Utah County seems to be the gathering place for students looking to pursue a traditional, academic approach to art. Surprisingly this mustering is the result not of the instructors of the two Universities in the area, but of individual artists setting up their own academies. This approach brings art instruction back to its origins, before it was subsumed into University curricula; and may be a reaction to what is being taught in University art schools.

Provo’s Bridge Art Academy, founded in 2008 by artists from Utah and Salt Lake Counties (see our October 2008 edition), continues to expand its programs, with an increased roster of artists visiting to provide workshops. Works by students of the Academy are also on display at the Springville Museum of Art through October 16.

Ryan S. Brown, a member of the Hudson River Fellowship featured above, has opened up his own Academy for art instruction in Provo. The Center for Academic Study and Naturalist Painting (CAS) was launched in January of 2009. To read Brown’s opinions on the current state of art education, check out his blog.

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.