Matters of public concern related to Utah’s visual arts community.
This summer, a vacant lot on Main Street, formerly occupied by the historic Pantages Theatre, became Art Garten—a temporary gathering space featuring local musicians, food vendors, and informal social programming. Rather than centering spectacle, Art Garten prioritized presence, creating a place where people could gather without the expectation […]
After pushback from community members—more about the site than the visual content—Sabin Howard announced this week that he’s leaving Utah and looking for a new home for his Grand Liberty Arch, the massive bronze monument he’d proposed for a park near the Capitol. The Grand Liberty Arch is […]
Plan-B Theatre’s new play, “Just Add Water,” which opens this week in Salt Lake City (see here), is part of a dozen temporary installations by local, national, and international artists commissioned for Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Wake the Great Salt Lake initiative. The innovative public art project […]
“Monsoon season” has arrived, which is an odd phrase to write in a desert state, but particularly so during one of the hottest and driest summers on record. It’s the term we use for the mid-to-late summer weather cycle that brings sometimes intense afternoon thunderstorms. It typically runs […]
Is climate change coming for the arts festivals? Last year, after a $200,000 shortfall representing 10% of its overall budget, the Utah Arts Festival warned it might not survive. Attendance that year was down by 14,000 people. At the time, UAF Executive Director Aimee Dunsmore identified a few […]
Last month, we received an email message from Vicki Bourns: Expect less. “We” being Artists of Utah, the publisher of 15 Bytes, but also every other arts organization that receives funding from Utah Arts & Museums (UA&M). Bourns being the director of UA&M, the state’s arts division. “Expect […]
Just sitting on your butt in Salt Lake City watching the snow melt or the sad war on CNN? It’s easy to forget that well within reach, mere hours away, there are rich, warm places to visit in the south, like the Snow Canyon Lava Tubes or the […]
Controversy has erupted over the Logan City School District’s decision to sell 11 paintings by regional artists apparently purchased through a program of early arts champion and Utah state representative Alice Merrill Horne, whose 150th birthday was celebrated Jan. 2. She helped 37 school districts and libraries across Utah […]
They are calling it the most drastic change to the tax code in 30 years, and that’s pretty accurate because there’s a lot of stuff going on in the bill the Senate approved this morning. One big change will affect tax-exempt nonprofits like Artists of Utah, publisher of […]
A report from Utah’s 2017 legislative session You probably know Utah has a state bird (seagull) and a state flower (sego lily), but did you know there’s also a state rock (coal), a state fossil (Allosaurus) and not one but two state vegetables — a historic one (the […]
“This is outrageous,” erupts Chicana artist Ruby Chacon on Facebook about the West Jordan mural set-to. “What are people thinking?!?! Seriously . . . I don’t get this mentality.” For those who haven’t followed the probably-only-in-Utah story, widely covered by media, it goes something like this – many […]
On Monday, Lynnette Hiskey stepped down as Director of the Utah Division of Arts & Museums after two years in the position. She previously had served as the department’s assistant director and was promoted to the new position after Margaret Hunt resigned in 2013. Hiskey’s departure was sudden […]
Pioneer Craft House calls for an open meeting to discuss the future of the arts in South Salt Lake.
My first published writings on art were written in Southern California, and published by a magazine in Portland, Oregon. They were written in the LA area because that was where my stained glass studio was, and the city was then a hot place for glass art. My […]
The Kimball Art Center has announced that its Board of Directors and Building Committee will host a “Meet Your Designer Night” with the Top Five architects (out of 18 invited firms) chosen to compete for the Kimball Art Center Transformation Project. At the historic Egyptian Theater the invited […]
While the debt ceiling debate dominated the political news, another piece of legislation, important to the arts community, came to a vote last week. The Walberg Amendment, which would have cut an additional $10.6 million from the NEA on top of the proposed $20 million cut in the […]
The Utah Cultural Alliance reports that Kansas has become the first state without an arts agency. Governor Sam Brownback vetoed funding for the Kansas Arts Commission after the legislature voted to fund the commission over his objections. Read the article here. The UCA also reports that the U.S. […]
First, on the local level (text courtesy of UCA member organization Utah Heritage Foundation): Preservation moratorium proposed Senate Bill 243, Historic Areas or Sites Amendment, was released with text on Monday, February 7, 2011. In brief, the bill proposes a year-long moratorium on designations, expenditures, and development agreements […]
From his recent statements that degrees in the liberal arts are “degrees to nowhere” Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson (R, Draper) appears to be either: 1) disappointed in himself 2) a “liberal” 3) a seer Or possibly all three. Disappointed because his own bachelor’s degree in psychology has […]
