Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: France’s ‘Tag,’ Utah’s ‘Transmormon’ take top Fear No Film prizes

Fifteen awards were announced today in the Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, Utah Short Film of The Year, Fear No Filmmaker Award, three honorable mentions and the best short film in each of the seven ‘boundaries’ categories around which the film festival was organized as well … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Winners announced for Artist Marketplace, Literary Arts competition, IAMA songwriter

The Utah Arts Festival has announced various awards for the 38th annual event. Nine awards were presented for the artist marketplace. All of the award winners are eligible for invitation to the Utah Arts Festival in 2015. Best of Show and People’s Choice Award winners also will have their booth fees waived. The 39th annual … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Spy Hop’s ‘Human Puppet’ popular Urban Arts venue attraction

Neighbors living close to Spy Hop Production’s‘ Adam Sherlock might have been wondering just he was up to with a long string of headless puppets he had hung in his yard. Despite the lack of faces,one could easily discern the puppets were of very familiar pop culture icons, comic book heroes, and other characters. Inspired … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Dallas artist Jennifer Lashbrook turns paint swatches into unique portraits

Many artists at the Utah Arts Festival’s Artists Marketplace are increasingly finding that any material, which might have been discarded previously or considered an afterthought, is worth converting into appealing art forms. Jennifer Lashbrook from Dallas, who won this year’s People’s Choice Award in the Artist Marketplace, creates portraits from paint swatches she gathers from … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Harper and Midwest Kind, MarchFourth Marching Band to close out festival on soulful, rousing notes

Peter Harper

Harper and Midwest Kind, June 29, 2 p.m., Art Yard stage; 4:30 p.m., City-County Building Stage, and 9 p.m. Park Stage For someone born in the United Kingdom and who spent his formative years in Perth Australia and whose early musical experience included playing trumpet and euphonium in brass bands, Peter D. Harper has become one … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Turkish film director Oguzhan Kaya proves every boundary can be crossed in Fear No Film

Oguzhan Kaya

The director and producer from one of the 65 short films which are being screened this year at Fear No Film in the Utah Arts Festival are demonstrating in enlightening and heartening ways the best creative impulses that drive the ‘Boundaries’ theme for this year’s cinematic program. Oguzhan Kaya, 30, who directed the short film, ‘A … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Salt Lake City’s Sergiusz Wiaderny creates fascinating abstract art in most unusual form

Bird of Paradise, Sergiusz Wiaderny.

Two years ago, Sergiusz Wiaderny applied to be in the Artists Marketplace at the Utah Arts Festival and was rejected.   This year, when the Salt Lake City photographer artist (Booth 55) – who works full time at his business Pumpco (small aggregate concrete pump business) – was accepted, he says in an interview with … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Josiel Perez, AC Jazz Project bring sizzling timba in first Utah performance

Josiel Perez, trumpeter and bandleader, AC Jazz

Josiel Perez and The AC Jazz Project, June 28, 9:45 p.m., Park Stage There is a phenomenally talented generation of Cuban musicians, including some who have not yet reached the age of 30, who are demonstrating to the world the truest, most dynamic elements of Cuban music that are far, far away from the nostalgic … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Mountain Heart’s acoustic virtuosity to close out IAMA day at festival

Josh Shilling

Mountain Heart, June 28, 9:50 p.m., Festival Stage Capping an unprecedented day of Utah Arts Festival activities and performances showcasing the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association and top national performers in folk, bluegrass, and various acoustic musical styles will be two examples of the industry’s best: John McCutcheon (already featured here) and Mountain Heart – a … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival: Lisa Gastelum’s world of art in circles, dots, rounds, and spheres

Lisa Gastelum Necklace Knotted - Atomic

More than 100 artists in this year’s Utah Arts Festival Artists Marketplace come from outside of Utah. One is Lisa Gastelum of Portland, Oregon, who weaves by hand beads from durable nylon beading thread that are wound around a wood core. She adds these colorful beads to hand-crafted metal work, made from nickel-free sterling, copper … Read more