{"id":4864,"date":"2011-08-04T20:18:34","date_gmt":"2011-08-04T20:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=4864"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:38:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:38:55","slug":"relevant-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/relevant-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Relevant 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Spiro Arts in Park City houses the Relevant residency program<\/p><\/div>\n

Artists at work are doing many things. They are in the process of creating something meaningful while at the same time improving themselves as an artist and honing their craft, searching for the best way to express themselves in a way that feels authentic. If they are fortunate they can find a mentor to offer them guidance and wisdom, words of advice from someone who has been there and who can impart genuine instruction for developing a career. This is the model for Relevant, an artist in residence program developed through a partnership between Kimball Art Center and Spiro Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

For ten days 12 artists at the undergraduate or graduate level congregate at Spiro Arts, a non-profit organization that is part of the Silver Star community in Park City, Utah. Here the residency participants are given studio space and housing. Each one is paired with a professional artist who mentors them as they create a piece that will be showcased and sold via auction at the Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival Opening Night Gala on Thursday, August 4. The mentors will also have a piece in the auction and both residents and mentors will exhibit their works in a show in the Kimball\u2019s main gallery through September 11.<\/p>\n

The program, now in its second year, draws its vision from a Park City arts enthusiast who changed the face of the arts community in the famous mountain town. \u201cThe original inspiration started with Bill Kimball, founder of the Kimball Art Center, with the philosophy that no one of talent should not not succeed through lack of opportunity,” says Robin Marrouche, Kimball Art Center Executive Director. “That gave me chills when I first heard it.” Relevant, she explains, also began with a question: \u201cHow can we create something for visual artists that is just as compelling and useful as Sundance is for emerging filmmakers?”<\/p>\n

The original inspiration for Relevant started with Bill Kimball, founder of the Kimball Art Center, with the philosophy that no one of talent should not not succeed through lack of opportunity,” says Robin Marrouche, Kimball Art Center Executive Director. “That gave me chills when I first heard it.” Relevant, she explains, also began with a question: “How can we create something for visual artists that is just as compelling and useful as Sundance is for emerging filmmakers?<\/p>\n

Once the idea for Relevant was in place, Kimball Art Center turned to Spiro Arts\u00a0<\/strong>for guidance. Spiro Arts Executive Director Justin Parisi-Smith has been facilitating two six-week artists-in-residency programs at Spiro for many years. Marrouche says, \u201cWe have an amazing resource in Spiro Arts here in Park City, whose core business model is this artists-in-residence program and that\u2019s not what we were doing. So we reached out to Justin and said, \u2018teach us about residencies,\u2019 so he was a co-creator in this endeavor of ours.” Parisi-Smith was excited about the collaboration. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to develop partnerships with local organizations and that way we can share ideas and create innovative programs.”<\/p>\n