EXECutive Director’s Statement
November 4, 2025
Though we are on the mend and moving full force, the pandemic has played a heavy role in slowing down the progress of the Sandhills Institute. However, this has given me time to contemplate and rethink some of our priorities as we move forward. In the near future, we will be diversifying and expanding our Board of Directors with both local and national members. After ten years, it is time for our Board to play a more active role in helping me, as director, guide our programming, mission, and fundraising. We are also inviting a diverse group of artists, both locally and nationally, to develop an Artists Advisory Board. It has become clear to me that other artists can give insight and clarity to rough ideas. Thus, making our programming even stronger.
My biggest regret with the interference from the pandemic is the loss of momentum with our Rushville Cultural Center and Grocery Gallery. This project is for me the biggest priority. I am determined to see it to completion in the next year. Fundraising has become my top priority, and I do hope our new Board will help get this accomplished alongside me.
Along with that major project, I want to continue working with existing Sandhills Institute fellows in proposing and creating their projects for Rushville. My goal here is to do at least one or maybe two projects a year. Community involvement is a must, and I will emphasize that with all artist proposals. I’m looking forward to working with our great group of artistic fellows. I love receiving their proposals and discussing new possibilities with them.
We have great images documenting the many great projects we have already accomplished. Images are up on our website of the really wonderful project, Rolling Field, done by artist Russell Bauer and Edible Carnival from New Mexico. We are proud of the fact that we could commission this work and are happy to see it in other venues. We have placed a link to the project via Edible Carnival. Check it out.
In keeping with our mission to involve the community, artist Jennifer Richardson spent a day doing “chalk art” workshops with students at the Gordon-Rushville High School and the Rushville Elementary School. She completed her mural during Fun Days at the Grocery Store Gallery with the help of many of these same students.
The Rushville Welcome Signs project was completed and installed this spring. Check out our documentation on the projects page. They look fabulous. It was a great community project from start to finish!
Last year, 2024, we had a 10th anniversary exhibition for the Sandhills Institute called “Art aRoundTown”. We had five projects in various businesses up and down Main Street, Rushville. Please check out the documentation on this website for each project.
And finally, please join us this summer, 2026. for artist fellow Karla Garcia’s installation at the Armstrong House Historic Museum in Rushville. It will open sometime in July. We will keep everyone posted.
As always, I invite you all to contact us, join us, participate with us, and visit us at our ranch headquarters. Good conversation is the basis of all community!
Clear skies,
Mel Ziegler, Founder and Executive Director
Lisa Germany, Co-Director
Sandhills Institute
4865 State Highway 250, Rushville, NE 69360
mel@sandhillsinstitute.com
308-327-3123 512-507-5152
Sandhills Institute hosts Mel Ziegler and Lisa Germany.
The historic Davis Pine Creek Ranch
The historic Davis Pine Creek Ranch was established in the late 1800’s. It is located approximately 13 miles south of Rushville and one mile south of the Niobrara River. The ranch currently stretches across 910 acres and has one half mile of the constant flowing Pine Creek. The Pine Creek valley is lined with both Ponderosa and Jack Pine. The combination of the creek, pasture, three springs, and the pine tree cover make excellent habitat for wildlife. This diverse ecological system is home to numerous birds, plant life, and big and small wildlife. We have seen elk, white tail deer, mule deer, bobcats, mountain lions, antelope, raccoons, badgers, porcupine and wild turkey to name a few. We see plenty of bull snakes and snapping turtles that have measured 24 inches end to end. This is a bird sanctuary and has been visited by serious birders from time to time. Our list of birds seen on our refrigerator is rather extensive, but our favorite to watch is the majestic flights of the Golden Eagles that fly above the Pine Creek Valley.
We do not run our own cattle because we are not living at the ranch full time. We rent the grass to our neighbor who runs, in a normal year, 65 cow/calf pairs. The pastures are fenced and crossed fence to allow for rotational grazing. We try to never over graze and we added cross fencing to protect certain parts of the ranch that are more sensitive to grazing such as the choppy sand dunes. We have also added several new solar wells that strategically help keep the cattle from entering Pine Creek. We still have a few more wells to add to make it most effective.
We are trying very hard not to use any chemical sprays on the ranch. This can be a difficult task since there are designated noxious weeds that by law must be controlled, like the Canadian thistle. We have been working with the county noxious weed specialist to try and find alternatives to spraying chemicals. Last fall we introduced a special “Canadian thistle rust” that is being used and experimented on at the University of Colorado. After visiting our introduction site with the county specialist, recently we are pleased with the results so far and may have found an organic solution to this problem. Finally, we have removed quite a bit of cedar from our pine forest. Cedar is not native and burns extremely hot in a fire. We are planning to complete this fuel reduction on the rest of the ranch this fall or early next year.
The oldest structure still present is the original barn built in 1890’s. It is our goal to house Sandhills Institute offices and two artists’ studios at the barn as soon as we can make the renovations. Artists stay at the ranch but are asked to create projects in the town of Rushville or surrounding towns, not just on the ranch itself. The ranch is a place for communal and social activity while visiting.
It is said that “Ol” Jules Sandoz, the colorful and controversial pioneer made famous by his writer daughter Mari Sandoz, lived at the ranch with the Davis’s for several months one winter and trapped wolves to make money. His original dugout was about one mile to the west in what is still called the Mudflats.
Internship Program
Our Internship Program usually runs during the summer, where interns have the chance to work with the artist fellows and help develop programming for the Sandhills Institute. Up until now, interns for the most part have been Vanderbilt students, but the Director is open to students from other schools.
In this program, interns work with various artists and learn about their work through presentations. They learn how to organize, carry out scheduling, and can help during times when projects are being executed. If you have a keen interest in ecology, art, learning new things being part of a growing institute and are passionate about community, send a letter of interest and a resume to our director, Mel Ziegler, at mel@sandhillsinstitute.com
Interns must be willing to live in the ranch house with the Zieglers, be willing to explore the community and meet community members. Room and board are covered as part of the program.
See quotes here to learn about the experiences of previous interns!
Artist Residency Program
For every residency, we invite artists based on the history of their work and their interest in community and socially engaged artist practices. This residency program requires a certain amount of commitment, involving extensive research to develop a project that involves the community of Rushville, Nebraska and the surrounding region.
Up until now, artists have been hand-selected by the director with recommendations from other artists around the country. We are now open to look at other artists, with appropriate recommendations.
Artists must be willing to live in the ranch house with the Zieglers, be willing to explore the community and meet community members. Transportation, room and board and an artistic fee are covered as part of the program.
If you are an artist interested in our program, please send you letter of interest, a link to your website and your artist CV to our director, Mel Ziegler, at mel@sandhillsinstitute.com
See quotes here to learn about the experiences of previous artists, and click here to learn more about our current artists.
