Background

The Cowboy Trades Association (CTA) grew out of a two-day meeting of traditional cowboy artists and their support organizations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in April, 2023.

This open-ended conversation was convened by a Jackson non-profit organization, Vista 360° Inc., to consider the possibilities of collaboration to help preserve these traditions and support today’s practitioners.

The result was a unanimous consensus to form a coalition. A Steering Committee was appointed to help identify a starting point for the coalition. They met for six months and proposed four start-up projects and a preliminary strategic plan. We’re working now to develop these four ambitious projects and to build organizational structure and capacity. We’re also preparing to expand our membership.

The four startup projects:

Education and training hub and regional network of educational offerings

Traveling museum exhibit for public education and attracting new talent

Annual Gatherings

Research-grounded strategic planning.

State Arts Agency Involvement

From the initial meeting, CTA has invited state folklorists to participate and to help guide our growth. These folklorists bring years of experience supporting traditional artisans and also a wide network of artisans and support organizations. Since our first meeting, these people have provided leadership and insight:

In April, 2024, CTA invited Ian Hallagan of the Utah to join us and he has helped to facilitate planning for broad participation of the Utah in CTA’s projects. Ian is the Folk Arts Coordinator for the Utah Division for Arts and Museums. We also welcomed the active participation of Ashanti McGee, Grants and Access Manager for the Western States Arts Foundation.

Our next crucial step is to bring Colorado into this circle of engagement. We haven’t yet contacted the appropriate people in Colorado and hope you’ll be able to guide us to build partnerships in Colorado.

Relationship with Rocky Mountain Folk School

Rocky Mountain Folk School (RMFS) has been a member of CTA from our first meeting and has provided invaluable support as we plan our educational and training initiatives. Our vision is to develop an educational center and regional hub with RMFS for the practice and preservation of cowboy artisan traditions. Our shared purpose is to assure the transmission of skills and knowledge to the next generation of traditional cowboy artisans and to strengthen the visibility, viability and value of these artforms as they are practiced today.

As an educational center, our long-term vision is a robust sequential, curriculum-based, accredited educational program at RMFS which identifies and teaches core competencies in these traditions. The educational center will also offer classes, workshops and gatherings for people of all ages interested in learning more about these traditions, in the well-established role of folk schools around the country which foster knowledge about their local cultural heritage and an opportunity to learn with masters.

As a regional hub, this project will connect schools, colleges, existing apprenticeships and mentorship programs and artist studio offerings around the region to improve access to this wealth of opportunities and to support collaboration, expanded programming and expanded resources. We are bringing together the expertise and leadership of RMFS, master craftsmen and other support organizations to hopefully make this educational hub as impactful as possible.