The Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts

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Upcoming Programming

Master Class with Gretel Ehrlich: May 14-20, 2023

PLACE. How landscape shapes our bodies, cultures, and psyches.

Application Deadline: February 22, 2023 at 5pm MST Notification to writers: March 10, 2023 Application Fee: $0

Application Process: Writers submit a letter of interest explaining what the writer hopes to accomplish in the class and a writing sample to the Neltje Center. The writing sample includes one of the following: a book chapter, 20 pages of prose, or ten poems. Email a PDF of the letter and writing sample to NeltjeCenter@uwyo.edu by 5 pm MST on February 22, 2023.

Gretel Ehrlich will review applications and select the students to participate in the class.

The University of Wyoming (UW) announces a call for writers to apply for a Master Class with poet and essayist Gretel Ehrlich, author of The Solace of Open Spaces, This Cold Heaven, Facing the Wave, and Unsolaced. The master class is a program of the university’s Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts.

More information here. 

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The Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts

The University of Wyoming announces the launch of the Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts (Neltje Center), an initiative within the College of Arts and Sciences engaged in instruction, creative activity, research, collaboration, and related service. The Neltje Center provides a platform to link higher education with the arts and humanities in one of the most scenic locations in the country. The Neltje Center will draw and recruit talented students, faculty, and artists to the University of Wyoming (UW) for an experience only Wyoming can provide. Importantly, it will connect the arts to other disciplines through partnerships, programming, and collaborations. The center is named after Neltje, a renowned painter and philanthropist who, in 2001, founded the Jentel Artist Residency.

The Neltje Center will include programming, educational opportunities, events, and workshops at the UW campus in Laramie, in the Sheridan region, and in coordination with the Jentel Artist Residency. Beyond these
Locations, the Neltje Center is poised to create and support activities that are statewide, regional, national, and virtual.

Since its inception, Jentel has awarded fellowships to 835 visual artists and 418 writers from Wyoming,
the Rocky Mountain region, and across the U.S. Many fellows have produced work during residency
that subsequently received national recognition.

Neltje Center programming and the Jentel Artist Residency will provide opportunities for UW students in art, creative writing, and music to create, develop their practice, and expand their entrepreneurial skills. These opportunities will include residencies, workshops, and concerts as well as chances to engage with world-class artists, writers, and performers. These multifaceted experiences will help prepare students for successful careers in the creative economies of Wyoming and beyond.

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The Jentel Artist Residency

The Jentel Artist Residency is one of the key iniatives housed in the Neltje Center. The Jentel Artist Residency Program offers dedicated individuals a supportive environment in which to further their creative development. Here artists and writers experience unfettered time to allow for thoughtful reflection and meditation on the creative process in a setting that preserves the agricultural and historical integrity of the land. 

 

To learn more about this program, please visit our page on the Jentel Artist Residency.

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Opportunities for Engagement

With this new iniatitive comes many opportunities to get involved for students, supporters and members of the community alike. The Neltje Center will provide the chance for enegement that span contributing expertise, contributing funds, and establishing groups of friends for the Neltje Center.

Learn more

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Goals and Key Strategies 

Expand opportunities for visual, literary, and performing art students to achieve excellence in their fields.

• Grow enrollment and retention of arts students at the University of Wyoming. 
• Strengthen students’ ability to deepen their creative practice with faculty-led intensives in Sheridan. 
• Create opportunities for students to engage with Jentel residents and alumni for creative and professional development growth. These engagements will occur in Sheridan, Laramie, and other locations in Wyoming.
• Partner with Wyoming Innovation Partnership, Impact 307, Sheridan College, and other stakeholders to develop innovative professional development opportunities and programming for students and UW alumni to add to the creative economy of Sheridan and Wyoming.
• Build summer programming, post-baccalaureate programming, master classes, a low-residency MFA in Creative Writing, and early college programs for potential art students.

Strengthen Jentel’s reputation as a nationally recognized artist residency.

• Develop the administrative infrastructure required for Jentel to continue its successful residency while attracting funding and other resources. 
• Expand the experience of Jentel residencies to include performing artists and UW students and faculty. 
• Create opportunities for Jentel residents and alumni to engage with UW students, faculty, Neltje Center programming. 
• Foster innovative partnerships with local, regional, national, and international entities.

Collaborate with cross-sector partners to contribute to Wyoming’s creative economy through innovative professional development programing and excellent arts experiences for community members and visitors.

• Explore the vibrant northeast Wyoming Arts Community and identify opportunities for the Neltje Center to participate with arts and culture leaders in Sheridan.
• Identify opportunities for UW to build and participate in  collaborations and partnerships with arts and culture leaders locally, regionally, and nationally that support the creative economy of Wyoming. 
• Develop mentorship opportunities, programming, and resources to address the need of students and alumni to continue their creative practices beyond graduation and build sustainable careers in the arts in Wyoming. 
• Connect with creative partners in the Sheridan region to learn about opportunities to  collaborate on producing excellent arts programming for community members and visitors. 
• Create evaluation criteria and tools to measure the impact of the Neltje Center programming. 
• Develop opportunities to amplify the role of the creative economy in Wyoming and the region.