Winners of the Governor’s Arts Awards were announced this week. For the first time in many years, the winners are all visual artists.
Governor Matt Mead made the final selections based on recommendations from the Wyoming Arts Council board. In a news release, Governor Mead said “These three artists...are representative of the many wonderful artists we have in Wyoming who contribute to a thriving arts economy.”
Around 15 artists were nominated for the 37th annual awards. “I know the board struggles every year with narrowing down a list of great artists from across our state to a smaller number, and these three artists were three of many fabulous artists on the list,” says Arts Council manager Michael Lange.
The winners chosen by the governor are Tom Lucas from Dubois, Jim Wilcox from Jackson, and Zach Pullen from Casper. Pullen is an illustrator, Wilcox is a landscape painter, and Lucas is a folk artist best known for preserving the Native American technique of creating bows from wild sheep horns.
The winners will be honored at the Governor’s Arts Award gala on February 27 in Cheyenne. That’s also when the governor will deliver his annual ‘State of the Arts’ address. Lange says, “It shows the arts are a player in the economy, in educating our students, and in building strong communities.”
