Wyoming Arts Council

Michael Lange named new manager of the Wyoming Arts Council

Featured News, Grant News, Program News | September 23, 2014

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Our Wyoming Arts Council colleague Michael Lange has been named the new WAC manager. Lange replaces Rita Basom, who recently retired.

For the past two years, Lange, a native of Riverton, has been working as the Community Development and the Arts Specialist with the Wyoming Arts Council.  Prior to this position, he was employed by the Campus Activities Center at the University of Wyoming, overseeing co-curricular programs and services to build student engagement and leadership.

Lange, who began playing bass in high school, attended Northwest College in Powell and then the University of Wyoming, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in bass performance. He later completed a master’s of Public Administration in Political Science from the University of Wyoming, focusing his studies on public policy, public/non-profit organizational and personnel management, and art administration. Lange is also an artist in his own right, with experience as a successful arranger, performer and concert producer.  

“I am very excited to be given the opportunity to lead the Wyoming Arts Council,” Lange said. “The arts play a significant role in Wyoming and in society at large, adding to education, economics, community development, preservation of our cultural heritage, and everything in between.

State Parks and Cultural Resources Director Milward Simpson said that this is an exciting time for the arts in Wyoming. “Michael’s expertise, management experience and training combined with his Wyoming roots and his passion for the arts will serve the Arts Council well moving forward. Michael knows the Arts Council and the artists and arts organizations it serves and has already established himself as a trusted and respected voice for the arts both in Wyoming and in the larger arts world. I am looking forward to see how Michael, his talented staff and the dedicated Board will work to make an already strong agency even stronger.”

Lange begins his new duties immediately.

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