aRTEMISIA TRIDENTATA: FROM RUGGEd SOIL
MASS Gallery Opening Saturday, June 6th, 6pm—9pm
On view Saturdays from 10am—3pm until July 11
Curated by Aubrey Edwards
Supported by ALCES Community Works
Artemisia tridentata—the sweet-smelling sagebrush that stretches across Wyoming’s high desert plains and prairie basins—forms one of the most resilient ecosystems in North America. Rooting in harsh conditions, sagebrush thrives despite scarcity, temperature extremes, and winds that reshape the horizon daily. It is a symbol of endurance, adaptation, and the quiet force of life that persists against the odds.
So too do queer communities across Wyoming.
In a state of fewer than 600,000 people—where the suicide rate remains among the highest in the nation, where social services continue to be slashed, where no hate crime legislation exists, and where the legacy of Matthew Shepard’s 1998 murder casts a long shadow—rural queer people continue to build connection, cultivate joy, and protect one another. We find and make belonging in places often overlooked on the national cultural map.
Artemisia tridentata brings this lived landscape into conversation with MASS Gallery’s mission to support LGBTQIA+ artists, foster social action, and host creative work grounded in community. This exhibition centers contemporary queer artists from across Wyoming who will create/refine works grounded in questions and conversations with their local communities.
What do queer spaces, queer safety, and queer joy look and feel like in Wyoming?
How do you imagine queer spaces, queer safety, and queer joy in Wyoming?
The resulting exhibition is a portrait of rural queer futurities, resilience, and imagination across distance—an offering from a rural state to a national audience; a gesture of connection between Wyoming and Austin; and an affirmation that queer creativity thrives everywhere, not in spite of place, but through it.
