Event: Exhibition Opening Reception, Laramie Plains Civic Center Gorgon Gallery, Friday, September 25
WYNMWA Cordially invites you to celebrate the opening of Wyoming Women to Watch: A Book Arts Revolution at the Laramie Plains Civic Center, Friday, September 25.
Featuring Book Arts Works by artists Jodie Atherton, Oakley Boycott, Katie Christensen, and Kayla Clark.
VIP Reception, by invitation only | 4:30 PM
Gorgon Gallery, Laramie Plains Civic Center
Public Reception | 5:00 to 7:00 PM
Moderated Artist Discussion by Curator Beth Venn | 5:30 to 6:00 PM
Phoenix Ballroom, Laramie Plains Civic Center
Full Press Release:
The Wyoming Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts (WYNMWA) is celebrating the opening of its statewide traveling exhibition, Wyoming Women to Watch: A Book Arts Revolution, with a free event on Friday, September 25 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in the Laramie Plains Civic Center in Laramie, WY in the Phoenix Ballroom and Gorgon Gallery. The exhibition features work from the 2027 cohort of Wyoming Women to watch, Jodie Atherton (Laramie), Oakley Boycott (Lander), Katie Christensen (Laramie) and Kayla Clark (Laramie). All four Wyoming women were nominated by Beth Venn, Executive Director at the Neltje Center, for the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ (NMWA) global exhibition of contemporary artists’ books, Women to Watch: A Book Arts Revolution, with Clark being selected for inclusion in the national show in Washington D.C.
The highlight of the opening event will be a moderated discussion with all four Wyoming Women to Watch artists led by Beth Venn. The conversation will explore the artists’ experiences as creative professionals born and raised in Wyoming; highlight their individual art forms, inspirations, techniques, and approaches; and celebrate their work and its inclusion on the national stage. The discussion will take place in the Laramie Plains Civic Center’s Phoenix Ballroom from 5:30 to 6:00pm; to access, enter via the Northwest entry doors and go to the second floor. After the discussion, attendees will be invited to view the artwork on display in the Gorgon Gallery and engage with the artists from 6:00 to 7:00pm. Drinks and light refreshments will be available by the gallery to enjoy throughout the evening.
Wyoming Women to Watch will be on display at the Gorgon Gallery from September 14 to October 22. The artist-curated exhibition features works from all four Wyoming women artists who were selected for consideration in NMWA’s Women to Watch: A Book Arts Revolution. The breadth and diversity of the show illustrates the vast, creative, and multi-faceted nature of book arts and its varied interpretations and will travel to venues in Lander, Ucross, Jackson, and Casper after its tenure in Laramie.
“Too often, the voices of women artists in rural states go unheard,” says Wyoming curator Beth Venn, “This exhibition will showcase the important contributions of women artists in Wyoming, highlighting those doing the most visionary work in the field of book arts.”
The WYNMWA exhibition is a localized celebration of the larger Women to Watch project, which is the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ hallmark exhibition series featuring national and international artists whose work is underrepresented on the global stage. Presented every two to three years, the series is a unique collaboration between NMWA and its global outreach committees, such as WYNMWA, and is designed to support the careers of women and nonbinary artists across regional and international art scenes. The committee network works closely with local curators to create shortlists of artists, from which finalists are selected to exhibit at NMWA. For this edition, WYNMWA is one of sixteen participating national and international committees; Kayla Clark will represent Wyoming at the national exhibition opening in April of 2027.
WYNMWA is proud to partner with the Gorgon Gallery–a community exhibition space which features local, regional, and emerging artists, creating opportunities for creative exploration, meaningful dialogue, and connection through the visual arts–to kick off the statewide tour of these renowned Wyoming artists’ work. Join in the celebration, meet the artists, engage with the varied forms of book art, and support Wyoming women in the arts at 5pm on September 25 at the Laramie Plains Civic Center.
WYNMWA’s participation in its second Women to Watch exhibition is thanks in large part to a generous donation from Presenting Sponsor The Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund. For more information about the artists, upcoming events, and the Wyoming Committee, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit wynmwa.org.
The Wyoming Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts exists to further the mission of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; advocate for women artists and curatorial professionals in Wyoming and serve as National Museum of Women in the Arts ambassadors.
