Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Filmmakers Curtis Whitear, Gregory Unrau convey spirit of Fear No Film

Several filmmakers with entries in this year’s Fear No Film at the Utah Arts Festival have been visiting the event. And, their stories and background are as interesting as their films, echoing the mission of fearless filmmaking. Two examples are Curtis Whitear from the Utah Short Film of The Year competition and Gregory Unrau, the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Rachel Lee Priday, Aurelio, Lil’ Ed Williams lead closing day headliners

The Utah Arts Festival will close out its slate of musical headliners just as it opened – sampling from the broadest spectrum of music, this time 21st century classical, the Garifuba tradition emanating from Honduras, and the solid party band style of Chicago blues and shuffle. Rachel Lee Priday, 5 p.m., Festival Stage Still in … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: IAMA Day features John Gorka, The Kruger Brothers/Kontras Quartet, Songwriter Competition finals

After last year’s solid success at the Utah Arts Festival, the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association (IAMA) is once again sponsoring a day of performances tomorrow (June 27) by local and nationally know artists to demonstrate how interest in acoustic music and various musical niches and genres including folk, bluegrass, Irish, Celtic have grown in Utah … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Lena Prima, Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns, Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo, Erin Harpe highlight Day 2 headliners

The Utah Arts Festival’s second day of headliners honors some of America’s greatest musical institutions from the cities of Las Vegas and New Orleans to the great tradition of American song and jazz standards translated beautifully in the music of Lena Prima and to the virtuosity of two great guitar players and the contemporary interpretation … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Artist Marketplace’s strong representation from across the country

This year’s Artist Marketplace at the Utah Arts Festival is by all measures the strongest in terms of quality and originality in aesthetics and technique. Of the 615 artists who applied to be in this year’s event, 169 were selected: 47 from Utah and 122 from outside of the state. More importantly: 59 are making … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Karén Hakobyan, Micky and The Motorcars lead opening day headliners

The Utah Arts Festival’s opening day headliners set the tone and crank the momentum for what will be a comprehensive tour of many musical styles and influences for the next four days. These include Karén Hakobyan, a laureate of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and Micky and The Motorcars, one of the most respected Texas bands … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: An encyclopedia of dance vocabulary by four Utah companies

In addition to the premieres of two new dance works by Ballet West’s Christopher Ruud, four local pillars of Utah’s expansive dance community will present a variety of works encompassing the breadth and depth of dance movement vocabularies at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, June 26, 6 p.m., Festival Stage For the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: 13th annual Fear No Film celebrates creative impulses in global form

Carl Jung had much to say about the autonomous nature of the creative impulse in humans. He acknowledged readily the social significance of the creative process. In 1922, he wrote about the psychological phenomenon of creativity: “Whoever speaks in primordial images speaks with a thousand voices; he enthralls and overpowers, while at the same time … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: A grand preview starting with three words — big, blazing, passionate

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The three best words to describe the 39th annual Utah Arts Festival: big, blazing and passionate. And when the gates open on June 25th to Utah’s largest arts and cultural gathering in its central downtown location, festival visitors will see many artists, performers, authors, filmmakers, creative producers, and others – familiar and new – who … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2015: Literary Arts captures kinetic potential of 21st century creative landscape

The Italian novelist Elena Ferrante thinks of literary tradition “as a single, large depository, where anyone who wants to write goes to choose what is useful” to her, and that every ambitious writer has the duty to immerse herself in “a vast literary culture.” For this year’s Utah Arts Festival, organizers of the Literary Arts … Read more