(Fremont County, WY) – The call for entries for Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition is now available on CaFE, www.callforentry.org. The entry deadline is November 14, 2021. Apply now at https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=9485
The Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition is a biennial juried exhibit that celebrates the work of Wyoming artists. The exhibition was established in 2000 under an initiative by Governor Geringer and is organized under the auspices of the Wyoming State Museum and the Wyoming Arts Council.
The exhibition is the primary avenue through which the state museum acquires art for its collections. The State’s five elected officials and representatives from other state agencies select purchase award winners for the Capitol art collection. While the museum’s curators select purchase awards for the permanent art collection. All other artwork in the exhibition is available for sale to the general public.
The exhibit is open to artists currently working and living in Wyoming. There is no fee to enter. Questions may be directed to Mariah Emmons, Museum Registrar, [email protected], (307)631-3368.
The juried exhibition will be on display from February 14 through August 14th at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. This year’s juror is Wade Patton.
From the Juror:
I’m an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and grew up on the Pine Indian Reservation, which now is Oglala Lakota County in the southwest of South Dakota. I was surrounded by a rich culture of art and music. After obtaining a BA in art from Black Hills State University and having a solo exhibit during my senior year at the Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City, I decided to move away.
It took leaving South Dakota for me to find a voice in my most recent body of work. Yet, while pursuing other art opportunities on the east coast, I longed for home. Living on the east coast, I began expressing what I missed, the beauty and splendor of the Black Hills and the skies of South Dakota. I started to draw landscapes and clouds, as a reminder of home. The spare beauty of the prairie resonates in my work.
Something clicked, not only in my artistic expression, but with collectors and galleries. Their response was unexpected, but welcomed. I started sending work back home for exhibits and galleries, and was getting recognition. Finally, I realized how much I needed to return, I missed my family and I wanted to pursue my art in the place where I find the most inspiration. That decision brought me straight into a thriving Native art scene that clearly wasn’t here when I left.
Interestingly, when I moved back people would say, ‘Oh, you’re the cloud guy!’. People didn’t know me, but knew my work. I’m reacquainting myself with the land and my ancestry. This is most prevalent in my recent works and it’s exciting for me as an artist to look forward to the future with new works.
In moving back to South Dakota, I have been fortunate in having more opportunities in pursuing my art. I have traveled the country for art residencies, to do solo/group exhibits, art markets, juror of art shows and to teach (young and old) different art mediums across the state.