Whether you are an artist-alum, you have attended our community events, or you simply value the arts and connect with our mission, you are a part of the Ucross story.

During this liminal week, we would like to thank you for engaging with Ucross throughout the past year — and it has been an extraordinary year.

In 2025, we welcomed a grand total of 155 artists from across the U.S., as well as Austria, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Belgium, and Canada. Ten at a time, we provided each of these writers, visual artists, composers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary artists with a private studio, living accommodations, chef-prepared meals, staff support, optional community activities, and the experience of the majestic High Plains of northern Wyoming.

We heard from many artists this year that Ucross's uninterrupted time and space was transformative for their creative process — fueling their work, inspiring audiences worldwide, and fostering a deeper appreciation for the arts and their impact on our global community.

We know that this would not be possible without you, our artists, our community, our supporters. Watch a video created this year about our shared impact on the creative spirit.

Then, please, take time for yourself to scroll down and remember some of the top moments that we achieved together in service to artists, the arts, and community this year.

1. INNOVATIVE ART EXHIBITIONS
​
​In 2025, the Ucross Art Gallery exhibited three remarkable shows featuring alumni artists and guest curators: We Have All the Time in the World, curated by Josh Kun; Language of the Land, curated by Sean Chandler (Aniih); and Luminous Forms, curated by Emily McElwreath, currently on view through January 10. These exhibitions explored sound, identity, and light. ​​​Explore the current and past shows.

2. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

We continued to cultivate cultural connections across the world through new artist-centric partnerships with the European Union, McKnight Foundation, and Rhode Island Foundation's MacColl Johnson Fellowship. Closer to home, we also hosted the inaugural Wyoming Resources Policy Forum on our ranch with University of Wyoming's Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. ​See all of our partnerships.

3. DEEPER LAND CONNECTION

​This spring, we welcomed our first-ever farmer to our staff. Working directly with our chef and her team, Esper's harvests were at the heart of our artists’ table all year long, fueling creative work with home-grown greens, fruits, and vegetables. Our new farm-focused efforts have helped us to responsibly steward and connect more holistically to our 20,000-acre ranch. And we’re just getting started.

4. ULTIMATE OPEN HOUSE

​During Ucross Founder's Day on May 31, all 10 artists-in-residence welcomed the community into their studios. Visitors enjoyed picnics on the lawn, listened to music by the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, and enjoyed performances by Sarah Ortegon Highwalking (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho), the inaugural recipient of the new Ucross Fellowship for Native American Performers. ​Watch the video.

5. SOUND INSTALLATION

​Also on Founder's Day, we launched Confluences, an emplaced sound experience created by Ucross Fellows Teri Rueb and Laurids Sonne. Using a free app and headphones, visitors wandered our grounds and ranch as sounds played, revealing a sonic landscape of voices of resident artists, stories of local residents, field recordings taken in different seasons, and more. ​Tune into Confluences, running in perpetuity.

6. FOLDING IN THE CULINARY ARTS

​Brendan Basham (Diné) was the inaugural recipient of a Ucross culinary residency. This new program provides chefly artists or artistic chefs with the time and space to experiment, learn, and collaborate with the Ucross artists, farmer, and community. As a Ucross alum and former chef, Brendan was the ideal first recipient; he spent his six-week residency writing, experimenting, and cooking for his fellow artists.

7. DOWN TO THE STUDS

​This summer, we began a much-needed renovation of the Big Red Ranch House, the home of our offices. Built in 1882, the house was last updated in 1982. Thanks to generous support from Armand and Mary Brachman, we are restoring the structural integrity of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring the sustainability of our artist residency program. Stay tuned for more in 2026!

8. RETURN OF UCROSS ARTS FESTIVAL

​On August 17, hundreds turned out for the Ucross Arts Festival, which featured former artists-in-residence through performances, poetry, and printmaking in The Park at Ucross. Avant-garde musician and performance artist Hayden Pedigo headlined the festivities, with poetry readings by M.L. Smoker and David Romtvedt and printmaking demonstrations and artwork designed by Tawni Shuler. Watch the video.

9. LAUNCH OF BIG RED SHOWCASE

​With the goal of championing former artists-in-residence and further infusing our spaces with their artwork, we created the Big Red Showcase, a seasonal artist spotlight throughout the Big Red Barn, in June. The inaugural showcase artist was Roxanne Everett, who joined us for a public reception and artist talk on September 23. Explore her landscape paintings, on view through February 19.

10. ALUMNI ACROSS DECADES

​Tearjerker: Brokeback Mountain opened in the Raymond Plank Center with an artist talk and film screening on October 2. This special exhibition features prints by Ucross Fellow Natalie Woodlock illustrating scenes from Ang Lee's 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, adapted from the 1997 short story by Ucross Fellow — and former Trustee — Annie Proulx. Explore the exhibition, which is on view by appointment.

11. INCREDIBLE SUPPORT

​On November 6, the Ucross Gala & Benefit in Houston raised more than $1.4 million for our artist residency program. The evening featured music by our partners at Shepherd School of Music at Rice, performances choreographed by Ucross Fellow Jack Wolff of Houston Ballet, and live painting by Ucross Fellow Don Stinson, concluding with an awards ceremony honoring Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Read the PaperCity Magazine feature.

12. CELEBRATING THE SEASON

​Earlier this month, we welcomed more than 300 people to the Raymond Plank Center and The Park at Ucross for the annual Ucross Community Christmas Celebration. The program featured festive caroling by the Buffalo Balladiers, an extra-special Longmire reading by Craig Johnson, a performance by the Fireants, housemade refreshments, and cannon fire. Dig into the Sheridan Media article.

We accomplished the above — while supporting our artists and our land — with you. Your engagement makes our work possible. Thank you for cheering on our artists, attending our events, and including us in your year-end charitable giving. Thanks for being a part of our story in 2025.

Now, we invite you to become a part of our story in 2026.

If you haven't yet had the opportunity this year, please consider making a tax-deductible gift before New Year's Day. As a nonprofit organization, we depend on individual donations to fund each artist's residency, which costs approximately $12,500. Your contribution also helps us serve as a vital cultural resource for our community, supporting free access to art exhibitions, events, and other programming, as well as a responsible steward of our land. Every donation — no matter the amount — makes a difference. If you have already donated, thank you.

We also invite you to apply for an artist residency in Fall 2026. We support artists across disciplines and at all stages of their careers. We are accepting applications through January 15 at 11:59 p.m. MT.

We wish you a happy end of 2025!

Our staff has also grown this year. On January 1, Caitlin Addlesperger took the helm as President and Executive Director. Throughout 2025, each team member has deepened their role and their commitment to the creative spirit.

From left: Scott Foundation Student Intern from Sheridan College Tate Bateman, Business Director Heather Heath, Maintenance and Grounds Manager Fritz Bates, Communications Associate Emi Whiting, School House Assistant Katrina Conner, President and Executive Director Caitlin Addlesperger, Program Director Tawni Shuler, Residency Associate Carl Largent, Gallery Associate Lacasa Michelena, Maintenance Technician Gage Rathcamp, Advancement Associate Shelly Stoner, Maintenance Technician Zach Fischer, Housekeeping Assistant Sue Albright, and Chef Jackie Vitale. Not pictured: Farmer Esper Gaspardi, on break after her fruitful first season.

And we're hiring! Please send this link to an appreciator of the arts who could be a good fit for the new Administrative Coordinator role.

We have big plans for 2026. See you next year!

Today, Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program in northern Wyoming, announced that Wyoming-based visual artist Jennifer Rife is the inaugural recipient of the Al and Ann Simpson Fellowship at Ucross.

The Al and Ann Simpson Fellowship at Ucross is a new residency that supports visual artists from Wyoming with four weeks of uninterrupted time, individual studio space, staff support, and the unmatched experience of the majestic High Plains. The fellowship was announced at the Ucross Gala in 2024, which honored Senator Alan K. and Mrs. Ann Simpson with the Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership for their significant impact on the arts, in addition to their work across national and state government, health, land stewardship, and beyond.

“We are thrilled to award Jennifer Rife with the inaugural Al and Ann Simpson Fellowship at Ucross,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President and Executive Director. “As a land artist and proud Wyomingite, Jennifer’s work reflects the spirit of both Ucross and the Simpsons — connected to place and rooted in community. We couldn’t imagine a more fitting artist to launch this important fellowship that celebrates the creative spirit in Wyoming.”

Rife’s four-week residency concluded in late October.

“As an artist living in Wyoming, the fact that Ucross values those of us from here and gives us the opportunity to experience such a high-class residency is a wonderful gift,” Rife said. “I am especially honored to have been the inaugural recipient of the Al and Ann Simpson Fellowship.”

After 20 years of residing in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Rife has established the American West as her home. Originally hailing from rural Colorado, she has explored a variety of geographies across the world. This enhanced her love and appreciation of the West’s wide-open spaces, sparse population, and vast skies. 

The built environment she has seen along the way provides endless references for her ephemeral art installations on the land, created with objects she makes in her studio. Rife’s installations leave little trace: Viewers experience the work as digital photographs of unfamiliar objects in remote landscapes. Through her practice, she considers how humans interact with the land.

“My residency at Ucross was all I hoped it would be,” Rife said. “I was able to explore the effects of time and weather on my land installation that remained onsite for the duration of my stay, a departure from my usual ephemeral work. New ideas and paths to explore came my way, and I connected with some really incredible creative people.” 

Rife was one of five Wyoming artists under consideration in 2024’s "Women to Watch: New Worlds" at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; her work was on view in “Wyoming Women to Watch,” an exhibition that traveled throughout the state — including the Ucross Art Gallery — throughout 2024. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and featured in books and articles. She received a Wyoming Arts Council Visual Arts Fellowship in 2016.  

Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.  

The Ucross Gala & Benefit raised funds to support the inaugural fellowship; Ucross is currently fundraising to endow the fellowship to support Wyoming visual artists while honoring the Simpsons in perpetuity. 

To learn more about Ucross and the Al and Ann Simpson Fellowship, click here.

Ucross celebrated its national artist residency program at POST Houston on November 6 with a gala and benefit that raised more than $1.4 million for the nonprofit organization. The evening included a performance choreographed by Houston Ballet’s Jack Wolff and an awards ceremony honoring Houston’s Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Managing Partner of Quintana Capital Group and Chairman and CEO of the general partner of Natural Resource Partners LP. 
 
The link between arts and energy stemmed from Raymond Plank, the co-founder and longtime CEO of Apache Corporation, one of the nation’s largest independent oil and gas companies. A prominent business leader, Plank was also a philanthropist and an appreciator of the arts. He founded Ucross on a historic 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming in 1981 and welcomed the first artists-in-residence in 1983.
 
Over the next four decades, Ucross developed into one of the most respected artist communities in the nation and has supported more than 3,000 artists, including winners of Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, National Book Awards, and Academy Awards, among many others.
 
“Ucross is committed to honoring the creative process of working artists,” said Ucross President and Executive Director Caitlin Addlesperger during the gala. She invited the 150-plus guests to imagine a fellow’s experience. “Now, maybe for the first time ever, your time is your own to dedicate to your work — your passion — exactly as you wish. Uninterrupted time, free from distractions, free from obligations, in the most beautiful landscape.
 
“This is why we’re here, and this is what we must sustain for future generations of artists and those who believe in the power of art and the creative spirit.”
 
Infused with the arts, the Ucross Gala & Benefit featured former artists-in-residence spanning disciplines. Wolff’s choreographic pieces featured performances by his fellow Ucross alumni and Houston Ballet dancers Eric Best and Aoi Fujiwara. The cocktail hour presented a live oil painting by Don Stinson of Austin and a silent auction exhibition featuring artworks by Texan Ucross alumni Elizabeth Hohimer, Polly Lanning Sparrow, and Lynda Kaffie Young, as well as another piece by Stinson.
 
Ucross’s artist partners in Houston were represented at the event, as well, including the Houston Ballet, Alley Theatre, University of Houston's Creative Writing Program, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
 
The Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership was created after Plank passed away on November 8, 2018, to honor and celebrate business leaders, philanthropists and innovators who have forged their own path and had an enduring impact on business, the arts, or land stewardship. The first recipient was Rex Tillerson, the former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, at a Houston benefit in 2019. Additional honorees have included Jim Nelson in 2021, Scott D. Sheffield in 2023, and U.S. Senator Alan K. and Ann Simpson in 2024.
 
“Corby’s career is a testament to bold leadership, strategic vision, and a deep understanding of the natural resources that power our economy,” said Steve Farris of Houston, co-founder and principal of Forager Energy, a U.S. minerals and royalty company; former Chairman and CEO of Apache Corporation; and former Ucross Trustee. “Corby and his wife, Barbara, have also been tremendously involved in many philanthropic efforts and programs in Texas and beyond in the areas of education, the arts, sports and with underprivileged children. It is truly an honor to be able to call Corby a friend.”
 
The Ucross Gala and Benefit was co-chaired by Ucross Chair Jesse and Cathy Marion and Steve and Vicki Farris, with fellow committee members Ucross Trustee Roger and Connie Plank and Ucross Trustee Christian Nelson and Dan Schroeder. Outgoing Chair Jim Nelson and Judy Rossiter were also in attendance, along with other members of the Ucross Foundation Board, as they celebrated Plank’s legacy, the nonprofit’s mission, and Robertson’s award.
 
You can see the photos from the Ucross Gala & Benefit here. 

Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed residency program, is pleased to announce the annual Ucross Community Christmas Celebration. Free and open to all, the family-friendly festivities will take place on Saturday, December 13, at the Raymond Plank Center, starting at 4 p.m. Complimentary tickets are available at ucross.org.
 
The evening’s entertainment will feature The Fireants, a beloved local band including Ucross Fellow David Romtvedt, as well as caroling by the Buffalo High School Balladiers. Bestselling Wyoming author Craig Johnson will recite a special fireplace reading featuring Walt Longmire. Children can enjoy making a holiday craft to take home. Hot cocoa, coffee, and hot apple cider will be served throughout the celebration, along with seasonal treats made by Ucross Chef Jackie Vitale. A marshmallow roasting station will be outside.
 
The celebration will conclude with cannon fire by Ucross neighbor Joe Reed and a fireworks display orchestrated by Bruce Burns. The Park at Ucross will be illuminated with thousands of twinkling Christmas lights, strung by Powder River Energy Corporation and Ucross staff, adding to the festive atmosphere.
 
“The Ucross Community Christmas Celebration is a beloved annual tradition,” said Ucross President and Executive Director Caitlin Addlesperger. “We look forward to celebrating the season with our community of artists, neighbors, and visitors.”
 
In the spirit of giving, attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods and nonperishable food items, which Ucross will donate to local food pantries in Sheridan, Buffalo, and Clearmont.
 
The Ucross Community Christmas Celebration is sponsored in part by Roger L. Daniels Insurance Agency, QC10 Architects, In Yarak Construction, AlphaGraphics, and Farmers Insurance.
 
Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.  
 
Ucross connects its acclaimed artists-in-residence with the community through the Ucross Art Gallery, which offers free admission, as well as a slate of year-round cultural programming.
 
The Raymond Plank Center is located at the junction of U.S. Highways 14 and 16 East. Carpooling is encouraged.
 
For more details and to reserve free tickets, click here.

Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program on a 20,000-acre ranch in Wyoming, announced today the inaugural recipient of its new culinary residency: Brendan Basham (Diné), the acclaimed writer, artist, and chef from the Zuni Mountains in western New Mexico.

Launched this year, Ucross’s culinary residency program provides an individual with uninterrupted time and space to focus on their creative practice in and out of the kitchen. The Ucross Fellow receives private living accommodations, access to a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, and an optional supplemental studio for interdisciplinary work.

“We are excited to be able to offer this new layer to our residency program,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President and Executive Director. “We invite chefly artists or artistic chefs to experiment, learn, and collaborate with the Ucross chef, artists, and community.”

After reviewing a slate of qualified candidates, Ucross awarded the inaugural culinary residency to Basham. 

“Brendan Basham was the ideal first recipient,” Addlesperger said. “As an alum, he shares our artist-centric values and is familiar with our program operations. He also brings a strong culinary background — including previously cooking for a group at Ucross.”

Born in Alaska and raised in northern Arizona, Basham earned his Master of Fine Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He worked as a chef for 15 years, co-owning two successful restaurants in Puerto Rico before writing his award-winning debut novel, Swim Home to the Vanished.

Basham began work on this novel during the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Writers in 2021. In 2022, he returned to Wyoming to cook for the Ucross Native American Art Curatorial Convening, which featured top curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum, Philbrook Museum of Art, and beyond. 

Basham has received numerous honors, including the Poetry Northwest’s inaugural James Welch Prize for Indigenous Writers, along with several fellowships across the country. He is currently a fiction faculty member at University of Nevada, Reno — Lake Tahoe’s Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts Program. 

During his six-week culinary residency at Ucross this summer, Basham worked on his second novel about a “former chef who must return home to the Navajo reservation after his mother dies from cancer caused by uranium mines that still haven’t been properly cleaned up after 70 years,” Basham shared. 

When he wasn’t writing, Basham spent time exploring the Ucross Ranch, experimenting in the kitchen, and cooking for fellow artists.

“During the culinary residency, the artmaking is more hands-on, of course, and as a writer I’ve missed that tactile space, playing with food, using local produce and proteins. It is such a joy to feed other creative souls,” Basham said. “It truly was a pleasure cooking good things for good people. It is a reminder of how essential a meal is for human connection: It brings people together, builds social and cultural capital, and offers meaning and beauty for our hungry minds.” 

Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. 

You can learn more about the new culinary residency program here.

To learn more about Basham and his work, visit his website here. 

Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program in northern Wyoming, invites the community to the exhibition opening for Tearjerker: Brokeback Mountain by Ucross Fellow Natalie Woodlock of Seattle, Washington, on Thursday, October 2.
 
Originally from Australia, Woodlock is a printmaker who explores queer temporality, subculture, and representation within popular culture in her work. In this exhibition, she explores the impact a piece of media can have on one’s emotions. Tearjerker films are designed to evoke sadness and create ritual spaces for catharsis and release. This can transform spaces, such as cinemas, into a site of communal exchange between audience members.
 
For Tearjerker: Brokeback Mountain Woodlock showed a series of screenings of Ang Lee's 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, adapted from the 1997 short story by Ucross Fellow — and Pulitzer Prize winner — Annie Proulx. During the film, audience members were given handkerchiefs for their tears and asked to write down the scenes that made them cry. This exhibition merges screen-printed illustrations of these scenes and the handkerchiefs embroidered with the names of those brought to tears by this film that tells stories about love, repression, money, and mortality.
 
“Immediately upon its release, Ang Lee's film became a cultural touchstone — for the first time, a story of queer love in a pre-Stonewall era unfolded to a mass audience,” said Woodlock. “My hope is that the circle of sympathy present at each screening of this tearjerker is enshrined in the prints and handkerchiefs embroidered with the name of each viewer who was brought to tears.”

This event will take place on Thursday, October 2, starting at 5 p.m. in the Raymond Plank Center in Ucross, Wyoming, and includes the opening of Woodlock’s exhibition, an artist talk, and a screening of Brokeback Mountain, accompanied by the Ucross chef’s artisanal popcorn. This is a free event that is open to the public with required registration at ucross.org.
 
Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
 
Get free tickets to Tearjerker: Brokeback Mountain here. 

Today Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program, announces the addition of four new trustees to its board: Richard Davis of Sheridan, Wyoming; David Leuschen of Roscoe, Montana; Christian Nelson of Fredericksburg, Texas; and Naoma Tate of Cody, Wyoming. 

“We are honored to welcome these new trustees to the board,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President and Executive Director. “Their commitment to our mission, diverse expertise and connection to the Mountain West will be invaluable as we continue to grow as both a premier artist residency and a vital cultural institution in Wyoming.” 

A native of Colorado, Richard Davis moved to Wyoming in 1968 to join the law practice of Henry A. Burgess and continues today as of counsel to the successor firm, Davis and Cannon. He pursued an interest in theater as a participant and through Tandem Productions, a 501 (C)(3) organization created with his wife, Tami. Davis also has a strong interest and experience in ranching, grazing practices, and conservation. Believing in the importance of community, he has served on several boards, including the Northern Wyoming Community College District and Foundation; Sheridan Memorial Hospital and Hospital Foundation; Sheridan Area Community Foundation, WYO Theater, University of Wyoming, and Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. On the professional side, he served as president of the Wyoming Bar Association, member of the American Bar Association, the American Judicature Society and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation Wyoming State Bar Delegate to the American Bar Association.   

David Leuschen is the co-founder and senior managing director of Riverstone Holdings, one of the world’s largest energy and agricultural decarbonization investment firms. Prior to this, he held senior positions at Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Power Group and the Goldman Sachs Energy Investment Committee. Leuschen has served as a director of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Cross Timbers Oil Company, J. Aron Resources, Riverstone Energy Limited and Permian Resources. Leuschen serves on many nonprofit boards, including Conservation International, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Montana Land Reliance; he is also a founding member of the Peterson Institute’s Economic Leadership Council. As a third generation Montanan and lifelong rancher, he is actively involved in large-scale innovation in land and agriculture. His commitment to integrating innovative technology with traditional farming practices aims to create more efficient, productive and eco-friendly agricultural systems. He is the sole owner and president of Switchback Ranch and on the advisory board of Big Sky Investment Holdings. 

Christian Nelson has ties to Ucross dating back to its inception, as her father, Jim Nelson, is a founding member of the board. She grew up visiting Ucross and participating in the Fourth of July celebrations. Nelson is a seasoned philanthropic leader and communications strategist with more than 30 years of experience in the nonprofit and corporate sectors. She has held senior roles at City of Hope, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she led transformative donor engagement and communications initiatives. She has successfully executed multi-million dollar fundraising campaigns and comprehensive marketing communications programs aligned with organizational priorities as well as branding initiatives. Nelson’s career also spans public relations and events leadership, serving high-profile clients across lifestyle, healthcare, and finance industries.  

Naoma Tate is an acknowledged silver historian and certified gemologist. She is an avid collector of Western art and a longtime patron of the arts in Wyoming and Utah. In 2009, she was awarded the Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award. Tate’s interests and expertise have led her to serve on the boards for the National Board of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum Gemology Board, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, Leakey Foundation, Berkley Geochronology Center, and the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. She has also served on the Advisory Board for the University of Utah World Leaders Lecture Forum and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. She is a member of the Utah and Wyoming Westerners, the Utah Daughters of the Pioneers, Daughters of the American Revolution, and American Friends of the Louvre. 

“We are looking forward to working with Christian, David, Naoma, and Richard,” said Ucross Board Chair Jesse Marion. “Each brings a deep commitment to philanthropy, along with a depth of experience that will help guide Ucross into its next chapter. Their diverse perspectives will strengthen our mission to support artists and protect the land.” 

In addition to Davis, Leuschen, Nelson and Tate, the Ucross board comprises Chair Jesse Marion of Spring, Texas; Vice President Susan Miller of Sheridan, Wyoming; Treasurer Jim Nelson of Big Horn, Wyoming; Secretary Kim Cannon of Big Horn, Wyoming; Tracy Boyle of Sheridan, Wyoming; Armand Brachman of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Anne Pendergast of Big Horn, Wyoming; Roger Plank of Ucross, Wyoming, and Houston, Texas; Gerald Peters of Jackson, Wyoming, and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Scott Manning Stevens of Syracuse, New York; and Arin Waddell of Sheridan, Wyoming.  

Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. To learn more about Ucross and its residency program, visit ucross.org.  

Today, Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program, announced its Fall 2025 Fellows. From August to early December, 65 writers, visual artists, composers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary artists will complete residencies on Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch in northeastern Wyoming.
 
“We are honored to welcome artists from across disciplines and around the world to Ucross this fall,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President and Executive Director. “Fellows are already experiencing our unique balance of solitude and community, from self-directed work in their private studios to hikes among the High Plains to shared dinners in the School House. We look forward to hearing how the Ucross experience influences these artists’ creative process.”
 
Among this session’s distinguished fellows is author Maud Casey from Washington, D.C., whose fiction writing has earned her the Italo Calvino Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the St. Francis College Literary Prize. Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota), a mixed-media artist from Rapid City, South Dakota, has been awarded a Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists. Also in residency this fall will be acclaimed Brooklyn-based playwright Justine Gelfman, whose work has been produced at Pete’s Candy Store and New York Fringe, among other accomplishments. In music composition, Maxx McGathey from Chicago, Illinois, has written and performed eight feature-length live film scores for clients such as the historic Music Box Theatre, 91.5 WBEZ, and the Chicago Park District’s “Movies in the Parks.” Nayana Keshava of Salzburg, Austria, is a choreographer and a contemporary dance practitioner who founded “INFLUX – Network for Dance, Theatre and Performance” and is a recipient of the Annual Fellowship Prize by the Federal State of Salzburg.
 
Fellowships range from two to six weeks, with a maximum of 10 artists in residence at a time. Ucross Fellows receive a private studio, living accommodations, meals prepared by a professional chef, and the opportunity to work in solitude amid the vast and inspiring landscape of the High Plains. The residency is fully funded and includes a stipend to offset expenses.
 
This session’s roster includes artists selected from 740 applicants by an independent jury of established artists, critics and arts leaders, as well as the 2025 recipients of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists. In addition, several artists will join the program through partnerships with esteemed national organizations, including Herb Albert Award in the Arts, Yale School of Art, Yale School of Drama, Yale School of Music, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, Houston Ballet, Alley Theatre, and the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming.
 
The fall 2025 fellows represent three continents, including 22 U.S. states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C. — as well as Germany, Austria, and Brazil.

The Fall 2025 Ucross Fellows are:
 
LITERATURE

Liz Duffy Adams; Playwriting; Northampton, MA
Isabelle Appleton; Fiction; Brooklyn, NY    
L.J. Atkinson; Poetry; San Bruno, CA
Pooja Bhatia; Fiction; Palo Alto, CA
Maggie Bourque; Nonfiction; Laramie, WY            
Lily Brooks-Dalton; Fiction; Los Angeles, CA
Jen Bryant; Nonfiction; Dublin, OH
Maud Casey; Fiction; Washington, DC
Diana Cejas; Nonfiction; Rougemont, NC
River 瑩瑩 Dandelion; Poetry; Staten Island, NY
Lydi Conklin; Fiction; Nashville, TN   
Jennifer Croft; Fiction; Tulsa, OK
Rucy Cui; Fiction; Menlo Park, CA
Laramie Dennis; Screenwriting; Los Angeles, CA
Javi Fuentes; Fiction; Santa Clara, CA
Justine Gelfman; Playwriting; Brooklyn, NY
Michele Harper; Nonfiction; Chevy Chase, MD
Miah Jeffra; Fiction; Santa Clara, CA
Kaylee Young-Eun Jeong; Poetry; Portland, OR
Jessica Kahkoska; Playwriting; Poughkeepsie, NY
Juliana Leite; Fiction; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jami Nakamura Lin; Fiction; Des Plaines, IL
Cassandra Lopez; Poetry; San Diego, CA
Francisco Marquez; Poetry; Brooklyn, NY
Rob Melrose; Playwriting; Houston, TX       
Bradley Michalakis; Playwriting; Houston, TX
Loubna Mrie; Nonfiction; Brooklyn, NY       
Ricardo Nuila; Nonfiction; Houston, TX       
Katherine Profeta; Nonfiction; New Haven, CT
Nat Wisehart; Nonfiction; Binghamton, NY
 
MUSIC, DANCE & PERFORMANCE   

Sarah Dahlinger; Performance/Video; Long Island City, NY   
Ryuta Iwashita; Dance; New York, NY
Nayana Keshava; Performance; Salzburg, Austria          
Dan Langa; Music Composition; Northampton, MA
Alan Liu; Music Composition; New Haven, CT      
Jacquelyn Long; Dance; Houston, TX          
Gustavo Alonso López; Music Composition; Walla Walla, WA
Maxx McGathey; Music Composition; Chicago, IL
Glenn Potter-Takata; Dance; Bronx, NY
Benjamin Rieke; Music Composition; New Haven, CT
Grace Shepard; Music Composition; Lighthouse Point, FL
Kate Campbell Strauss; Music Composition; Windham, ME
Song Teng; Dance; Houston, TX        
Sayako Toku; Dance; Houston, TX
Ellen Winter; Music Composition; Brooklyn, NY
 
VISUAL ARTS

Markus Baenziger; Sculpture; Brooklyn, NY          
Virginia Broersma; Painting; Long Beach, CA
Gabe Brown; Painting; Elizaville, NY
Burak Cevik; Film/Video; Berlin, Germany
Beatriz Cortez; Sculpture/Printmaking; Altadena, CA   
Diana Fine; Photography; Nassau, NY
Matthew Gilbert; Mixed Media; Newburgh, NY
Mokha Laget; Printmaking; Santa Fe, NM
Aitor Lajarin-Encina; Painting; Fort Collins, CO
Siobhan McBride; Painting; Staten Island, NY
Arny Nadler; Drawing; University City, MO
Landon Newton; Installation; Brooklyn, NY           
Wade Patton; Mixed Media; Rapid City, SD
Kameelah Rasleed; Mixed Media; Brooklyn, NY
Jennifer Rife; Mixed Media; Cheyenne, WY
Kelly Tapia-Chuning; Sculpture; Eureka, MT         
 
INTERDISCIPLINARY

Erin Elder; Interdisciplinary; Albuquerque, NM
Latipa; Interdisciplinary; Riverside, CA
Evan Silver aka Tiresias; Interdisciplinary; Brooklyn, NY
Stephanie Williams; Interdisciplinary; Washington, DC             
 
Since Ucross’s first residencies were awarded in 1983, more than 3,000 artists have received the gift of time and space. Distinguished Fellows include Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. 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, Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, and former three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. To learn more about Ucross and its residency program, visit ucross.org.

Ucross Foundation has announced the Ucross Gala & Benefit, to be held November 6 at POST Houston in Houston, Texas. The event will celebrate the legacy of the nonprofit organization’s late founder through the presentation of the 2025 Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership to Corbin Robertson, Jr., of Houston.

Ucross Founder Raymond Plank — World War II bomber pilot, entrepreneur, philanthropist and co-founder and longtime CEO of Apache Corporation — was known for his legendary independence, business acumen, and entrepreneurial vision. His generosity inspired, empowered, and supported generations of artists and executives to boldly pursue their own visions. The Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership was designed to honor and celebrate business leaders, philanthropists and innovators who have forged their own path and had an enduring impact on business, the arts, or land stewardship. 

The inaugural recipient of the Raymond Plank Award for Visionary Leadership was former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of Forth Worth, Texas, at the Ucross Gala & Benefit in Houston in 2019. Additional recipients include the late U.S. Senator Al Simpson and Mrs. Ann Simpson of Cody, Wyoming (2024); CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources Scott Sheffield of Houston, Texas (2023); and former Ucross Chairman Jim Nelson of Big Horn, Wyoming (2021).

Robertson is a seasoned leader with more than 40 years of global investment and operational experience in the natural resources sector. He began his career in 1969 at Quintana Petroleum and later led its mining division, Quintana Minerals Corporation, eventually acquiring the company in the 1980s. He is currently Managing Partner of Quintana Capital Group and serves as Chairman and CEO of the general partner of Natural Resource Partners L.P. Robertson has also chaired multiple public and private energy and shipping ventures and holds leadership roles across a range of organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute, Texas Medical Center, and Baylor College of Medicine. Robertson attended The University of Texas Austin’s Business Honors Program and was named a UT All American Football player during his Junior and Senior years. He is also a member of the Texas Business Hall of Fame.

“Corby’s career is a testament to bold leadership, strategic vision, and a deep understanding of the natural resources that power our economy,” said Steve Farris of Houston, co-founder and principal of Forager Energy, a U.S. minerals and royalty company; former Chairman and CEO of Apache Corporation; and former Ucross Trustee. “Corby and his wife, Barbara, have also been tremendously involved in many philanthropic efforts and programs in Texas and beyond in the areas of education, the arts, sports and with underprivileged children. It is truly an honor to be able to call Corby a friend.”

“It is a privilege to honor Corby Robertson for the impact his visionary leadership has had in Houston and beyond,” said Ucross Trustee Roger Plank of Houston, Founder and Chairman of Apex International Energy, former President and CCO of Apache Corporation and son of Raymond Plank. “I know my father would be very gratified to see his legacy carried forward in this meaningful way.”

Roger and his wife, Connie Plank, will co-present the Ucross Gala & Benefit in Houston along with Ucross Chair Jesse and Cathy Marion, Steve and Vicki Farris, and Ucross Trustee Christian Nelson and Dan Schroeder. Outgoing Chair Jim Nelson and Judy Rossiter will also be in attendance, along with other members of the Ucross Foundation Board, as they celebrate Raymond Plank’s legacy, the nonprofit’s mission and Robertson’s award. 

Raymond Plank founded Ucross to foster the creative spirit of working artists through uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations and the experience of the majestic High Plains, while serving as a responsible steward of its historic 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming. Since welcoming its first artists in 1983, Ucross has developed into one of the most respected artist communities in the nation and has supported more than 3,000 writers, composers, choreographers, and visual artists. After their sought-after fellowships, Ucross alumni have gone on to win Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, National Book Awards and Academy Awards, among many other accolades across disciplines. 

This fall, the Ucross Gala & Benefit will transport attendees to Ucross’s stunning ranch overlooking the Bighorn Mountains with featured former artists-in-residence. Ucross Fellow Don Stinson of Austin, Texas, will create an oil painting live throughout the evening; the main stage will feature a performance by Ucross Fellows Jack Wolff of Houston, Aoi Fujiwara of Osaka, Japan; and Eric Best of Indianapolis, Indiana. Wolff received the inaugural Lauren Anderson Dance Residency at Ucross as part of the residency program’s partnership with the Houston Ballet, thanks to a generous donation from Deborah and Edward Koehler and the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund. 

Among its national partnerships, Ucross works closely with the Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program and Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, providing fellowships to Texan alumni. 

More information about the Ucross Gala & Benefit is available here.

Ucross Foundation announces the 11 producers participating in the annual Sundance Institute Producers Lab, which has returned this month to the nonprofit artist residency program on its historic 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming. Fiction producers were in residence at Ucross from July 14–19, and nonfiction producers are in residence from July 21-26.
 
“We are honored to welcome Sundance Institute back to Ucross,” said Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President and Executive Director. “We look forward to discovering how the transformative benefits of uninterrupted time for creative work impacts these producers on our beautiful ranch.”
 
This marks the second year of Ucross hosting the Producers Lab and the 26th year of the organization’s partnership with Sundance Institute. For more than two decades, the two nonprofits collaborated over the Sundance Institute Playwrights & Composers Retreat at Ucross. More than 100 artists benefitted from the partnership, including Billy Porter, Hannah Gadsby, Michael R. Jackson, Charlayne Woodard, Jeanine Tesori, Doug Wright, Annie Baker, Adam Guettel, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and Tanya Saracho.
 
Over the last several years, the partnership evolved into an interdisciplinary retreat before transforming into the Producers Lab in 2024. 
​
The Sundance Institute Producers Program champions independent producers across career stages, empowering them to refine their craft in recognition of their pivotal role in the storytelling ecosystem. The Producers Lab is the focal point of the program and kicks off a yearlong fellowship, creating a community for fiction and nonfiction film producers as they network and participate in professional development opportunities while working on a feature-length project.
 
This year’s participants experience a fresh energy that mirrors the changing landscape of contemporary storytelling — one that is increasingly fluid and cross-genre. Fellows enjoy blocks of solo creative time to create, augmented with organic conversations where they can reflect on process. While Sundance Institute has curated several artists who identify theatre as their primary discipline, for the first time, the group of selected fellows represents a multidisciplinary range of artistic work. As always, the Residency remains dedicated to uninhibited creativity, professional growth and peer mentorship.
 
Emerging independent producers selected for the Producers Lab build community while receiving project-specific support in one-on-one meetings and small group sessions with established producers and industry advisors. Fellows sharpen their leadership and problem-solving skills while cultivating creative thinking. They develop strategies for pitching, securing funding, managing production, navigating the marketplace, and achieving sustainability. The 2025 cohort includes six fiction film producers and five nonfiction film producers.
 
Following the lab, fellows receive ongoing support through a yearlong mentorship from a dedicated advisor, industry networking opportunities, regular cohort gatherings, Sundance Collab benefits, and participation in ELEVATE, Sundance Institute’s professional development track.
 
Fellows in the Feature Film Producers Lab include Ryan Bobkin with People You Follow, April S. Chang and Vicki Syal with Dying is Fine, Karen Madar with Little Phnom Penh, Steven Snyder with Tell Me a Secret, and Daniel Tantalean with Birthright. Fellows in the Documentary Producers Lab include Loi Ameera Almeron with Becoming Us, Wendy P. Espinal with Anna Borges do Sacramento, Crystal Isaac with Basketball Heaven, Elijah Stevens with Untitled Science Project, and Nicole Tsien with Spirited.
 
The 2025 Feature Film Producers Lab advisors are Anne Carey (Nightbitch), Sylvia Desrochers (MPRM Communications), Poppy Hanks (One of Them Days), Kimberly Parker Zox (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Josh Peters (Dìdi (弟弟)), and Eugene Pikulin (Bruns Brennan Berry Pikulin & Jacobs PC). The 2025 Documentary Producers Lab advisors are Jamie Gonçalves (Caballerango), Rémi Grellety (Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat), Lance Kramer (Holding Liat), Andrea Meditch (Fathom), and Diane Quon (Minding the Gap).
 
“We’re energized by the singular storytelling in this year’s projects and the creativity and vision of the producers bringing them to life,” said Kristin Feeley, Director of Documentary and Artist Programs, and Shira Rockowitz, Director of Producing and Artist Support for the Feature Film Program. “Our team is excited to support these dynamic artists — from development through release — alongside the trailblazing group of producers and industry advisors whose wisdom and generosity play a vital role in their journeys.”
 
Launched in 2008, the Sundance Institute Producers Program boasts 174 fiction and nonfiction producer alumni, including Pierre Coleman (Ricky), Deidre Backs (Fancy Dance), Dan Janvey and Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Keith Wilson (I Didn’t See You There), and Kellen Quinn (Midnight Family). Program alumni have also garnered 8 Academy Award nominations overall for Nomadland, Moonlight, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Navalny, Time, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Minding the Gap, and Sugarcane. Program alumni have been nominated 16 times for the Independent Spirit Producers Award and taken home 10 of those prizes.

PROJECTS AND FELLOWS SELECTED FOR THE 2025 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE PRODUCERS LAB AT UCROSS
 
Feature Film Program
 
Ryan Bobkin with People You Follow (Canada, U.S.A.): Based on the memoir of the same name, People You Follow centers on Ellie, a young songwriter from Winnipeg, as she navigates the toxic labyrinth of the Los Angeles music scene, mistaking self-destruction for freedom and manipulation for love, until she is forced to confront herself to survive.
 
Ryan Bobkin is a Canadian producer focused on auteur-driven work, international co-production, and films with social impact. An experienced associate and co-producer of films that have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the Berlinale, and TIFF, he is in post-production on Sophy Romvari’s debut feature, Blue Heron.
 
April S. Chang and Vicki Syal with Dying is Fine (U.S.A.): The worries of a suicidal woman disappear when she gets a piece of good news: brain cancer.
 
April S. Chang is a Los Angeles–based producer from Atlanta. Her experience spans indie and studio projects, through which she champions auteur filmmakers. Her work has been recognized by Sundance Institute, SXSW Sydney, and LAAPFF. She served as associate producer on The Bikeriders, released theatrically in 2024.
 
Vicki Syal is a Brazilian Indian filmmaker and producer whose work has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Festival, and LALIFF and on HBO and PBS. A 2024 AT&T Untold Stories top 5 finalist and returning member of Rideback RISE, she fosters collaborative sanctuaries where stories flourish.
 
Karen Madar with Little Phnom Penh (Cambodia, U.S.A.): Spanning two sweeping decades and two continents, from post–Khmer Rouge Phnom Penh to early 2000s California, a Cambodian woman searches for family, home, and belonging as her first love continues to resurface over time.
 
Karen Madar, 2025 Mark Silverman Honoree, is a French producer and NYU alum based in New York City and Paris. Through NoMad Productions, she’s produced 15+ shorts, including Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites (2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction). She is the PGA’s 2024 Debra Hill Fellow.
 
Steven Snyder with Tell Me a Secret (U.S.A.): Eighteen-year-old Iranian immigrant Azi Rahimi becomes involved in a psychosexual game with an older woman, Elizabeth Kessler, who later goes missing. Years later there is an update with the case that forces Azi to contend with her biggest secret.
 
Steven Snyder is an independent producer whose latest short film, Azi, was an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. He is a 2024 Film Independent Fellow and was an executive producer on Dreamin’ Wild, which world-premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival.
 
Daniel Tantalean with Birthright (Canada, U.S.A.): When a pregnant Métis woman is suddenly abandoned at her sister-in-law’s home in Alberta, she uncovers a sinister plan for her unborn child, igniting a desperate fight for both of their lives.
 
Daniel Tantalean is an award-winning producer and founder of Yellow Nest Films. He produced In The Summers, winner of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic and a 2025 Independent Spirit Award nominee. His work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Festival, Hot Docs, and beyond.
 
Documentary Film Program
 
Loi Ameera Almeron with Becoming Us (U.S.A.): Five donor-conceived siblings, their mothers, and their newfound biological father unite through a DNA test, forging a path to redefine family. Together, they re-create childhood memories on home videos to heal emotional wounds, embrace their Filipino American heritage, and reshape their shared identity.
 
Loi Ameera Almeron is a Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Elevate Award winner from Berkeley Film Foundation and a Saul Zaentz Fellow with BAVC Media. Her films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and on PBS, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix, including a Student Academy Award winner and an NAACP Image Award nominee.
 
Wendy P. Espinal with Anna Borges do Sacramento (Brazil, Spain): In 18th-century slave-holding Brazil, Anna Borges fought for her freedom. Centuries later, Afro-Brazilian women “unarchive” her story through imagination and ancestral knowledge, weaving their own struggles and aspirations, bridging past and present into a compelling portrayal of Anna and themselves.
 
Wendy P. Espinal is a creative producer, filmmaker, and cultural manager. Rooted in research, process and meaning, she nurtures projects that open space for new Caribbean and Latin American cinema through a gendered lens, bridging diasporas, weaving memory, and crafting films through shared, collective creation.
 
Crystal Isaac with Basketball Heaven (U.S.A.): Kinston, North Carolina, a small majority Black town in Eastern North Carolina, is the single greatest producer of NBA players in the world. Basketball Heaven is a poetic look at the nuanced history and communal bonds that create the gritty athletes who come out of the ‘K.’
 
Crystal Isaac is an Emmy Award–nominated producer with more than a decade of experience in the documentary and news industry. Her work covers a broad range of issues, including education, poverty, race, sexuality, and criminal justice. You can see her work on HBO, CNN, PBS, BET, STARZ, and Paramount+.
 
Elijah Stevens with Untitled Science Project (Brazil, U.S.A., Belgium): A young chemistry student contemplates the nature of black holes.
 
Elijah Stevens is a producer in New York City, where he runs Space Time Films. With Sara Dosa and Shane Boris, he also runs Signpost Pictures. Prior work includes associate-producing Oscar nominee Fire of Love, King Coal, and Hollywoodgate, among others. He was a 2019 UnionDocs Collaborative Studio fellow.
 
Nicole Tsien with Spirited (U.S.A.): When a skeptical Hmong American is called to become a shaman, she turns the camera on her community, uncovering a clash of tradition, gender-based violence, and personal destiny — and reimagines healing as a new generation of spiritual leaders awaken, a once-in-a-century occurrence.
 
Nicole Tsien is a producer based in Queens, New York. She was previously the director of program development at CNN Films and the co-producer of POV on PBS. Tsien is on the Steering Committee for the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) and is a board member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.