Three organizations across Wyoming each received a $2,000 Spark Grant from Wyoming Humanities.
- Grant Encampment Museum, “Filming the West”: Filmmakers come together to present their work on western themes, impacting citizens and visitors to the American West alike, focusing on filmmaking about the American Indian experience in Wyoming. Featured films include Treasure of Hidden Valley, The Battle of Red Buttes, Arapaho Covered Wagon Redux, and the award-winning documentary Who She Is, which focuses on the issue of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women. Discussions and featured speakers are also part of the two-day festival. The event takes place August 16-17 in Encampment, Wyoming.
- Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, Wyoming Archaeology Fair: This fair showcases Wyoming’s cultural heritage including archaeology and Indigenous lifeways. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historical Site in Laramie. Free and open to the public, the fair will showcase Wyoming’s cultural heritage, Indigenous lifeways, and historic activities through hands-on learning experiences. Experts from a variety of disciplines will have booths for activities, including hide painting, cordage making, yucca processing, flint knapping, atlatl throwing, and pottery making. Special guests this year include the Wind River Dancers, as well as local folk artists and a professional blacksmith.
- Jackson Hole Public Art, “Contemporary Indigenous Tribal Conversations”: Four contemporary Indigenous artists —Nanibah Chacon, Marlena Myles, Rachel Berg, and Ben Pease — will discuss native art and stories in a conversation moderated by renowned curator Erin Joyce. Each artist will have one large-scale artwork installed at the time of the tribal gathering and this event. The event takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Center for the Arts during a multi-tribal gathering in Jackson.
Spark Grants are awarded across the state, based on communities’ needs and programs designed to spark new insights and perspectives. Funding is provided by the state of Wyoming through the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. Wyoming Humanities’ grants generate significant social and economic impact five times greater than state funding.
For more information about Wyoming Humanities and its grants or sponsorship opportunities, visit https://www.thinkwy.org/grants.