The past few months have been bustling and I’ve been meaning to share three news items regarding what I’ve been up to since my solo exhibition at signs & symbols in NYC concluded in early February.
—> I was given the opportunity to be profiled in a paid video post that is appearing on The New Yorker website for an entire year. In it, I talk about artists sustaining creative lives and the role that mentorship plays in our community. The producers were kind enough to embrace my ideas for this piece, which included bringing in other artists to share their stories. I was also able to mention our new Institute for Sustained Creativity (ISC) that we’re in the process of developing and putting into the world.
On my Instagram page, I speak more in-depth about the process in which this came about on. Enjoy!
—> Vinson and I were lucky to be invited on the long-running “Bad at Sports” podcast, hosted by the inimitable Duncan MacKenzie. We were in Sheridan, Wyoming when this interview took place, where we were helping to facilitate a state-wide grant for artists (mentioned in the next item below).
As always, the conversation with Duncan was hilarious (it was all his fault!). We discussed our new ISC, how we were helping artists in Wyoming, and my elation with finally finishing the manuscript to my third collection of essays by artists (this time over 50!): Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50. More on the new book later this summer.
“Live from WY! The return of art world mega force Sharon Louden and music Impresario Vinson Valega! We talk Sustaining your Creative Life and the Institute for it! Always working to better your artistic life! Get your Art World hustle on.”
To learn more about Duncan and his jolly cohorts at Bad at Sports, please visit their website, which has been producing hundreds of these podcast interviews with artists for more than ten years!
—> Last but definitely not least, as a consultant since December I have been helping facilitate a state-wide grant in Wyoming that helps artists all across the state. Called the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP), this impressive $1.1 million funding source is being used to build out the state’s creative economy by providing professional practice resources and mentorship to over 100 artists in five different cities. Vinson and I have been traveling throughout the state working hand-in-hand with Beth Venn, the Executive Director of the Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts, and her team:
“The grant doubles the state’s annual funding for the arts, provides artists with resources and makes significant ‘seed money’ available for arts-related entities. These will, in turn, continue to elevate the level of arts engagement here. It’s a win for everyone dedicated to the arts in Wyoming.”
We conducted workshops in Laramie, Fort Washakie, Sheridan, Powell, and Rock Springs between December and earlier this month. The amazing artists we have met in all disciplines (visual art, music, dance, theater, writing) have been truly inspiring. It has been an honor to help these 100 individuals strengthen their artistic practice through my efforts working with Beth’s team, as well as by assembling 34 mentors across Wyoming and the rest of the country that are helping them craft their creative enterprise proposals in the hopes of landing one of the 10 seed-grants worth $25,000 each.
There is a possibility the WIP grant will be renewed for next year, providing incredible resources for the next 100 Wyoming artists. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, I just wanted to share a few photos of Neltjie’s home outside of Sheridan where we stayed for the week between workshops in Sheridan and Powell last month. Neltjie was an incredible artist herself, and only just passed away in her late eighties a few years ago. She helped so many artists in her 40+ years in Wyoming. You can learn more about her at her website.
