Ucross To Launch “Confluences” at Founder’s Day

On May 27, Ucross Foundation announces today the debut of “Confluences,” a new site-specific sound experience created by internationally recognized artists, researchers and Ucross Fellows Teri Rueb and Laurids Sonne, at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 31, in conjunction with Ucross Founder’s Day.

Founder’s Day honors the life and legacy of Ucross founder Raymond Plank (1922–2018), a World War II bomber pilot, entrepreneur and philanthropist who established the nonprofit artist residency program in 1981. Since its first residencies in 1983, Ucross has supported nearly 3,000 visual artists, writers, composers and choreographers.

The free public event invites the community to explore the artist residency grounds on Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming and enjoy a day of creativity, connection and celebration.

“Confluences” is an emplaced sound experience blending the stories, sounds and seasons of Ucross in a layered composition that covers the main campus and selected ranchland of the residency program. Sounds play in response to one to ones movement as they walk with a mobile device, running a free downloadable app, while wearing headphones. Voices of valley residents sit alongside artist residents, the regional community and land stewards, all mingling with field recordings of the site taken in different seasons.

The title “Confluences” refers to the merging of Piney Creek, Clear Creek and Coal Creek on the Ucross campus, as well as the convergence of people, land, memory and time. Visitors are invited to slow down, wander and listen to the stories and rhythms that have shaped this unique and special landscape.

Originating in 2022, “Confluences” brought Rueb and Sonne into close relationship with the land and its rhythms.

“Time stretches in every direction and is marked by the metronome of one’s footsteps, as much as the geological record below,” Rueb said. “The earth, the water, the wind and the many voices of those who have made this artwork have breathed life into my very being and brought me back to the land, again and again—a home on the High Plains.”

Rueb, a Ucross artist-alumna, has made land-based responsive sound installations using GPS since 1996. Her works have been commissioned by galleries, museums, arboretums, planetariums, cultural centers and communities across the United States, Canada and Europe. She has received awards and recognition for her work globally, including a Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction.

“In the Clear Creek Valley, this windy wheel that turns our lives tells of perseverance and ways of being with the world, of social and ecological relationships, stretching far beyond what the eye can see,” said Sonne. “But we can hear it if we stretch our ears.

Listening requires care, a mutual care, a relational care. I am grateful to the vast communities of the Clear Creek Valley and beyond for their generosity, care and camaraderie, allowing me to listen, whether in the lee side of a barn or working windward in the unfolding of day.”

Sonne is a Danish documentary media artist, researcher and organizer who works with representational media, including moving and still images, installation work and sound.

His work strives to develop new visual and sonic approaches for rethinking documentary practices. Sonne was a member of the four-person international art collective Parfyme for a decade, working with relational and social-based processes; developing new platforms for community, interaction and exploration. Sonne’s work has been presented internationally: at festivals, art institutions and across land and public spaces.

Rueb and Sonne worked closely with software developer and media artist Cristobal Mendoza to create custom software for the app, which is designed to work exclusively onsite.

Rueb and Sonne will give remarks to the community, including the local contributors to the project, at the “Confluences” debut during Ucross Founder’s Day on May 31 with an opening reception at 10 a.m. in the covered pavilion by the confluence of the three creeks. The reception will include complimentary copies of the printed field guide, as well as light refreshments.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., guests are invited to tour the studios of Ucross’s current artists- in-residence, meet the artists, view works in progress and experience the creative process in action. As guests stroll, they will enjoy live music by ensembles from the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. To learn more about and secure free tickets to Ucross Founder’s Day, visit ucross.org.

Starting June 2, access to “Confluences” will be free and open to the public. Participants check in and get started in the Ucross Art Gallery, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Participants should bring headphones and a fully charged mobile device before beginning the sound walk. Please note that select trailheads are not publicly accessible and will be available on guided walks. Participants are encouraged to contact Ucross at info@ucross.org or 307-737-2291 for access information.

“Confluences” was commissioned by Ucross Foundation with support from Jesse Marion of Spring, Texas. Additional funding was provided by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Research and Innovation Office and the Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media.

At 1 p.m., the Ucross Art Gallery will open “Luminous Forms,” a new contemporary art exhibition curated by Emily McElwreath, an alumna of the Ucross residency program and host of “The Art Career” podcast.

Participating current artists-in-residence will include composer Gelsey Bell, composer Gregory Barnett, interdisciplinary artist Grant Cutler, sculptor Gina Herrera, installation artist Ruth Jeyaveeran, filmmaker Erin Semine Kökdil, poet Cindy Tran, nonfiction writer Raksha Vasudevan and poet Mathew Weitman. In addition, Sarah Ortegon HighWalking (Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho) will give a special jingle dress dance performance during the open studios.

For more information or to reserve free tickets, visit www.ucross.org. For more information about “Confluences,” visit https://terirueb.net/confluences