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The 2019 Studio Magazine is now here! This years maagzine is full of fantastic stories about our engaged community here on campus. Studio Magazine is the official magazine of the University of Utah College of Fine Arts. With a strong emphasis on the efficacy of art in our modern and political world, Studio examines the intersections of art and university culture, as well as the various contributions the College of Fine Arts makes to the University of Utah, and the world at large. A collection of voices and perspectives from artists, scholars, writers, and activists, Studio is both a celebration of art and the artistic community here at the University of Utah, and how that community and cohort operates as agents of social change that aim to transform our perceptions of the world. In Studio, we showcase the prowess and prestige of our faculty and student body to inspire readers to both reimagine the purpose and nature of art itself, and to understand the value art has in a world desperately in need of it. Most importantly, we want to provide readers an intimate window into the creative, enigmatic, and critical enterprises that come with the process of creating, and how that process encapsulates the College of Fine Arts mission to reach, alter, and inspire the community around us for better, as well as the global community we all inhabit.Studio: the place where diligence and excellence become influence.

by Anna Oldroyd

Kathryn Wingard is a ceramics MFA candidate within the department of Art & Art History as well as a licensed mental health counselor and registered art therapist within the U of U hospital system. This fall, Kathryn Wingard will again be teaching her special topics course, FA 3801 “Visual Arts & Health.” The course offers a unique intersection of visual arts and mental health.

In this combined studio/seminar class, students will be introduced to concepts related to cognitive and psychological elements. These concepts engage the visual arts, with a recurrent subtheme of relationships and empathy. The class will cover the idea of art making and viewing as (potentially) empathetic experiences involving relationships. These relationships include the artist’s relationship with artwork, the viewer’s relationship with the art, and the viewer/artist relationship.

Student Emily Comstock said “Kate’s Visual Arts and Health class was a consciousness-expanding and productively complex course that transformed my thinking about responding to art, art-making, and the nature of my own artistic practice. My experience was defined by a highly supportive and dynamic environment which integrated the very concepts of thinking and engaging with what we learned about.”

Students will produce 2D and 3D art with a variety of materials. They will review cognitive and psychological themes involved in the process of creating, such as the flux between order and chaos, gestalt, goal attainment, conflict resolution, problem solving, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. They will also cover theories about the use of art as coping and art as confrontation. Concepts related to art as a mindfulness tool will be introduced to the artist and the viewer, as well as the somatic, visceral experience of engaging with art.

“This course has been my absolute favorite class,” said Eden Merkley, who was enrolled in last year’s Visual Arts & Health class. “Kate is incredibly student-centered and the material that we cover is interesting since it is widely applicable in the outside world; both personally and as an artist. It taught me how to have an open dialogue with artworks, and to value/see the importance of materials. This has helped me grow as an artist as I'm able to explore my intention for creating pieces.”

The course is open to all students, with or without fine art experience.
Course Catalogue: FA 3801 Special Topics in the Fine Arts; #15546, Sec 001: Visual Arts & Health
Date and Time: T/TH from 3:40-6:40 PM
Room: ART 273
Credits: 3 elective credits (unless approved for substitution of curriculum requirements)

Educators are always looking for ways to help their students succeed, especially if their students have special needs or cognitive challenges that interfere with their ability to participate in a general-education class. Jonathan Hale, CFA Alumni and Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program Visual Art Specialist in Canyons School District, and one of his fellow research partners, Kelby McIntyre-Martinez, Assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah are working together to investigate how students can help each other in and through the arts. Their research validates that if inclusive arts teaching methods are implemented consistently and thoroughly,  one of the most effective ways to help all students progress is by pairing them with another student.

“It’s what little children do. They sing, they dance, they create. We have a responsibility to help these children reach their full potential, and that can only be done by keeping the arts in education.” said Beverley Taylor Sorenson. Throughout her life, Beverley Taylor Sorenson was a tireless champion for the arts. She began developing an integrated arts teaching model in 1995 by collaborating with arts education professionals, state organizations, and higher education institutions throughout Utah. In 2008, the Utah State Legislature adopted the model, named it the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program in Beverley’s honor, and has since provided the funding needed to place the program in a portion of elementary schools across the state. Right up until her passing at the age of 89, Beverley was a fixture at Capitol Hill, and she committed her time and efforts to lobbying the legislature for more funding to ensure that every elementary child in Utah receives the benefits of an arts-rich education through this program. Learn more about Beverley Taylor Sorenson’s generous contributions to arts education in the state of Utah.

Together, students from all backgrounds participate in the same art projects, each learning important lessons and growing in ways that are achievable only by peer interaction.  They have found that an art setting can provide more latitude and flexibility for accommodating a variety of cognitive levels, but after seeing the monumental growth in students while learning art techniques in a peer setting, the team is eager to see how peer partners could be beneficial in other class settings outside of the arts, as well. After presenting their findings at the 2018 Kennedy Center VSA Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference, other programs in the country have followed their lead, using peer partnering as a way to help both special education and general education students succeed.  Channel 4 ABC News and Canyons School District recently reported on the program successes, solidifying the program's importance within the community and for student success. To learn more about the visit here.

Salt Lake is about to embark on a new festival experience, one that is very much needed and dually important. Queer Spectra Arts Festival, in its first year, is dedicated to showcasing arts from multiple LGBTQIA+ perspectives. The festival began as the 2-year brain child of Dat Nguyen, an alum of the College of Fine Arts School of Dance. Nguyen had been involved in numerous underground art scenes in Salt Lake City that featured some queer-focused art but he felt there could be another venue to showcase queer art.

He saw the need for a space and he began to dream. 

The festival became a reality with the help and passion of U alumni Emma Sargent (BFA in Modern Dance and a BA in Gender Studies), Aileen Norris (Honors BFA in Modern Dance and BA in English) and Molly Barnewitz (MA in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies), who joined Nguyen in creating what is now called “Queer Spectra Arts Festival”.

As curators, they aim to present a diverse array of voices, backgrounds, experiences, cultures, mediums, and artistic disciplines in order to celebrate queer artistic expressions. Their hopes are to challenge and contribute to contemporary understanding of queer discourse while promoting a nuanced conversation between artists and audiences about queer identity and art. 

“In the dance world there is a lot of queer dance performance going on but it seems to be heteronormative, and queer performance art is treated as niche — an underground thing,” Sargent said. “There’s art makin going on but not a lot of discourse. Art pieces I have been a part of have been insularly produced, everyone involved in the process will be queer and cathartic but there isn’t a platform for queer dance to be seen as other types art. Salt Lake City is also a great place for modern dance and ballet, but a lot of the dance that is funded is perhaps more traditional or classical. Issues of art projects that get funding are sort of apolitical, easier to get it funded. Queer art is often being perceived as being political. It hasn’t reached a cultural moment of being depolitized.”

Emma Sargent speaks about one of the festival’s goals being “to increase opportunities for queer folks. We are creating another artist space that includes artists in many different points in their careers, not just highlighting established artists, name recognition and experience. It’s a good mix of people who are still in school and recently graduated”

It’s clear these four are not just creating a physical space for queer artists to show their work and be represented, but to also engage in a dialogue around the journey of being a queer artist and the works that can come from those lived experiences.

“A journey as a queer person and a journey as an artist is really hard,” Nguyen said as advice to current students. “Learn to love yourself and learn to be in touch with yourself and your art. Don’t just let your identify inform your art, be open minded, let your art inform your identify. Let the art create the artist. Come in and create chaos, let the chaos inform you”.

With 29 artists participating in the festival, it’s clearly more than an art event but an important conversation catalyst for queer artists in Salt Lake City.

For more information on these artists, please visit the Queer Spectra website. 

2019 FESTIVAL DETAILS
5/25 from 1P -10P at the Commonwealth Studios (150 W. Commonwealth Ave)

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
1P Welcome & Opening Remarks - 2D and 3D Gallery Opens
1P - 1:30P Keynote: Well, Is It? Questioning What Makes Art Queer
2P - 3P Workshop I: Details TBD
30 Time-based arts Presentation I, followed by Q&A
5:30-6:45P Workshop II: Embodied Imaginations
7:30P Time-based arts Presentation II, followed by Q&A

Learn more about the 2019 Queer Spectra artists here.

Can't make it to the University of Utah College of Fine Arts Convocation Friday may 3rd at 3pm? No problem. For those who'd prefer, they can watch a live stream of the Convocation ceremony here. Congratulations to the class of 2019!

Doctorate of Musical Arts student, Stephanie Rhodes Russell was among the 10 young conductors in the nation to receive the 2019 Career Assistance Award from The Solti Foundation. 

The Solti foundation exclusively assists young American conductors. They receive applications from all over the country, but only a few are awarded. Rhodes Russell is the first conducting student from the U to receive this recognition.

After attaining degrees in Collaborative Piano and Piano Performance form Utah State University and the University of Michigan, Rhodes Russell came to the U to study under the Director of Orchestral Activities, Robert Baldwin. She will complete her doctorate in Orchestral Conducting this May. She is also an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco's Merola Opera program.

“To say I’m proud of her is an understatement,” said Baldwin. “But also to say she did much of this on her own, is also the truth. She’s a self-directed, focused, and career minded musician. I think this should be heralded as an example of one of our students entering the profession after graduation at a high and very promising level for her career.”

Rhodes Russell most recently was appointed as Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival. She will make her European conducting debut this fall 2019 with Staatsoper Stuttgart's Junge Oper im Nord. Russell with also return to San Francisco Opera to serve as Cover Conductor for Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.

"I’m immensely grateful to the Solti Foundation U.S.,” said Rhodes Russell. “Their generous support has impacted the lives of 78 young conductors since inception and, in turn, all the musicians with whom they associate. To see my name alongside those of such talented colleagues is an absolute honor. Professional advancement as a conductor depends on the willingness of organizations to invest in you and your potential, whether that is in hiring or providing financial support, and I anticipate that this will greatly assist in the next steps of my career.”

Her engagements include Handel's Alcina for the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and the Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative. She was commissioned by The Dallas Opera to transliterate Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, and selected to participate in the inaugural 2015 Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera, subsequently joining the Miami Summer Music Festival to conduct Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Rhodes Russell has served on the music staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera, amongst others. As a Fulbright award recipient, she spent the 2012/13 season in Moscow specializing in Russian repertoire and pronunciation for non-native singers while working as a guest coach at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. She is founder and Board Chair of the non-profit Women's Artistic Leadership Initiative (Women's ALI).

We are thrilled to annouce that the University of Utah's Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis in Fine Arts (MAT-FA) has been ranked as the 11th Best Online Master's Program in the nation TheBestSchools.org. The criteria for putting a school on this list includes the reputation of the school and its faculty, its dedication to a broad liberal arts education, its accreditation, and its overall academic caliber compared to other institutions of the same type within the same state. 

The U’s online master of arts in teaching fine arts degree includes 30 credits of coursework, and participants can complete the program in two years. The program emphasizes pedagogical knowledge and skills applicable to fine arts instruction. Students complete 18 credits of content to support two 12-day summer residencies on the university’s main campus. The remaining 12 credits consist of online classes completed during the fall and spring semesters. Students also focus on areas of fine arts teaching theory and practice during three teaching practica at local or regional partners. This program offers licensed educators the opportunity to enhance their current skills and advance in the field. Professional artists, arts education scholars and researchers, curriculum designers, directors, and arts advocates can also benefit from enrolling in this program. 

“I haven’t found another master degree program like this. It focuses solely on teaching in and through the arts. I am a single mom, so the hybrid-online structure allows me the opportunity to continue working and providing for my family. This program has inspired me as a teacher in the field of arts education in ways I didn’t even imagine.” Heidi Green, Elementary Music Education Teacher. 

“This is one of the first programs that dealt with teaching the arts. I researched the faculty and realized the broad spectrums of expertise they bring in the field of arts education, knowledge that I am really excited to learn.” Chad Zielinski, Secondary Visual Art Teacher.

Want to learn more about the program? Vsit here.

Join students from the Department of Art & Art History for the 2019 Annual Student Art Exhibition in Gittins Gallery 4/9 - 5/3. The Annual Student Art Exhibition (ASAE) has existed for as long as the Department of Art at the University of Utah. Although evolving since the very first exhibition, in which professors’ Alvin Gittins, Doug Snow, Dorothy Bearnson and Angelo Caravaglia were instrumental in fashioning the exhibition. The tradition of showcasing student works in the Gittins Gallery renamed after Alvin Gittins when he passed away in 1981 continues today. 

Alvin Gittins Gallery
375 S 1530 E SLC, UT 84112
April 9 - May 3, 2019
Open: M-F 8A - 5P

Opening Reception
Thursday, April 11, 6-8P
Awards: 7P

Juror: Felicia Baca, Arts Division Director, Salt Lake City Arts Council. Supported by Fine Arts Fees, the Department of Art & Art History, and the College of Fine Arts. More events and ways to get involved: Departmnet of Art and Art History and Student Advisory Committee tudent Advisory Committee 
@uofufinearts on Instagram and Facebook 

 By guest writer Lisa Chaufty, DirectorEmma Ray Riggs McKay Music Library.

Founded just over eighteen years ago and named for one of the University of Utah’s first music graduates, the Emma Ray Riggs McKay Music Library is nestled in the first floor of the School of Music. We exist to serve the students and faculty of the School of Music, but we have patrons from all over the university. They come to check out scores, study in our beautiful space, produce music in our brand-new music technology studio, or browse through our excellent collections, which embrace a wide variety of materials, from the latest recordings and publications by our faculty to our unique collection of vinyl jazz records.

 I took on my current position as director of the library in 2013, after fourteen years of service at the Marriott Library. What I particularly enjoy about leading the McKay Music Library is the opportunity that I have to work with students, harnessing my energy and creativity to provide a supportive and inclusive academic space within the School of Music.

With the help of Spencer Kellogg (who can often be found at the circulation desk) and a dynamite student staff, we find innovative ways to support faculty and students. Mirroring trends at other institutions of higher education, the number of students (particularly graduate students) from around the globe in the School of Music has increased and we offer writing support for students whose first language is not English. Our staff will soon also provide basic music theory tutoring. Last year we started a program, Be.Well@McKay, through which we provide healthy snacks, jigsaw puzzles, and bubble wrap (to pop!) to appease the hungry belly and soothe the anxious mind during exam week.

 I often sit in the Reading Area either to work with students or to see what life is like on the other side of the circulation desk. Sometimes, when the day is waning and the sun is shining in the West through the windows, I’ll hear the quiet or (somewhat) hushed voices of students working together and the sound of a Schubert piano sonata drifting down from Thompson Chamber Hall. This all makes me extremely happy and proud. We are a small library with a small staff, but I like to think that we’re mighty. 

Here they are! The College of Fine Arts 2019 Outstanding Seniors. Each year, an outstanding senior from each of the academic units within the College of Fine Arts are nominated by their Department/School. This award recognizes the academic achievements, artistic and/or scholarly accomplishments, and their commitments to their areas. These outstanding seniors continue the CFA's tradition of sending strong creative leaders out into the art world. We have been honored to have you as students and will be looking on with excitement to see what you do in your next chapters. Congratulations to all of you, we can't wait to see what amazing things you do!

DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY 

Name: Vasiliki (Kiki) Karahalios
Majors (including emphases) and minors: HBA Art History
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Three words that describe you: Passionate, Creative, Ambitious
Favorite CFA class or teacher: Prof. Lela Graybill has been crucial to my development as a student and scholar, and my favorite class has been her Art of the Revolutions course.
Most memorable moment at CFA:One thing you learned at CFA: I’ve learned the breadth of fine arts as a discipline and the specific niche it occupies in history. While I’ve always had an affinity for art, it was here that I came to understand the complexities of visual culture through research and coursework.
What inspires you: My professors have inspired me by way of their research and commitment to art history. By watching and listening to them that I’ve been inspired to take art history seriously as a discipline and profession.
Summary of major accomplishments both on and off campus: Participated in research for 3 years, internships with the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 15 Bytes, and the Supreme Court of the United States, teaching fellow in art history through the Clemente Humanities Course, Undergraduate Research Scholar, presented research on Capitol Hill, Undergraduate Research Symposium, and Oxford Consortium for Human Rights.
One sentence that describes your work: As a student in the CFA, my research has thus far included 19th-century European and American art. Senior thesis: "The Unassuming Subversion of Jacksonian-Era Democracy: An Analysis of Mary Edmonia Lewis’s Minnehaha and Hiawatha of 1868".

 SCHOOL OF DANCE 

Name: Tia Sandman
Majors (including emphases) and minors: BFA Ballet; BS Biology w/ environmental & organismal emphasis (in progress)
Hometown: Murrells Inlet, SC
Three words that describe you: Resolute, Compassionate, Intuitive
Favorite CFA class or teacher: I am thankful to all of the CFA professors, advisors, and leaders I have worked with throughout my time here. They have each aided my growth, and I could not pick just one to be my favorite.
Most memorable moment at CFA: Working with Roderick George and performing F.E.M.Queen definitely impacted me as a dancer and a person -- my dancing changed, I discovered a sense of personal agency, developed incredible relationships throughout the process, and let's not forget my knee bleeding ALL over the MCD stage during the final performance.
One thing you learned at CFA: I learned how to be confident in my choices.
What inspires you: Honesty and humility.
Summary of major accomplishments both on and off campus: Was a Ballet West Trainee for two years, and maintained a strong relationship with the company throughout my college career resulting in administrative leadership roles within the Academy Lead the Emerging Leaders Council in the College of Fine Arts, attended an Alternative Break in Arcata, CA to preserve and protect coastal ecosystems (Bennion Center) organized, planned, and lead an Alternative Break in Salt Lake City to support local refugees and human rights (Bennion Center), traveled to Aspen, CO to perform in a Beatles themed show choreographed by Melonie Buchanan Murray & James Wallace Danced professionally with Texture Contemporary Ballet for the 2018 summer season, privileged to serve as the Senior Alternate SAC President alongside Madeline Driver (SoD), traveled to New York City with a wonderful group of women to perform at New York Live Arts for Michele Wiles/BalletNext (CFA).
One sentence that describes your work: My work is reflective of where I am at that point in time; it is always genuine to who am I and who I aim to become.

 DEPARTMENT OF FILM & MEDIA ARTS

Name: Taylor Mott
Majors (including emphases) and minors: Honors Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Arts: Animation Emphasis
Three words that describe you: Outspoken, proactive, curious.
Favorite CFA class or teacher: I've taken so many classes I loved, but any class I've taken from Sonia and/or Miriam Albert-Sobrino has been so useful. Their teaching styles are similar - caring, enthusiastic, and so, so knowledgeable. They're constantly creating to share their process and experiences. How they handle a heavy load and show such support to their students inspirational.
Most memorable moment at CFA: My senior thesis piece, The Guest, was by far the largest and most stressful set I've put together, but amazing people helped push it through. It was an absolute dream to have all my talented and hardworking friends on this crew. They made the set so positive, fun, and smooth. I cannot thank them enough. They faced challenges with a great attitude and continually helped me have fun on that stressful thesis shoot.
One thing you learned at CFA: Finding the spaces you can fill and the opportunities you can make will impact everyone.
What inspires you: Good people, museums, nature, animals, pleasing colors, and Swiss Army Man (2016).
Summary of major accomplishments both on and off campus: My involvement in the CFA has shaped a lot of my experiences. Three years with Artsforce coached me on professionalism as an artist. Being the 2017-2018 undergrad rep for film on the Student Advisory Commitee gave me the opportunity to review and approve student grants. 2018-2019, I have been the undergraduate representative on the search commitee for the new head of the film department. In the department, I've been focused on creating opportunites - fall 2015, I started the first animation club. We've made three successful trips to Creative Talent Network Animation Expo, all on grants funded by the college. From that experience, and being a student leader for the 2017 Animation Career Trek, I organized and led the 2018 Animation Career Trek to Los Angeles, scheduling tours with animation studios and mixers with professionals I had befriended in LA. Outside of campus, I interned at a local media company the summer of 2017. The summer of 2018 I was hired to do an internship at a post production house in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Both places I worked with stellar people that supported me and taught me many things. With artistic endeavors, I am leaving with a diverse body of work. My senior thesis has been a year long process - a three part project, incorporating research on political metaphors in Spanish Cinema and research on family separation at the US / Mexico border, into a short film Stled The Guest. This project received funding from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, the UROP small grant, and the Ivory Homes Capstone Grant. Other live action works include Close to Home (Jury Special Mention Award), After 10:34 PM, and Tea Time (Best Genre Award). Animated works include Tenacious Two.
One sentence that describes your work: Weird, yet accessible.

 SCHOOL OF MUSIC 

Name: Paisley Tarboton
Majors (including emphases) and minors: Music – Violin Performance emphasis, Biomedical Engineering
Hometown: Logan, Utah
Three words that describe you: Collaborative, Cheerful, Dependable
Favorite CFA class or teacher: The Chamber Music class, especially participating in the Honors String Quartets, taught me the most throughout my experience in the school of music. In this course, we had coaching every week from incredible instructors including Jerry Elias, Hasse Borup, and Kasia Sokol-Borup. They brought a vast wealth of knowledge about the music we were working on, and challenged us to consider every single note in conveying the emotion of the music to the audience. However, one of the most important elements of the Honors String Quartets was not the instruction from professors, but working with fellow students who brought an increased level of excellence to every single rehearsal, and pushed me to do the same.
Most memorable moment at CFA: My most memorable moment in the College of Fine Arts was performing in the orchestra pit for Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella. Prokofiev’s music is both intensely challenging and absolutely gorgeous, so we had to be at the top of our level every moment. Performing that music while working with the phenomenal dancers of the ballet department was exhilarating.
One thing you learned at CFA: Almost everything we do is a skill that can be practiced. Many tasks that seem insurmountable can be tackled the same way as learning the violin: break the challenge into as small of pieces as needed, and practice.
What inspires you: I am inspired by working with people who strive to always continue improving because they believe in the importance of what they do.
Summary of major accomplishments both on and off campus: 4 years participation in the Utah Philharmonia orchestra, serving as a section leader or assistant section leader for select concerts. Member of the Mount Olympus or O.C. Tanner Honors String Quartet for 3 years, performing quartets by Grieg, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. We also premiered several works by student musicians including String Quartet by Arcadio Rodriquez and Quartet with Electronics by Pedro Vazquez. Performing Junior and Senior Solo Recitals including concertos by Sibelius and Wieniawski and Sonatas by Bach, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn.
One sentence that describes your work: I aim to convey emotion in music through beauty of sound and precision.

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE

Name: Gavin Yehle
Majors (including emphases) and minors: Actor Training Program & Stage Management
Hometown: Salt Lake City
Three words that describe you: Confident, Sassy, Organized
Favorite CFA class or teacher: Amber Lewandowski. But really there are too many to name. Thank you to all of my teachers!
Most memorable moment at CFA: Going to London on the theatre study abroad program. There are so many moments within that that, but being able to see world class theatre with some of my best friends in an amazing city was well worth it.
One thing you learned at CFA: More than just learning about theatre or how to stage manage or act or design, I learned what it means to be human and how I fit into that. I learned an insatiable desire to better myself. This is only the start.
What inspires you: Sparking joy and inspiring people to think in a different way. I love how art can effect change and get to people in a way that other mediums can't.
Summary of major accomplishments both on and off campus: I've participated in 13 department of theatre productions in various capacities ranging from acting, to stage managing, to designing. I've also worked at various other theatres in the valley including Pioneer Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, and The Grand Theatre. I always try to help to better the places that I work at, and have helped create and install various improvements to the department including video and cue light systems.
One sentence that describes your work: I strive to make work that I am proud of and that will bring joy to me and those that I am working with.