WAC debuts new all-arts blog

The Wyoming Arts Council now has a new blog for arts news and events in the state. It's called "Wyoming Arts" and you can find it here. I've been posting to that blog since March 1 as a test, and now it's up and running. Please send your e-mail announcements to Mike Shay and I'll do my best to get it on the blog in a timely manner. Assisting me is Linda Coatney, whose come to the WAC as a writer and editor for the blog and our new print newsletter, due to debut this summer. Some of you may know Linda from Casper where she was editor of the college literary magazine and also served on the literary conference planning committee. She's finishing up her degree at UW and now is living in Cheyenne.

What about wyolitmail? It will be on hold for now. My new assignment as grand poobah for all WAC arts disciplines makes "Wyoming Arts" a higher priority that wyolitmail. I encourage writers and poets to e-mail to me their blog and/or web site links. The new blog's sidebar features links to the state's arts organizations, writers, artists, performers, and folk artists. We want to add your link to the list.

Labels: Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 10:45 AM 4 comments

 
Kennedy Featured in Bombshells

Labels: anthologies, memoir, writers, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 9:55 AM 0 comments

 
What's New On WAC Web?

The Wyoming Arts Council is making a gallant attempt to keep updated its web site. It's always a work in progress -- as anyone knows who has an active site.

There are some new features on http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org. The Cybergrants system allows you to apply for organizational grants and Individual Artist Professional Development grants. Just go to the home page and click on the "Grants/Applications" link. WAC staffers continue to find some quirky aspects to Cybergrants, especially as we guide applicants through the process.

"Arts Organizations" is an especially useful link if you're looking for arts councils, presenters, libraries, museums and other organizations. If your org is not up there, send us a link and we'll add it to the list. Find the link on the list in the middle of the home page. We plan to add a page for the state's individual artists.

As I noted in an earlier post this week, a printable artist roster application is on the site. Just follow the link in the "News" section.

Labels: grants, libraries, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 8:47 AM 0 comments

 
Meet the Arts Council Board

The Wyoming Arts Council board meets Feb. 1-2 at the Hitching Post Inn in Cheyenne as part of this week's 25th anniversary celebration of the Governor's Arts Awards. The board will meet from 1-5 on Thursday and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday. The traditional public comment session will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at the Hitch. This is your opportunity to offer your comments about the WAC and/or the board, or to quiz us about our policies. The WAC has undergone many changes in the past year so it's a good time to come out and see what's new.

The GAA dinner and awards ceremony starts at 6 p.m. on Friday at the Taco John's Center next to the Hitch. Dinner will be served at 7, followed by the awards presentation by Gov. Dave Freudenthal at 8. We also have some great entertainment on tap. One of the honorees this year is poet and teacher Barbara Smith of Rock Springs. This continues the WAC tradition of honoring writers, literary groups and patrons in the state. During the past 25 years, awards have gone to David Romtvedt, Charles Levendosky, Gaydell Collier, Neltje, Ucross Foundation, and Wyoming Writers, Inc. It's not too early to start thinking about other lit people and orgs that have contributed mightily to Wyoming's literary tradition.

Unfortunately for procrastinators, the registration deadline for Friday's GAA gala event already has passed. See you next year.

Labels: artists' communities, awards, poets, writers, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

 
The grants training session scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 11, 7-9 p.m., at the Sweetwater County Public Library in Green River has been postponed due to bad weather. The WAC staffer due to conduct this session (me) is stuck in Riverton with snow swirling all around (see accompanying DOT webcamera photo). This session will be rescheduled for later this month or early February. As noted before, WAC already had to rearrange another grants training session, this one in Evanston on Jan. 8, due to bad weather. That one will now be held on Jan. 17, 7-9 p.m., at the Uinta County Public Library.

Labels: grants, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 1:01 PM 0 comments

 
Road Trip: Ethete and Riverton

As I drove I-25 north on Tuesday, I was glad I hadn't been on the road the day before. I passed five truck trailers that had been smacked down by Monday's winds. Two were on their sides and sliding down the snowy hill on that last rise before you get to Wheatland. On the southbound lanes, two big wreckers were righting another big rig. The wind had settled to its usual 30 mph range, with enough oomph to let motorists know we are in Wyoming but not windy enough to send you down a hill or into Nebraska.

Conducted grants trainings in Ethete and Riverton yesterday. This is my first time on the road demonstrating the Arts Council's new on-line granting system. I'm still fumbling around a bit with it, so be forewarned! Despite me heavy-handedness, those in attendance in Ethete and Riverton got a sampling of the computerized application. It's easy once you get the hang of it.

At the Tech Center located next to Wyoming Indian High School, Ren Freeman outlined some of the plans she has for the Eastern Shoshone Heritage Center. They include a new building to house the center, as well as a bronze of Sacajawea (sometimes spelled Sacagawea) pulling a travois and surrounded by native plants. She plans to use local artists for all the projects. The Reservation, notes Ren, has great potential for cultural tourism if handled in the right way. She told the story a family from Denmark who visited last summer. It was almost a pilgrimage, as they had named their daughter Sacajawea. The Shoshones invited them to share a meal and participate in one of their ceremonies.

Last night at the Riverton Public Library, the attendees were all individual artists. That's a first for me. Usually I get a mix of artists and those representing arts (and other non-profit) organizations. Willie LeClair was there. You may know Willie for his long-time tenure on the WAC's artist roster. He's been to a number of communities in Wyoming and across the U.S., sometimes performing with "Buffalo" Bill Boycott and other artists. At this session, I focused on WAC's programs for individuals, which include fellowships, Individual Artist Professional Development (IAPD) grants, artists' roster, folk arts apprenticeships, and the Artist Image Registry (AIR). We have a number of opportunities for the state's many artists, and hope to have more in the future. If you're interested -- we still have money available this year for IAPD grants in literature and performing arts. Come to a grants training session and I'll show you how to apply. See my schedule below.

Labels: fellowships, grants, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 10:17 AM 0 comments

 
Grants Training Update

The WAC staff begins traveling this week to conduct grants training sessions in 26 communities. Make that 25, as we debuted last Thursday at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne. About 30 people attended, including individual artists and reps from arts orgs – and a variety of other non-profits. The training focuses on our new on-line granting program, which we have been refining since August. We’re ready to show off the process, which allows applicants to conduct the entire process on-line.

I’ll travel to four sites this week. Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Tech Center in Fremont County School District 14 (next to Wyoming Indian High School)), Ethete. FMI: 332-9765.
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 7-9 p.m., Fremont County Public Library, 1330 W. Park, Riverton. FMI: Syd, 856-3556.
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 7-8:30 p.m., Fremont County Public Library, 451 N. 2nd St., Lander. FMI: Linda, 332-5194.
Thursday, Jan. 11, 7-8:45 p.m., Sweetwater County Public Library, 300 N. First East, Green River. FMI: 875-3615.

During the week of Jan. 22, I’ll be in Cody, Thermopolis, Worland, and Wheatland. More about that in upcoming posts.

There have been a few changes since the grants training postcard was mailed. The Evanston training set for Monday (tonight) at the Uinta County Public Library has been postponed due to I-80 white-outs caused by hurricane-force winds. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 17, 4-6 p.m. at the library. The Jackson session will be held at the Teton Science School at 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11. For more info, call Laurel at 733-1313. The date and location of the Laramie training has been changed. It will be held at the UW Art Museum Multipurpose Room on Monday, Feb. 5, 7-9 p.m. For info, call 766-6622.

You can get the entire schedule at the WAC web site.

Labels: grants, Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 9:00 AM 0 comments

 
E-MAIL NEWSLETTER PASSES ON, BUT THE BLOG SURVIVES: With the 12/22/06 edition, wyolitmail e-mail newsletter will cease publication. I began wyolitmail in 1999 when the Wyoming Arts Council board, facing big deficits, cut funds for our print newsletter. The agency decided to jump whole hog into electronic communication via its web site. Unfortunately, the switch from print to electrons was a bit premature and we're still catching up.

In the beginning, wyolitmail was sent weekly via e-mail to the 20 or so writers on the WAC roster and those who had won literary fellowships -- those who had e-mail addresses anyway. Those people started to forward wyolitmail to others, and they contacted me to get on the list. Pretty soon I had hundreds of subscribers for the free service, some even beyond the state's borders. Today, 540 subscribers receive it every Friday.

The wyolitmail blog will survie, and I'll do my best to update is daily. After all, a writer must support his habit -- and his fellow writers. In September, my job title changed from literary arts specialist to individual arts specialist. I’m now in charge of fellowships and Individual Artist Professional Development grants for literature, performing arts, and visual arts. I’m also the editor of a two new publications: the all-Arts Council monthly e-mail newsletter and a new quarterly print newsletter. The weekly edition of wyolitmail had to go.

The new all-WAC e-letter will feature info for individual artists and arts organizations. I’m already receiving lots of info about arts exhibitions and theatre performances and concerts. You may already have seen them sneaking into wyolitmail. However, if you don’t want to receive this more comprehensive arts e-letter, let me know. First issue is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 26, 2007. Please send your announcements at least a week in advance, and I’ll do my best to get them in.

Change is good, as they say (whoever "they" are). If you find yourself nostalgic for the e-mail wyolitmail, you can check out the WAC archives on the literature page.

Labels: Wyoming Arts Council

- posted by Michael Shay @ 8:42 AM 0 comments