Cheryl Strayed, Hannah Gadsby Among Ucross 2019 Spring Artists In Residence

Ucross, a prestigious artist residency program and creative laboratory for the arts, today announced the recipients of its Spring 2019 fellowships. 54 visual artists, writers, playwrights, composers and more were selected from nearly 400 applicants to utilize uninterrupted time, studio space, and living accommodations on Ucross's 20,000-acre ranch at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.

Cheryl Strayed (Wild) and Hannah Gadsby (Nanette) are among the creatives visiting Ucross in the Spring 2019 season; alumni include Billy Porter, Colson Whitehead, Yaa Gyasi, Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Adam Guettel. The artists work in a diverse range of creative disciplines, including fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, poetry, music, dance, painting, mixed-media, drawing, and sculpture. Residencies range from two to six weeks and there is no charge to artists.

Ucross was founded in 1981 by Raymond Plank, who passed away in November 2018. Ucross has provided more than 2,000 residencies to some of the world's most accomplished artists. Ucross has been home to ten Pulitzer Prize winners, eight MacArthur "genius" grantees, seven Tony Award winners, six National Book Award winners, and two Academy Award winners.

"Ucross is honored to support an exceptional roster of artists at varying stages of their careers," said Ucross President Sharon Dynak. "As Raymond once said, Ucross is a place that blends stewardship of the land with stewardship of the human creative spirit. These spring residencies reflect Raymond's legacy and our commitment to nurturing creative individuals who are making such an impact on contemporary culture."

The Spring 2019 list includes artists who hail from 17 different states throughout the U.S., as well as Athens, Greece and the United Kingdom. It also includes artists coming to Ucross through partnerships with The Ford Family Foundation, the PEN/Hemingway Awards, the Marion International Fellowship for the Visual and Performing Arts, the Herb Alpert Award, and The Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists; which since 2017 has awarded two Fellowships annually to Native American visual artists at all stages of their professional careers.

Seven of the artists, including Gadsby, spent three weeks in February in residence at Ucross, for the 2019 Sundance Institute Playwrights and Composers Retreat at Ucross. The retreat, which was developed in 2000 by Dynak and Philip Himberg, Artistic Director of the Sundance Theatre program, brings playwrights, composers and dramaturgs from all over the world to focus on individual creative work.

In September 2018, three Ucross alumni were selected for the long-list for the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction: Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Sigrid Nunez (The Friend), and Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers); with Nunez ultimately winning the Award in November. Six additional Ucross Fellows -

Du Yun (music), Jennifer Haigh (literature), Michael Harrison (music), Stephen Hayes (visual arts), Anthony Hernandez (photography), and Lee Anne Schmitt (film) received a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 2019, Ucross alumnus Billy Porter was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama.

Ten artists are in residence at one time, typically a mix of four visual artists, four writers, and two composers. They experience an inspiring combination of solitude and community; with expansive time for private work, amid lively exchanges at group dinners with fellow artists. Facilities include four visual arts studios, four writers' studios, and two composers' studios, each with an electronic keyboard and baby grand piano. There is also an Elephant etching press for printmakers and a large loft space suitable for dance and theatre collaborations.

Please find the full list of Spring 2019 artists in residence below:

Literature: Susan C. Briante, Yalitza Ferreras, Nikki A. Greene, Vernita Hall, Scott Hutchins, Roger King, Lisa Ko, Helen Elaine Lee, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Yxta Maya Murray, Amy Parker, Ashley Robinson, Isabella Spann, Cheryl Strayed, Anika Streitfeld, Mika Taylor, Alia Volz, Karen McCarthy Woolf

Visual Arts: Jarrod Beck, Rhona Bitner, Heidi Brandow, Zoë Charlton, Mateo Galvano, Laura Tanner Graham, Lisa Hochstein, Ann Kresge, Joanna Keane López, Carolyn Monastra, Margaret Pettee Olsen, Barbara Pearsall, Anne Austin Pearce, Mark Ritchie, Brooke Steiger, Cara Tomlinson, Karen Vance,

Music/Dance: Taylor Ho Bynum, Carmel Dean*, Victoria Haggblom, Daniel Kellogg, John Kelly, Ginger Krebs, Pamela Madsen, Matthew Dean Marsh*, Dave Munsick, Leah Reid, Glen Whitehead

Theatre: Nathan Alan Davis*, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen*, Hannah Gadsby*, Philip Himberg*, Michael R. Jackson, Yasmina Reggad*, Raquel Salas Rivera*, Alix Sobler

*Denotes Sundance Playwright's Retreat participant

About Ucross

Located in northeast Wyoming in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Ucross fosters the creative spirit of deeply Committed Artists and groups by providing uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains, while serving as a responsible steward of its 20,000-acre ranch. Residencies are awarded to nearly one hundred artists each year. Ten artists are in residence at one time, typically a mix of four visual artists, four writers and two composers.

Since its establishment in 1981, Ucross has provided over 2,000 residencies to writers, visual artists, and composers, including such distinguished fellows as Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Colson Whitehead, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, Academy Award and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and recent National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez. National partners of Ucross include The Sundance Institute Theatre Program, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, the Whiting Foundation, the Alliance of Artist Communities, and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. The Ucross Foundation Art Gallery is a significant cultural resource for surrounding communities and beyond. For further information, visit www.ucross.org.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski

To post a comment, you must register and login.