ueno, Music Composition, Lawndale, CA
Danielle Ward-Griffin, Music Composition, Houston, TX

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.
 
Ucross has provided residencies to 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, 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.