Displaying items by tag: Arts Pass

They experienced, snapped and won! Thank you to everyone who entered our Spring 2019 Arts Pass contest! We had an incredible group of engaged students use their Arts Pass to enjoy the arts on campus. 

Our first place winner is @Sophiauhlhorn who used her Arts Pass to attend two art events on campus, Department of Theatre's production of The Rivals and the Modern Dance Student Concert. Our second place winner is Mellisa Manzano who also enjoyed the Department of Theatre's prodcut of The Rivals. Third place goes to Katie Williams who attended the School of Music event with Minetti Quartett Win. Congratulations you three!

Arts Pass is open to all fee-paying University of Utah students and includes screenings, performances, concerts, and exhibitions by our students and faculty, and also provides free or discounted access to the professional arts organizations on campus: UtahPresents, Pioneer Theatre Company, and the Utah Museum of Fine Art. 

Why do we make arts so accessible?

Because more and more research is showing the positive impacts of the arts on education. The findings are significant: exposure to the arts is linked with better critical thinking skills, greater social tolerance, a greater likelihood of seeking out art and culture in the future, and better workforce opportunities.  

From March 25 – April 15, show us where you use your UCard to get you free or deeply discounted tickets to arts experiences on campus and you could win big!   

Here’s how

• Use your UCard to get you free or deeply discounted tickets to an arts event
• Follow or Like @uofuartspass on Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter.
• Take a photo with your UCard showing the event you’re attending
• Upload it to Instagram or Twitter (post or story) using the hashtag #ArtsPassSpring19 (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) 

Prizes

Three (3) gift certificates to the Campus Store: One $500 grand prize and two (2) runners-up $250 will be given away 

Hot tips and rules:

• Only one entry per event (but as many events as you want!)
• Must have a valid UCard because your UCard is your Arts Pass
• Your social media profiles must be set to public for us to see your entries
• Please be respectful about taking photos during performances or in galleries 
• Visit artspass.utah.edu for juicy tidbits about how to use your UCard as your Arts Pass to start filling your schedule with amazing arts experiences.  

Arts Pass is open to all fee-paying University of Utah students and includes screenings, performances, concerts, and exhibitions by our students and faculty, and also provides free or discounted access to the professional arts organizations on campus: UtahPresents, Pioneer Theatre Company, and the Utah Museum of Fine Art. 

Why do we make arts so accessible?

Because more and more research is showing the positive impacts of the arts on education. The findings are significant: exposure to the arts is linked with better critical thinking skills, greater social tolerance, a greater likelihood of seeking out art and culture in the future, and better workforce opportunities.  

The University of Utah campus is full of incredible arts events, some of which are FREE to U of U students with their ARTS PASS (Ucard). We know how over whelming it can be to fit anything other than homework into your busy schedule, so we have put a highlight list of free arts events on campus that you do NOT want to miss out on. Take a look and enjoy the arts on campus this Spring!

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
School of Dance
La Fille Mal Gardée
Feb 7 – Feb 16
The School of Dance proudly presents "La Fille Mal Gardée," a full length comedic ballet gracing the Marriott Center for Dance Stage February 7th – 16th. The School will present a new interpretation of the classic French ballet created by Bruce Marks, former Artistic Director of Ballet West, whose choreography breathes new life into the classic story.

Film & Media Arts Department
Spring Showcase
May 4
Join the Film & Media Arts Department for a free screening of handpicked student films, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, displays of amazing media arts projects, installations, animations, experimental films, and more!

School of Music
Lyric Opera Ensemble: Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites with the Utah Philharmonia
April 19 - 20
Set during the French Revolution, Dialogues des Carmélites explores religious devotion and self-sacrifice through the harrowing story of Blanche de la Force, a shy, young aristocratic woman who joins the Carmelite Order to escape the violence of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. With a gorgeous score, Poulenc’s opera is one of the most significant works of the 20th century. This dramatic and powerful tour-de-force, based on a true story, explores faith and redemption, fate and sacrifice.

Department of Theatre
COMPANY
February 15 - March 3
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth, originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince. Centering on Bobby, a confirmed bachelor celebrating his 35th birthday with his 10 closest friends (who also happen to be five couples), Company culminates in Bobby’s transformation from unattached swinger to tentative monogamist. Company, Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking modern musical, is a mature, intelligent, and wildly funny look at relationships, vulnerability, and “being alive.” The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six.

PIONEER THEATRE
Once
Feb 15 – Mar 2
This Sundance film-turned-Broadway-hit is about the romance between an Irish street musician and the young Czech woman, also a musician, he meets on the streets of Dublin. A tender story between two people who fall in love over a shared passion for music, Once features unforgettable songs which garnered both Tony and Academy awards; come see a talented cast who will sing and play all the musical instruments in the show, on stage! Contains strong language.

UMFA
Valentine’s Evening at UMFA
February 14
Choose UMFA as your romantic getaway and make art a part of your evening together. Enjoy libations and hors d’oeuvres, peruse the galleries, and listen to a sultry selection of music from the Univeristy of Utah Red Hots in the G.W. Anderson Family Great Hall. For an additional fee, you may tour the galleries with award-winning curator of European, American, and regional art Leslie Anderson for “Conscious Coupling: Scenes of Romance in the UMFA’s Collection,” beginning at 6:30 pm. Please select the tour option when purchasing tickets to secure your spot; tour is limited to 30 guests. 

UTAH PRESENTS
Complexions Contemporary Ballet From Bach to Bowie
April 5
Combining technical precision, power, and passion, Complexions Contemporary Ballet transcends tradition in a groundbreaking mix of styles ranging from ballet to hip hop. Founded by former members of Alvin Ailey, Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, the company has been featured several times on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance. This season, the company performs an exhilarating program full of glitter and glam featuring Star Dust, an “utterly transfixing” tribute to the life and music of David Bowie.

Want more free or nearly free access to arts events? Stay in the know by following our Arts Pass social media outlets and never miss an arts event again! Instgram, Facebook and Twitter

A lively gathering of contemporary art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) this fall shows off the diverse and innovative talents of the college’s outstanding art faculty. Site Lines: Recent Work by University of Utah Art Faculty, opening Friday, September 28, presents more than forty paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, mixed media, letterpress and more by twenty-six local creators who teach on the U campus.

Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres at the opening reception  9/27 from 5:30–7:30P at the UMFA. Throughout the fall, hear from faculty artists at three Wednesday gallery talks, on October 3 (5–7P), November 7 (5–7P), and December 5 (1–3P).

 Edward Bateman, head of Photography and Digital Imaging in the Department of Art & Art History, served as faculty liaison on the UMFA’s cross-departmental exhibition team.

“Many art faculty primarily exhibit their work nationally and internationally. This exhibition gives our city and university community, both faculty and students, a chance to see outstanding examples of contemporary art they may not normally have an opportunity to see,” Bateman says. “It’s a reminder that the University is not an isolated institution but one in which the work of these artists can—and does—reach across the globe.”

Participating artists are Edward Bateman, John O’Connell, Simon Blundell, Sandy Brunvand, Laurel Caryn, Van Chu, Lewis Crawford, Al Denyer, John Erickson, Kelsey Harrison, Tom Hoffman, Lenka Konopasek, Beth Krensky, V. Kim Martinez, Martin Novak, Marnie Powers-Torrey, Andrew Rice, Horacio Rodriguez, Brian Snapp, Carol Sogard, Heidi Moller Somsen, Amy Thompson, Emily Tipps, Maureen O’Hara Ure, Jaclyn Wright, Wendy Wischer, and Xi Zhang.

The exhibition was guest curated by Felicia Baca, a respected Salt Lake City-based arts professional who manages the visual art programs for the Utah Division of Arts & Museums.

“Educators have a critical task in fostering open dialogue in their field and examining the role of the arts in an increasingly complex world,” Baca says. “These artists utilize the currency of their culture to address important social topics and employ processes and media that speak to their unique role as artists and educators.”

The exhibition title refers, in part, to the way sightlines function in architecture, protecting a particular line of sight for an important or meaningful space. “Likewise, faculty play a critical role in facilitating unobstructed, often wider views of social and cultural issues for students,” Baca says.

 Presented triennially, the faculty exhibition is an important collaboration between the visual artists who teach in the college and the UMFA, the University’s fine arts museum. The UMFA supports teaching, learning, and research by connecting campus audiences to world-class art experiences, offering free programs aimed at improving student life and helping faculty integrate visual art into their courses and expand their own research.

Site Lines is sponsored by the University’s Arts Pass program, a one-of-a-kind benefit allowing students to use their UCard to get free or deeply discounted access to hundreds of arts experiences on campus each year, including free admission to the UMFA. Additional support for the exhibition is provided by the College of Fine Arts and the Department of Art and Art History.

Faculty and staff are also admitted free to the UMFA with their UCard. For more information and links to additional related programs, please visit here.

The Department of Film & Media Arts will present the 8th annual F&MAD Film Festival, Sunday, September 30th at the iconic Tower Theatre in 9th and 9th. The Festival showcases a juried selection of film and media arts projects from undergraduate and graduate film students at the U. The audience will be treated to a vibrant festival atmosphere and a collection of the best films of the 2017/2018 academic year, featuring a range of short films in genres like experimental, documentary, narrative, animated, screendance, and beyond.

Student film submissions were anonymously screened by a jury who cast the deciding votes on which films will make it to the big screen at the Tower. 16 short films made the cut this year; check out what’s playing:

Heart Strings | By Shujing Zeng
Jelly | By Emmelyn Redd
Chasing the Dragon | By Eduardo Soares
Jars | By Peter Schafer
Only One Child | By Lily Cooper
Pay Day | By Deborah Landis
Mindscape Reverie | By Elizabeth Lowe
Kaleidoscope of a Feminesto | By Crystal Dosser
Compulsion | By Kait E
A Portrait of... | By Cortni Wimberley
An Ember of the Fire | By George Nelson
Passione Per La Pasta | By Megan Cabell
Sleeping on the Roof | By Casey Pearce
Bill & Piiq -- Playing God | By Emma Furukawa
Girls | By Sage Bennett
Tea Time | By Taylor Mott

For student film makers, F&MAD Fest is an opportunity to show off their hard work among a community of film-lovers, and to compete for the title of “Best of Fest.”  After the final film has screened, audience members will have a chance to cast their vote for their favorite, and a new “Best of Fest” winner will be announced. Last year’s winning film was “Camminatore”” by grad student Angela Rosales Challis. The film has since been shown at more than 15 festivals around the world, including in Greece, Scotland, Argentina, and Bolivia, as well as on campus at the 2017 College of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Ceremony. 

Admission to F&MAD Fest is free to the Public Sunday, September 30 at 7 PM The Tower Theater.

The U of U Department of Theatre is excited to open their season by returning for the fourth year to the Hayes Christensen Theatre at the Marriott Center for Dance for Chess, The Musical a politically-driven, Cold-War–era musical about a chess tournament where players, lovers, politicians, and spies collide through manipulation. Then, David Carey from Oregon Shakespeare Festival joins in October to direct Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. November brings Charles L. Mee’s Big Love, an elaborate, updated retelling of one of the oldest plays in Western history, The Danaids by Aeschylus.

In the spring, they present Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical comedy Company, directed by Ryan Emmons, followed by the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, Men On Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus in March. Department of Theatre closes with Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s first play, The Rivals, a comedy of manners set in 18th-century Bath, England.

The Department of Theatre strives to maximize the access, interest, and impact of theatre for our diverse audiences. Their productions will ignite exciting dialogue through talkbacks, panels discussions, and other artist-interface opportunities.

Music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Based on an idea by Tim Rice
Directed and Choreographed by Denny Berry
September 14-23, 2018
The Hayes Christensen Theatre at the Marriott Center for Dance

By William Shakespeare
Directed by David Carey
October 26-November 4, 2018
Studio 115

By Charles L. Mee
Directed by Robert Scott Smith
November 9-18, 2018
Babcock Theatre

 
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Originally Produced and Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Orchestration by Jonathan Tunick
Directed by Ryan Emmons
February 15- March 3, 2019
Babcock Theatre

 
By Jaclyn Backhaus
Directed by Sarah Shippobotham
March 1-10, 2019
Studio 115

 
By Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Directed by Alexandra Harbold
April 5-14, 2019
Babcock Theatre
Tickets are now available at tickets.utah.edu

On Wednesday, Aug. 29 from 11A - 2P, the arts at the University of Utah are taking over the Marriott Library Plaza for the 2018 Arts Pass. We’re talking live performances on a massive stage, interactive art, free food, free T-shirts, free swag, and all the info you could ever want on the different ways to experience the arts on campus.

Hold on,  you know about Arts Pass, right? It’s the one-of-a-kind program that makes it so you can use your UCard to get free or deeply discounted tickets to literally hundreds of arts experiences on campus each year. So you can attend dance performances, concerts, plays, exhibitions, film screenings, and more on the super cheap — and it even includes special student access to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, UtahPresents and Pioneer Theatre Company.   

Why? Because more and more research is showing the positive impacts of the arts on education. The findings are significant: exposure to the arts is linked with better critical thinking skills, greater social tolerance, a greater likelihood of seeking out art and culture in the future and better workforce opportunities. (Maybe that's why we issue tens of thousands of tickets to students every year.) 

But, back to the Bash: First things first, pick up a passport from any of the booths, visit other booths to collect stamps, and when your passport is full, visit the Info booth to redeem it for a super soft mint green Arts Pass t-shirt that you can take to get your choice of design screen printed on it right in front of your eyes. Then you’ll grab some food and catch a couple acts on stage.

We’re so excited to have all five academic units in the College of Fine Arts there to let you know what non-major classes you can take to spice up your class load, how to major in the arts, and give you the scoop-diddy-whoop about what experiences they’re providing throughout the year for all U students, faculty, and staff.

Plus, we’ll have all three professional arts organizations (UMFA, UtahPresents and Pioneer Theatre Company) there along with our friends from ArtsForce, Arts Teaching, the Marriott Library’s Creative & Innovation Services, ASUU, Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, and the Union Programming Council.

And we’re stoked to welcome to the main stage:
• A proper bash kick-off from the U’s new Associate Vice President for the Arts and Dean of the College of Fine Arts, John Scheib
• The Department of Theatre’s musical theatre program will perform numbers from their season opener “CHESS” directed and choreographed by Denny Berry
• Ballet grad student James Wallace will take the stage for a stunning performance
• The School of Music’s Percussion Ensemble will host a not-to-be-missed drum circle
• And the modern dance freshman class will do its famous improv jam on the plaza (fan favorite every year!)

Not to mention, we have a couple surprises up our sleeves…

So, come. Experience. And start thinking differently.

(For more informaiton on this event please visit here.)

September 26, 2017 - UMFA
The ArtsForce Kick-Off was an event that allowed students to meet 2017 College of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni, as well as distinguished professionals in the field. These professionals gave valuable advice to students about how to articulate the knowledge and skills they’ve been learning in their degrees.

The School of Dance will host the Utah Ballet Summer Intensive (UBSI), which includes 4 weeks of training aimed at sharpening dancer’s skills while immersing participants in a six day a week program featuring classes offered by nationally and internationally renowned instructors. From June 18 to July 13, dancers will have a chance to learn from master teachers as well as U of U faculty and will gain insight into what life is like as a ballet major at the University of Utah. The dancers have been recruited on a national level, and range in age between 15 and 23. Participants include some first-year University of Utah Ballet majors, who typically participate in the intensive either the summer before or after their freshman year.

The intensive’s guest teachers range in background from professors at other universities to directors of companies. Maggie Wright Tesch, a School of Dance Ballet program Faculty member and organizer of UBSI, gives insight into the guest artists coming this year: 

“We want to expose students who take the program not only to potential work opportunities and the real-world level of training they will be required to have in this business, but also to some of the best teachers out there. And no, they are not of one training style and that is on purpose...dancers have to be able to adapt in order to work, so we strive to challenge dancers to move between teacher's styles with ease...eventually!”

UBSI’s guest artist list includes Susan Jaffe, Victoria Morgan, Lauren Anderson, Kevin Thomas, Katherin Baum-Hofer, Tamara King, Elizabeth Johnson, Jerry Opdenaker, and Anthony Krutzkamp, as well as School of Dance Faculty Members Maggie Wright Tesch, Rob Wood, Justine Sheedy-Kramer, Luc Vanier, Rosie Banchero, and Christine Moore. Small class sizes insure personal attention from instructors for each UBSI participant.

The four-week intensive is designed to give students a taste of the curriculum offered by a University level Ballet Program, and to show what makes the U’s program unique. It is a great way to see if the U’s program is the right fit for training after high school.
“The biggest difference between our summer program and others is the amount of time spent in the area of creative research, which in our field is considered choreography” explains Tesch. “We bring in instructors who are experienced teachers of choreography and they spend time teaching the craft. The students aren't just choreographed on, as in most summer intensives, which has its value, and we do that as well, but we teach them the craft. That element of our profession is grossly overlooked in student's training below the university level.”

The summer intensive is meant to be rigorous, and to push dancers to learn and grow. Tesch explains that participants should come ready to dance, be prepared to be faced with a lot of new information and experiences in a short period of time. “Dancing in a university setting is just as challenging as any other pre-professional training program, but here, they will be working towards a degree. I hope they leave with a taste of how challenging our program is and how much they will learn and experience here, from classical work to contemporary, technique in both ballet as well as modern, African and jazz. We try to show what creating movement is. Not something to be afraid of, but another form of expression they should perhaps explore. Most young students are only ever told how to dance, or what steps to do and how.... We want them leaving with a small taste of how to find their own voice in dance through choreographic exploration and critical thinking skills.”

It’s time for the annual F&MAD Spring Showcase! Join the Film & Media Arts Department for a free screening of handpicked student films, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, displays of amazing media arts projects, installations, animations, experimental films, and more! Awards to exceptional student works will be given out by a distinguished jury of film professionals, along with the coveted Audience Award, given to the the project declared “Best in Show.” This year, the winner of best in show will recieve an amazing prize; they will be awarded with an hour-long conference via Adobe Connect with Oscar Winner Michael Kanfer! 

The Showcase jurors selected each film being screened and are also tasked with choosing the winning film in each category.

Meet the jurors:
Jill Orschel:
Jill Orschel has directed and produced a number of award-winning short documentaries, most notably, Sister Wife, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and earned a Special Jury Award at SXSW. Sister Wife went on to screen at dozens of international film festivals, receiving several honors along the way. While Jill was working toward her MFA in Film Studies at the University of Utah, her 16mm project, The Places You’ll Go, earned a Student Emmy. Her thesis film Lakota Workcamp was awarded the Spirit Award and Award of Distinction at the Indian Summer Festival. Jill is an independent filmmaker and photographer in Park City, Utah. Her photography work with the Sundance Institute has appeared in The New York Times, Time, Filmmaker Magazine and International Documentary. Jill is currently working on her first feature length documentary, Snowland.

Martin Rosete:
Winner of the 2013 Melies d’Or award and nominated for a Spanish Academy Award (Goya Award) with Voice Over, Martin Rosete is a Spanish film director and producer based in New York City. Voice Over was released by Canal + Spain, and has won more than 80 awards at internationally-acclaimed film festivals, such as the Chicago International Film Festival, New York International Short Film Festival, Sitges International Film Festival and Gijon International Film Festival. Voice Over has also been chosen as an Official Selection at the Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, Los Angeles Film Festivals and Vimeo Staff Pick. Martin Rosete began his filmmaking career by directing and producing a 35mm short film, Revolution, which won more than 50 awards at international film festivals. Martin studied Audiovisual Communication at the The Complutense University of Madrid, Directing Actors at the legendary San Antonio de los Baños International Film School in Cuba, completed a Master’s degree at the New York Film Academy, and was invited to attend the First Talent Campus of Berlin International Film Festival.

Arthur Veenema:
Arthur Veenema is a filmmaker based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In his work he is interested in examining the consequences of technology, new and old. He focuses on modern relationships between people who are forced into contact because of the systems that dictate their lives. His love for science-fiction and magical-realism has led him to develop unique and strange worlds as allegories for our own. Arthur graduated from the University of Utah in 2015 with an Honors BA in Film and Media Arts, as well as a Minor in Business. He is currently establishing himself in the film community, proud to collaborate with other passionate artists while he produces his own films.

The Showcase is broken into two segments, which will each feature unique student films, check out the program:
1PM
Collection of Film Badges for Filmmakers, Filmmakers meet and greet.
2PM
First Show followed by Filmmakers Q&A
Break

5PM
Panel: The making of "Camel". The experience of making the shortfilm "Camel" told by the students who made it happen on Professor Wilkerson's Filmmaking courses.
6PM
Second Show followed by Filmmakers Q&A
Awards Ceremony to close event, including audience award.

Don't miss this vibrant showcase! May 5th in the FMAB Auditorium. 2pm & 5pm. This event is open to the public, come enjoy free food and film with us!