CODY, WYOMING (Oct. 29, 2019) — “Women in Wyoming,” a project by photographer, artist and Wyoming native Lindsay Linton Buk is now open at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
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A celebration of Wyoming’s incredible women, the exhibit is an immersive experience that is on display through Aug. 2, 2020.
“The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is honored and thrilled to be the show’s inaugural venue,” said Karen McWhorter, Scarlett curator of Western American Art, Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and co-curator, “Women in Wyoming.”
The “Women in Wyoming” exhibit features large-scale portraits, an audio soundscape incorporating natural sounds captured on location to snippets of the podcast interview episodes, as well as interactive storytelling components which engage the audience to tell stories about inspiring women in their own lives.
Subjects from Chapter I: Breaking Boundaries, Chapter II: Filling the Void, Chapter III: Power, Chapter IV: Rising, as well as a preview of Chapter V: The Cowgirl State, are featured.
“This project shines a light on heroines among us,” McWhorter said. “Women who have defied odds, fulfilled dreams, exceeded expectations and filled voids by invoking their own unique strengths and skills.”
An artist, photographer and fifth-generation Wyomingite born in Powell, Linton Buk created “Women in Wyoming” as a way to tell the stories of and celebrate the achievements, power and learned wisdom of contemporary Wyoming women through art and media.
In addition to the exhibit, the project shares stories through portrait photography and a podcast, available for free at WomeninWyoming.com.
An editorial and commercial photographer by trade, Buk is no stranger to what it means to be successful in today’s Wyoming.
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“Women in Wyoming” is a project that’s dear to her, so much so that she’s traveled more than 15,000 miles, developed 600 rolls of medium-format film, recorded 3,000 minutes of audio interview footage and met with amazing women throughout Wyoming, including artists, Supreme Court Justices, politicians, authors, linguists, pilots, outdoorswomen and more.
“Lindsay’s honest and striking portraits in “Women in Wyoming” show women shaping our state through exuberance, persistence, intelligence, grit and grace,” said Rebecca West, curator of the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and co-curator, “Women in Wyoming.” “These aren’t the superstars or well-known media darlings — these are female superheroes in blue jeans and business suits taking on the challenge of careers, families and gender roles, not to mention the task of chipping away at stereotypes and inequality.”
The exhibit coincides with the 150th anniversary of Wyoming recognizing women’s right to vote in 2019 and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in 2020.
“The timing with ‘Women in Wyoming’ and the 150th anniversary of suffrage is incredible,” Buk said. “In a state as rural as Wyoming, we’re often isolated, so it’s vital to be able to see your peers and the important work they’re doing. ‘Women in Wyoming’ is important now and in the future because it gives women strong examples to look up to and show the many pathways to success in the rural West today.”
To coincide with the opening of the exhibit, Buk recently launched Chapter IV: Rising, as well as a preview of Chapter V: The Cowgirl State.
Chapter IV looks at the creative process, reinvention and leadership of Wyoming women, with profiles that include a homestead mentor and cookbook author, the state’s only female MEDAVAC pilot and a wildlife biologist. Chapter V’s theme plays up on Wyoming’s nickname, “The Cowboy State,” while examining the process of evolution and growth.
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More information about “Women in Wyoming” and its creator can be found at WomeninWyoming.com.
Learn more about Buffalo Bill Center of the West, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, at CenteroftheWest.org.
ABOUT WOMEN IN WYOMING
Throughout the history of our state, Wyoming women have been brave, strong and impactful. The mission of “Women in Wyoming” is to tell the inspiring stories of contemporary Wyoming women through art and media, celebrating their achievements, power and learned wisdom. Through her work creating “Women in Wyoming,” Project Director Lindsay Linton Buk is dedicated to pioneering a platform to promote the integrity, diversity and profound legacy of Wyoming women. Stories are documented and shared through portrait photography, podcast interviews, a traveling exhibit and eventually, a book. By creating a powerful collection of contemporary female role models — from artists to politicians and ranchers to authors — “Women in Wyoming” encourages the next generation of trailblazing, ambitious, community-minded women and girls to step forward and fulfill their highest potential.
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Women in Wyoming has been featured on The Travel Channel, in American Way, an American Airlines publication, Cowboys and Indians magazine, Culture Trip and Curiosity Magazine, among others.
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