Ucross and Sheridan College to Host Artist Talk by Nelleke Beltjens and Laurie Schwartz to Celebrate International Women’s Day

Current Ucross Fellows and distinguished artists Nelleke Beltjens and Laurie Schwartz will speak at Sheridan College’s Whitney Academic Center (Room 153), in celebration of International Women’s Day, on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. Beltjens lives and works in The Netherlands and Schwartz is based in Berlin, Germany. This will be the third annual International Women’s Day event co-hosted by Sheridan College and Ucross as part of the “Explore Hemingway” series. It is free and open to the public.

The combined presentation will cover Beltjens’s practice as a visual artist working primarily in drawing with a background in sculpture, and Schwartz’s practice as a musical composer, sound artist, and curator. Both are renowned in their respective disciplines, and bring to the presentation unique international perspectives on art and art-making.

“We are very excited that Nelleke and Laurie will participate in this third International Women’s Day event,” said Ucross President Sharon Dynak. “These two artists are leading amazing careers in the arts on an international level, and their presentation will be an excellent occasion to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide and in our community.” This event is part of the “Explore Hemingway along Wyoming Highways” series, which creates a forum for historical and contemporary issues of representation in the Cowboy State. The “Explore Hemingway” series is sponsored by a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, “Creating Humanities Communities along Wyoming’s Hemingway Highway,” which was received by Sheridan College in partnership with the Wyoming Humanities Council, Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research, and Ucross. The first two International Women’s Day celebrations featured writer Yaa Gyasi (2018) and photographer Rhona Bitner (2019).