Residency and Outreach
Through its Residency Program, art gallery, and associated activities, Ucross actively seeks to support an appreciation for vibrant human creativity and aims to cast a reflection into the future from the cultural mirror of our lives and times. The Foundation provides living accommodations, studio space, uninterrupted time, and the experience of the extraordinary High Plains landscape to competitively selected individuals, who are awarded residencies of two to eight weeks. Ucross seeks individuals whose work reflects innovative thinking, a depth of creative exploration, and the potential for significant future accomplishments. Up to nine individuals are in residence at any one time. The Foundation has four writing studios, four visual arts studios (including one with an Elephant etching press), and two composing studios, both with baby grand pianos. The renovated barn loft serves as a choreography studio. Approximately ninety-five individuals are supported annually.
Residents live in the historic Ucross School House or the Clearmont Train Depot, which have been renovated to include four bedrooms each, with the dining area, living area, and main kitchen in the School House. Lunch and dinner are prepared five days a week by a professional chef. Residencies are provided at no cost to the artist.
Ucross has hosted over 1,400 artists-in-residence from across the United States and the world. The Foundation participates in a number of long-term collaborations with other arts organizations, including the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, the Alpert Award in the Arts (administered by CalArts and supported by the Herb Alpert Foundation), and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for First Fiction. Ucross also collaborates with the Alley Theatre, University of Wyoming's MFA Program in Creative Writing, the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, The Ford Family Foundation Fellowship for Oregon Artists, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Elaine Lebenbom Award for Female Composers.
The Ucross Foundation Art Gallery operates year-round at no cost to the public and typically features exhibitions by Ucross Fellows. The barn loft provides space for occasional conferences and public concerts. The Foundation was named a recipient of the Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2005.
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