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.