The People
Behind High Iron
Nine public artists. A core team of organizers, historians, and community weavers. Elder knowledge holders whose stories anchor the work. And a wide community of collaborators across Wyoming who make it move.
Conor Mullen
Leads shared governance, community partnerships, and the overall artistic vision of High Iron. Also a contributing artist — his installations Sea Change, Tooth and Nail, To the Laborers & To the Land, and Remember and Respond are woven throughout the boxcar.
Aubrey Edwards
Leads descendant installation and oral history methodology. Cultural anthropologist and historical archaeologist at the University of Wyoming, and 2025–26 National Arts Futures Fellow with Creative West.
Laura McDermit
Manages scheduling, transportation, and site coordination — the logistical work that keeps a 60-foot boxcar moving across Wyoming on time and on mission.
Nine Installations.
One Boxcar.
Swoon
HuajuapanCaledonia Curry — known globally as Swoon — is recognized as one of the first women street artists to gain international recognition. For over two decades she has made intimate portraits and immersive installations that explore the relationship between individuals and the built environment, using art as a catalyst for social change and collective healing. Her work is held by MoMA, Tate Modern, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and MASS MoCA.
Leland Bryan
Still HereLeland Bryan is a Lakota artist from Eagle Butte, South Dakota whose practice weaves together ledger drawing traditions and contemporary street art. He grew up eager to learn Lakota cultural traditions, first drawing with pens and paper from his mother's high school office. Today he makes commissioned works, paints murals, and leads art workshops — carrying the traditions of his youth into a living, evolving practice.
Michael Chavez
La BarraMichael Chavez is an artist and public art administrator born and raised in Laramie, Wyoming. He holds a BFA from the University of Wyoming and an MFA from the University of Kansas. This project is personal: his father spent 30 years as a Union Pacific conductor, and his maternal grandfather worked nearly 35 years as a maintenance of way laborer. His work for High Iron is an homage to his family — and to all those who sacrificed to build a better life for their children.
Railroad descendantAnjel Garcia
Pat Trujillo, Juan Dominguez, Joe "Little Joe" VillalpandoAnjel Garcia is a visual artist from Cheyenne, Wyoming who specializes in painting, drawing, and mixed media. She recently completed her associate's degree in Art, Communications, and Creative Arts, and will continue her studies in Graphic Design at the University of Northern Colorado. Her work is rooted in family, western life, and everyday cultural practice. Her ancestors traveled from Mexico to Cheyenne to work on the railroad.
Railroad descendantEirini Linardaki
I wake up to the sound of mountains (walking against the wind)Eirini Linardaki is a visual artist and public art project developer whose work centers accessibility and multiculturalism. Born in Athens, Greece, she trained at institutions in Ireland, Berlin, and Marseille. She has developed public art projects with the NYC Parks Department, the MTA, and the NYC Mayor's Office for Climate Policy — including a 2024 large-scale digital installation for Grand Central Station. Recipient of the 2022 Artivist Award and the Andy Warhol Foundation Grant, 2023.
Amanda Pittman
Right-of-WayAmanda Pittman is a lifelong Wyomingite — artist, sewist, and maker — whose work draws on the natural landscape of Wyoming, history, science fiction, and speculative fiction. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming and has designed costumes for multiple productions with Laramie's Relative Theatrics. Her ancestors traveled from what is now New Mexico to Rawlins to work on the railroad.
Railroad descendantDanielle SeeWalker
They Gossip About the Mázačhaŋku (Railroad) RaidDanielle SeeWalker is a Hunkpapa Lakota citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — multidisciplinary artist, muralist, writer, and mother. Her work examines the intersections of Native American stereotypes, microaggressions, and colonialist systems. She is co-founder of The Red Road Project and published her first book, Still Here, in 2020. A 2022 Mayor's Excellence in Arts Award recipient and Emmy Award winner for her documentary work with Rocky Mountain PBS.
Karen Vaughan
Above Because BelowKaren Vaughan is a scientist, educator, and artist who makes watercolor paint from foraged soil pigments — connecting ecological materials to the landscapes they come from. Her practice sits at the intersection of soil science research and art-making, sparking curiosity about the beauty of the unseen. Featured in Smithsonian Magazine, Orion Magazine, and Wyoming Public Radio.
John Wilhelm
History Shining in the SunJohn Wilhelm is a musician, audio engineer, and sound designer who has spent his life in Wyoming. A University of Wyoming graduate with studies in Music and English, he has contributed sound design to over 40 productions with Relative Theatrics since 2014, serving as Technical Director since 2021. He is currently building a portfolio of sound art and installations that examine the American West.
The Elders Who
Anchor the Archive
High Iron's oral history work is grounded in relationships with elder railroaders whose living memory connects the project to the communities it honors.
Carlos Córdova
Decades on the rails along the I-80 corridor. Carlos's stories of labor, solidarity, and the rhythms of railroad life anchor the oral history collection at the heart of the boxcar.
Adrian Hall
A life built on the line. Adrian's voice and memory carry the experience of generations of workers whose contributions shaped Wyoming's economy and landscape.
The Community
Behind the Work
High Iron exists because of a wide community of people who gave their time, knowledge, labor, and care.
- Brigida Blasi
- Rick Giovale
- Maren Kallas
- Lena Newlin
- Brian Profaizer
- Frank Profaizer
- Chris and Rubel Vigil
- Ming Media
- Elena Ricci
- Kyle Summerfield
- Xanadu Productions
- Rhiannon Jakopak
- Jasmin Lopez
- Dan Lyon
- Elena Rosales
- Matthew Sledge
- Sarah Davis & Suzi Taylor
- Wyoming State Archives
- López Concrete and Construction
- Jim Jereb
- Dalton Johnson
- Josh Kaffer
- Chelsea Lowry
- Rocio Gomez Sandoval
- Stoney Smith
- Nathan Vasek
- ALCES Community Works
- Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
- City of Laramie
- International Coalition of Sites of Conscience
- Jess Brauer & the Laramie Plains Civic Center
- Monument Lab
- National Endowment for the Arts: ArtsHere
- The Mellon Foundation
- Wyoming Humanities Council
Become a Partner
High Iron is built on relationships. If your organization works with communities along the I-80 corridor, we'd love to talk.