Ucross Gala & Awards Dinner, NYC

ucrossfoundation.org

When: Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Hot Spot: The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC

Deets: Ucross Foundation, the prestigious artists’ residency program and creative lab for the arts, will host the inaugural Ucross Gala & Awards Dinner on June 5th, 2018, at The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Internationally acclaimed author Annie Proulx, an alumna of Ucross and former member of its Board of Trustees, will be presented with the Ucross Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, by David Remnick, Editor in Chief of The New Yorker.

The Ucross Gala & Awards Dinner celebrates the organization’s 35th year supporting writers, visual artists, composers, and choreographers with the gift of uninterrupted time and studio space for creative work. The Gala will include an art exhibition and sale as well as performances and readings by a number of exceptional Ucross alumni, including, Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Ricky Ian Gordon (The Grapes of Wrath, opera), bestselling author Tayari Jones, author and Vanity Fair contributor Elissa Schappell, trumpeter Frank London, composer/pianist Dylan Mattingly, and singer-songwriter Kate Schutt. Special guests will include Broadway stars Laura Benanti and Victoria Clark. Ucross alums Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen) are also expected to appear.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the impressive achievements of our Ucross alumni during our first New York Gala & Awards Dinner. We hope the event brings added recognition to the importance of artists in our culture, and helps promote the creative partnerships Ucross is known for,” said Sharon Dynak, President of Ucross. 

Proulx is the author of numerous novels, short story collections, and a memoir, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Shipping News, which was partly written during Proulx’s residency at Ucross. Her short story Brokeback Mountain was first published in The New Yorker in October 1997, and went on to win the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 1998. It was later before adapted into an Oscar-winning film. 

The Ucross New York Gala & Awards Dinner coincides with the American premiere of the opera adaptation of Brokeback Mountain at New York City Opera, composed by Pulitzer Prize winner and MacArthur Fellow, Charles Wuorinen, with libretto written by Annie Proulx, which opens on May 31 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, after a successful run in Europe.

Ucross fosters the creative spirit of deeply committed artists and groups by providing uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains of Wyoming, while serving as responsible stewards of its historic 20,000-acre ranch. Located at the confluence of three creeks, Ucross brings artists into the heart of an unparalleled landscape. In addition to fostering the work of individual artists, Ucross is a working place for groups and a multi-disciplinary lab for creative thinking – hosting educational programs, conferences, and special events. To date, the Ucross ranch has been an artistic home to 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, eight MacArthur Genius winners, eight Tony Award winners, six National Book Award winners, and two Academy Award winners, among dozens of additional award winners. Ucross also participates in a number of partnerships with national organizations that share the foundation’s vision and values. Among them are the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Awards, the Sundance Institute Theater Program, the Whiting Foundation, Yale University, and the Warhol Foundation. A full list may be found here.

Hint For The Average Socialite: Tickets are available now!

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