Mackenzie Thomas
Staff Writer
Alongside typical monthly events like the Here and Now: Arts and Aging Program, there are several holiday events open for community participation at the University of Wyoming Art Museum this Dec.
Today, the UW Art Museum will be hosting the Lunchtime Conversations with Curators event. The Lunchtime Conversations with Curators event will be from 12:10 to 12:15 p.m. in the Art Museum.
Participants in the event should expect to meet in the museum’s entrance hall for a gallery walk through. The gallery walk through will include a discussion centered around the University of Wyoming Visual Arts Department Faculty Exhibition. The Lunchtime Conversations with Curators event will feature faculty and special guest artists from the Department of Visual and Literary Arts. Everyone from graduate students to Alumni are invited to attend the event.
The Art Museum will also be hosting the Lighting of the Trees event tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m.
The event will feature a silent auction. Proceeds from the silent auction will go towards funding the Art Museum’s educational programming as well as community outreach. The Lighting of the Trees event will help kick start the Art Museum’s annual Happy Holidays Laramie Festival of Trees for the event’s 27th year.
“This event is free, open to the public and family friendly. The community is invited to bid on our silent auction that begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday and continues to Saturday at 2:45 p.m.” Janine Reinhardt, an administrative assistant at the Art Museum says.
Reinhardt also touched on how the holiday events will benefit the Art Museum itself.
“Support the art museum by bidding in our silent auction and celebrate the holiday season with the Laramie Community,” Reinhardt said.
Along with the silent auction, there will also be music and the People’s Choice Award will be announced during this time. This event is open to all ages in the Laramie Community.
To help focus on community outreach, the Art Museum will also host the Laramie and Albany County Student Art Exhibition. This exhibition will run from Dec. 7 to Dec. 21 and will feature works from elementary, middle school and high school students from the Laramie and Albany County area.
Also on Sat., the Art Museum will host the second part of their Happy Holidays Laramie Festival of Trees event featuring many community-encompassing events. The event will host community and school group performances and offer time for participants to enjoy art making from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Reinhardt said she enjoys the Festival of Trees the most.
“This is because a People’s Choice Award is given and it’s the first time the trees are revealed to the public and it’s a magical moment,” she said.
Continuing with their regularly scheduled events, the Art Museum will also host two Teen Open Art Studio Time (TOAST) events Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m. TOAST will offer community teens a chance to create and express themselves through independent art projects.
Alongside their regular TOAST sessions, the Art Museum will host their Here and Now: Arts and Aging Program Dec. 18 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. This event is offered for dementia patients and their caretakers to have a safe and creative environment for creating.
Over the course of Dec. the Art Museum has a wide variety of events for UW students and the surrounding Laramie Community to participate in. Starting Dec. 23, the Art Museum will be closed for the upcoming holidays until Jan. 1, 2020.
