News – Sheridan Media
At the annual Ucross Foundation Founder’s Day held on May 31 ‘Confluences’, was debuted. “Confluences” is a new site-specific sound experience created by internationally recognized artists and Ucross Fellows Teri Rueb and Laurids Sonne was debuted.
Rueb explained where the name originated.
“Confluences” is an emplaced sound experience blending the stories, sounds and seasons of Ucross in a layered composition that covers the main campus and selected ranch land of the residency program.
Sounds play in response to one’s movement as they walk with a mobile device, running a free downloadable app while wearing headphones. Leaving the art gallery, one can walk along the trail that goes to the creek, and sounds include poetry by residents, a bicycle wheeling along a gravel path, and even the experience one resident had with a snake along the walk.
Laurids Sonne, a Danish documentary media artist, said ‘Confluences’ was not a walking tour, but it is similar.
Voices of valley residents sit alongside artist residents, the regional community and the many caretakers of this place, all mingling with field recordings of the site taken in different seasons.
Rueb explained it in more detail.
Walking along the creek, there is the sound of a rancher chopping ice in the winter for livestock, and a comment about the coal seam along the creek bank. The tour is designed so that the listener can pick up where they left off, if they change direction and then come back where they were, so they don’t miss any part of the experience.
Rueb and Sonne worked closely with software developer and media artist Cristobal Mendoza to create custom software for the app, which is designed to work exclusively onsite.
A clip from “Confluences”
Starting June 6, access to “Confluences” will be free and open to the public on Fridays. Participants can check in and get started in the Ucross Art Gallery between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. We recommend downloading the free app (iOS and Android) in advance over a Wi-Fi network. A limited number of devices are also available for loan from the Ucross Art Gallery.
Please note that select trailheads are not publicly accessible and will be available only on guided walks. Participants are encouraged to contact Ucross at info@ucross.org or 307-737-2291 for access information.
“Confluences” was commissioned by Ucross Foundation with support from Jesse Marion of Spring, Texas. Additional funding was provided by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Research and Innovation Office and the Center for Documentary Media.
For more information about “Confluences,” visit https://terirueb.net/confluences.
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Last modified: June 3, 2025