Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival: Frank Falk’s iHorns, Joshua Rodine’s glass art exemplify unique statements about artistic vision

Two of the artists in this year’s Artist Marketplace, the largest ever in Utah Arts Festival’s history bring unique approaches to their work. Frank Falk, iHorns, 3-D Mixed Media, Booth 135 For some, Frank Falk’s art on the surface is a cool nostalgically rendered novelty which enhances the sound quality of that ubiquitous object of … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Random acts of opera sponsored by Utah Opera return to City Library for second year

Soprano Clara Hurtado-Lee is looking forward to testing out the acoustics in the soaring and spacious Urban Room atrium of the City Library. Perched on the overhang on one of the floors above the main space, a trained opera singer can fill the entire vast space with her voice. For the second year at the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Friday’s blockbuster headlining slate includes new jazz and dance commissions, Brazilian culture, and plenty of blues, soul, funk, R&B

Friday’s headliners for the Utah Arts Festival comprise a blockbuster lineup on the main stages with world premieres in two programs (click on previews for each program): the jazz commission concert with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra featuring Alex Heitlinger, Andrea Miller and Chuck Findley (7:45 p.m., Festival Stage) and the dance commission concert … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Spy Hop’s workshops geared toward onsite creative outputs in beatmaking, Claymation videos, filmmaking

Spy Hop Productions’ partnership with the Utah Arts Festival has evolved through the years, mainly because of the national youth media group’s penchant for adventurous projects that push the creative boundaries of festival visitors much in the same way the organization’s mentors encourage their students to be as bold as possible. This year, Spy Hop … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Art Festival 2017: James Randle’s paintings of urban realism as personal meditation

In his paintings James Randle achieves a sense of urban realism that reflects how the artist has absorbed the best lessons of some of America’s most meaningful masters of realism, including Edward Hopper, Richard Estes and Stephen Shore. Hopper’s paintings of diners, drug stores, drab rooms in hotels, gas stations and movie houses communicated the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Samba Fogo calls audiences to the fire; spiritual heat of Samba

This flame that burns in my heart. Calls me to the heat of Samba. It is the glow that illuminates the darkness The light that clarifies my path. It is culture, art, and expression. It is magic brought from Aruanda. From black and white ashes From so much suffering of yore A phoenix was born … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Opening day headliners highlight national, local musicians with enduring legacies

Opening day headliners for June 22 on the main stages of the 41st annual Utah Arts Festival feature musicians with enduring legacies, both national and international. Shooter Jennings and Waymore’s Outlaws – 9:45 p.m., Amphitheater Stage The son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, two of country’s music biggest legends, Shooter Jennings has carved out … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Literary Arts venue highlights exhilarating changes in the landscape of letters

The ways we read, hear, absorb and consume literature continue to morph through a messy yet exhilarating chaos. The prior autocratic tendencies of the literary world are giving way to a formidable enlightenment in which new voices and forms have reinvigorated the essence and urgency of memorable story telling. This year’s Literary Arts program, the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Vogue Robinson’s poetry, advocacy for the literary arts are ebullient, generous

There is a wonderful buoyancy in the work of poet Vogue Robinson that translates to her generous commitment to promoting the literary arts, especially in her new role as poet laureate for Clark County in Las Vegas. Indeed, the role has become an enviable case study in artistic entrepreneurship. Robinson’s appointment, a two-year term, follows … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Jeremy Lee Sanchez finds deaf culture’s artistic power in signed poetry

In a video of just under a minute and 15 seconds, Jeremy Lee Sanchez performs a visual vernacular of his favorite film, The Matrix (1999). It is impressive in its compact richness of conveying the film’s story line as a signed literary work that combines many elements of body movements, iconic signs, gestures and facial … Read more