2021 Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Annual Report

2021 Annual Report

In 1999, the Wyoming Legislature established the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund with the following declaration: “The legislature hereby finds that Wyoming and its people possess a unique cultural heritage….there is a need to preserve, promote, and enhance that unique cultural heritage for the citizens of the state and the nation and for future generations to understand and appreciate the heritage which makes Wyoming unique among the United States.”

CURRENT WYOMING CULTURAL TRUST FUND BOARD & STAFF

Susan Stubson, Chair, Casper

Mary Hopkins, Laramie

Jim Davis, Vice-Chair, Evanston

Nancy Schiffer, Kaycee

Rebecca Bextel, Jackson

Sara Needles, Ex-Officio, Laramie

David Cunningham, Meeteetse

Renée Bovée, WCTF Program Coordinator

TO DATE HISTORICAL DATA

WCTF Corpus Amount, $16.271 million Interest earnings from the corpus investment provide the revenue for grant awards.

Since 2007:

WCTF grants have touched 209,363 students and 2,031,185 general audience members.

WCTF Grant Dollars: $7.617 million Local Cash Match: $48.299 million Local In-Kind Match: $10.279 million (Match is determined based on actual final report statistics with 89% of projects completed.)

Since 2014, the WCTF has specifically tracked the number of FTE (full-time equivalent) hours. WCTF grants have supported: 35 full-time positions within non-profit organizations and over 144 contractor FTEs.

Volunteers have provided more than

216,602 hours of donated labor

(the equivalent of over 104 full-time employees)

WCTF Grants Since 2007 $60,000,000 $48,299,750

$50,000,000 $40,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $10,000,000

$7,617,287

$10,279,594

$0

WCTF Grants

Local Cash Match

Local In-Kind Match

1

ON THE COVER:

In August, 2021, after a year long delay due to the pandemic, the City of Rawlins celebrated their Latino residents and heritage with a day-long Latino Heritage Celebration, with art displays, music, dancing and of course, food.

WYOMING CULTURAL TRUST FUND GRANT AWARDS The mission of the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund board is to serve the citizens of Wyoming’s culture and heritage through grant funding of innovative projects for the enjoyment, appreciation, promotion, preservation and protection of the state’s arts, cultural and historic resources; and supporting and investing in Wyoming institutions that help further this mission.

In FY 2021 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021) the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund (WCTF) made 40 grant awards, totaling $298,755.

These grants assisted organizations in 14 communities in 11 counties. The WCTF is unique in its ability to support operations as diverse as museums, historic and archaeological sites, historic preservation, history, contemporary arts, craft and music festivals, theatre and dance productions, oral histories, podcasts, conferences, public art, documentary films and more.

The WCTF granting program provides two grant deadlines per year to better accommodate the needs of potential grantees: April 1 for projects/events/activities which begin after July 1; and October 1 for projects/events/activities which begin after January 1.

CONTACT INFORMATION Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund 2301 Central Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82002 307-777-6312 wyoculturaltrust.com renee.bovee@wyo.gov 2

Paul Taylor performs the didgeridoo with members of the Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne.

Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne, Wyoming

The Club was able to host Paul Taylor for a workshop in April 2021, with COVID-19 precautions. A group of 25 youths were able to learn about didgeridoos and other Australian traditions. They were able to make their own didgeridoos and learn the basics of playing this special instrument, therefore encouraging them to appreciate the music and unique history behind each song.

The Jackson Hole Chorale, Jackson

A WCTF grant allowed the Jackson Hole Chorale to purchase a portable digital keyboard and amplifier. This equipment has allowed members to continue with their musical education via the website during the pandemic, and will allow the Chorale Singers to expand their outreach into the community as restrictions lift.

Members of the Jackson Hole Chorale Singers perform outside for community members.

3

THE FOLLOWING GRANTS WERE AWARDED IN 2021:

4

Legal Organization Name

City

Project Title

WCTF Awarded

Alliance for Historic Wyoming

Laramie

Restoration of Lemley Mill

$15,000.00

Big Horn City Historical Society, Inc.

Big Horn

All-American Indian Days Honoring Project

$14,805.00

Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Inc.

Cheyenne

Boys & Girls Club of Cheyenne Arts Education Program

$3,300.00

Cadoma Foundation

Casper

Historic Bishop Home Final Phase Accessibility Project

$10,000.00

Casper Artists' Guild

Casper

Basement Expansion: Workshop, Conference, and Co-Creating Space

$7,000.00

Casper Artists' Guild

Casper

State-Wide Conference for Artists at the Intersection of Arts, Health & Wellness

$6,000.00

Casper Children's Theatre, Inc.

Casper

Zak Pullen Mural

$22,000.00

City of Cody

Cody

Concerts in the Park 2020

$1,000.00

City of Rawlins

Rawlins

Latino Heritage Celebration Event

$2,000.00

Conservation Ink

Wilson

Kemmerer-Diamondville Coal Oral History Project

$8,960.00

Downtown Development Authority

Cheyenne

History Under Foot

$6,745.00

Friends of South Pass

South Pass City

Smith Sherlock Company Store Restoration

$20,000.00

Grand Encampment Museum

Encampment

GEM Orientation Video and Multimedia Exhibit

$16,300.00

Harry Jackson Museum

Cody

2021 Harry Jackson Institute Collection Preservation Support

$12,185.00

Continued on page 8

Youths participating in the Soundcheck Music Series outreach program with The Lonesome Heroes, learning rhythm with egg rattles.

Pinedale Fine Arts Council, Pinedale

The 2020 Summer Soundcheck Music series continued despite the pandemic. Each show had to be scaled down with 6’ x 6’ “picnic blanket sized” squares on the grass, providing families a chance to enjoy live music outdoors, while still taking caution. The “Folk for Kids” outreach program was restricted to a smaller socially distanced event. The Lonesome Heroes performed songs and introduced kids to the concepts of rhythm and percussion using egg rattles. The program ended with the kids learning a full song and performing it with the band, again from a socially distanced area.

5

Stage III Community Theatre, Casper

With the assistance of a WCTF grant, Stage III Community Theatre was able to renovate the Green Room bathroom. Actors returning to Stage III for their first production of the season were delighted to have a new, clean, working bathroom to use while they rehearsed and performed.

They also appreciated not having to share the bathroom with ten other actors! For the first time in Stage III history, costumes could be washed on site during and after the production ended. Previously, costumes had to be washed at home.

Stage III Community Theatre’s Facebook page, screenshot of the Green Room bathroom remodel.

Washakie Museum, Worland

Washakie Museum’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day was held in October 2020. This event celebrates and honors American Indians and commemorates their heritage and cultures. Indigenous People’s Day involved representatives of eight sovereign tribal nations including Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapahoe, Paiute, Isleta Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Ogalala Lakota, Blackfeet and Crow. Representatives include Willie LeClair, Eastern Shoshone, who conducted an opening ceremony with storytelling, prayer, singing and drumming. Five hundred people attended this one-day event, held outside due to pandemic health restrictions.

Willie LeClair at the Opening Ceremony of Indigenous People’s Day at the Washakie Museum, Worland.

6

Top: Major General Gregory C. Porter, Adjutant General for the Wyoming National Guard, at the dedication ceremony of the newly restored Wyoming First Battalion Spanish-American War flag. Bottom: The fragile Spanish-American War flag being laid out for evaluation by the conservator and museum staff.

Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne

Thanks to a WCTF grant, the historic Spanish-American War flag was sent to a professional conservator for cleaning, stabilizing and framing. This process was filmed by a professional videographer who then completed a short documentary about the flag and its preservation. By completing this project, the Museum is now able to offer the flag for public viewing. Previously, it had been in too fragile a condition to be seen. The creation of the documentary will allow people to learn about the flag and its history when the flag is not on display.

7

Legal Organization Name

City

Project Title

WCTF Awarded

Jackson Hole Chamber Music

Jackson

Dubois Chamber Music

$3,500.00

Jackson Hole Writers

Jackson

2021 Jackson Hole Writers Conference, Youth Conference and Programs

$10,000.00

Lander Art Center

Lander

2020 Art of Home Exhibition

$2,400.00

Lander Community Foundation

Lander

Wyoming Bike Racks for Beauty

$4,000.00

Laramie Community Foundation

Laramie

Touchstone Laramie 2020: Online Exhibition and Sale

$2,560.00

Laramie Main Street Alliance

Laramie

Wyo Theater - Laramie Façade Pre-Development

$6,500.00

Jackson

Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art -- Curatorial and Education Needs

$19,785.00

Old Pen Joint Powers Board

Rawlins

Finishing and Furnishing the Exhibit Space in the Historic Guards' Quarters

$5,000.00

Pinedale Fine Arts Council

Pinedale

2020 Summer Soundcheck Music Series

$3,000.00

Pinedale Fine Arts Council

Pinedale

Sound System Upgrade

$2,500.00

Rock Springs Renewal Fund, Inc.

Rock Springs

2021 Brown Bag Concert Series

$1,500.00

Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre

Cody

Wild West Spectacular, The Musical

$2,000.00

Stage III Community Theatre

Casper

Stage III Backstage/Green Room Remodel

$5,000.00

Sublette County Historical Society

Pinedale

Sublette County Centennial -- Phase 1

$6,750.00

National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States

8

Legal Organization Name

City

Project Title

WCTF Awarded

The Jackson Hole Chorale

Jackson

Expanding the Reach of the Jackson Hole Chorale Singers in Teton County

$3,500.00

Plumbing, Walls and Ceilings Encampment for the Rawlins Odd Fellow Lodge #4

$12,000.00

The Rawlins Lodge No. 4, I.O.O.F.

Town of Ten Sleep

Ten Sleep

Nowoodstock, Ten Sleep Music Festival

$5,200.00

Washakie Museum

Worland

Indigenous People's Day 2020

$6,000.00

Wyoming Arts Alliance

Cheyenne

2021 Professional Development Initiative for Wyoming Communities

$7,500.00

Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Inc.

Thermopolis

WDC Interactive Display Project

$8,000.00

Wyoming PBS Foundation

Riverton

Home From School: The Children of Carlisle

$8,000.00

Wyoming PBS Foundation

Riverton

Golden Eagles: Witness to a Changing West

$7,300.00

Wyoming Public Media

Laramie

2020-21 Wind River Reservation Report

$6,000.00

Wyoming Singer-Songwriters

Laramie

Wyoming Singer-Songwriter Competition Years 2&3 Compilation Albums

$3,000.00

Wyoming State Museum

Cheyenne

Wyoming First Battalion, Spanish American War Flag Conservation

$7,465.00

Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, Inc.

Casper

Wyoming Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition

$5,000.00

9

Cast of the 2020 Wild West Spectacular.

Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre, Cody

Despite COVID-19, the Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre presented their “Wild West Spectacular” for 24 performances in July and August, 2020. These performances went forward, while adhering to all public orders, including those regarding social distancing. They even rotated three different casts for safety reasons. Given this was one of the few live performance options in Cody during this time, 1500 people, consisting of locals and tourists alike, were able to enjoy this family friendly performance, which tells the history behind Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show and William F. Cody through dancing, acting and singing.

10

Audience and musicians enjoy the music during the concert rehearsal.

Jackson Hole Chamber Music, Jackson

Members of the Jackson Hole Chamber Music ensemble performed in Dubois in a COVID-19 delayed concert in September 2021. The professional musicians and their audience all wore masks during the open rehearsal and performance, allowing more audience to participate with social distancing restrictions. Despite the challenge brought on by the pandemic, the enthusiasm of the audience and the beauty of an autumn day in Dubois was heartwarming to the musicians who had had limited opportunities to perform during the previous year.

11

Exploring the Wyoming Dinosaur Center’s interactive digital excavation of marine fossils.

The Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Thermopolis

The Wyoming Dinosaur Center received WCTF support in the development of a new interactive digital excavation of marine fossils, “Dig Deeper - Monstrous Creatures of the Sea”. By combining surface photogrammetry models and medical CT data of fossils, every fragment of these bones is translated into digital images that visitors can see, touch and interact with.

12

YOU FUND THE TRUST; WE FUND THE CULTURAL PROGRAMMING AND PROJECTS THAT MAKE WYOMING UNIQUE.

The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund supports nonprofit cultural organizations and their programs statewide and serves as a catalyst for economic development and job growth.

Each year funding requests far outweigh available funds from the interest earnings on the corpus, a permanent investment fund. Your contribution will increase the availability of funding, from which your community will benefit greatly.

To make a donation to the Cultural Trust Fund, visit our website at wyoculturaltrust.com; or contact Renée Bovée, WCTF Program Coordinator, 307-777-5196.

Donations are tax deductible under 170(c)(1) of the tax code.

THANK YOU TO THE INDIVIDUAL DONORS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE WYOMING CULTURAL TRUST FUND CORPUS, TO DATE:

David Cunningham, Meeteetse Jim and Bonnie Davis, Evanston

Kass Harrell, Lander Alan O’Hashi, Cheyenne Nancy Schiffer, Kaycee Albert Sommers, Pinedale

Tim and Susan Stubson, Casper Marla and Peter Wold, Casper

13