UW’s Clark Included in International Exhibition at National Museum of Women in the Arts, State-Level Exhibition

University of Wyoming faculty member Kayla Clark will represent Wyoming in "Women to Watch 2027: A Book Arts Revolution," an international exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., April 14-Aug. 8, 2027, as well as in a related state-level traveling exhibition this year.

Clark -- an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism with a joint appointment in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources -- is one of 16 artists selected for the international exhibition at the NMWA and one of four artists selected for Wyoming's statewide exhibition. Her creative practice combines visual communication, typography, letterpress printing and experimental book forms.

Clark and fellow Wyoming Women to Watch artists Jodie Atherton, Oakley Boycott and Katie Christensen will attend an opening celebration for the statewide exhibition Friday, Sept. 25, at the Laramie Plains Civic Center. The reception, which is free and open to the public, runs from 5-7 p.m. with a moderated artist discussion from 5:30-6 p.m. in the Phoenix Ballroom and artwork on view in Gorgon Gallery.

"I knew the 'Book Arts Revolution' was an excellent fit for my experimental, interactive and often mischievous work. Wyoming has a rich community of book artists and storytellers, and I'm truly grateful to be selected alongside Katie, Jodie and Oakley to advocate for and showcase printing, typography and book arts throughout our state," Clark says.

The four Wyoming artists were selected by Beth Venn, executive director of UW's Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts, to participate in the state program. And the 16 artists included in the international exhibition were selected by Elizabeth Ajunwa, the NMWA liaison curator, and guest curator Tia Blassingame from 62 nominees submitted by regional committees.

Clark's "Habitat" and "Right to Remain" will be included in the NMWA exhibition, which coincides with the museum's 40th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the Women to Watch series.

This edition of Women to Watch focuses on artists' books: works in which materials, structure, text and images become part of the artwork. The exhibition brings together experimental uses of typography, paper and print, sculptural forms and other approaches that challenge familiar expectations of a book.

Clark often combines digital tools with traditional printing methods, including work on her 125-year-old Poco proofing letterpress. In "Habitat," Kraft tape forms the book's hinges, connecting its construction to the repeated packing and unpacking of several moves. In "A Year in the Life," a diner-style receipt becomes a record of 365 days of meetings, classes, workshops and daily labor.

"Across these works, I often use accessible or everyday materials and rework them into unexpected forms," Clark says. "I connect that resourcefulness to my background as a first-generation college student from a blue-collar Wyoming family. Being scrappy, practical and willing to work with what is available has shaped both my studio process and the materials I choose."

This same approach informs Clark's teaching at UW.

"My teaching and creative practice ask students to think about design not only as something made on a screen, but as something shaped by material, process, audience and form," she says.

The statewide traveling exhibition features work by all four Wyoming artists. Scheduled stops are:

-- Laramie, Gorgon Gallery, until Thursday, Oct. 22.

-- Lander, Western Gallery in the Pioneer Museum, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026-Friday, Jan. 15, 2027.

-- Ucross, Monday, Feb. 1-Saturday, May 22, 2027.

-- Jackson, Shari Brownfield Gallery, June-July 2027.

-- Casper, Art321, August 2027.

"Too often, the voices of women artists in rural states go unheard," Venn says. "This exhibition will showcase the important contributions of women artists in Wyoming, highlighting those doing the most visionary work in the field of book arts."

For more information about the traveling exhibition, contact the Wyoming Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts at [email protected].

For more information about the NMWA exhibition, visit https://nmwa.org/exhibitions/women-to-watch-2027-a-book-arts-revolution/.