In college, Bassam read many of the great poetic classics including William Blake and Lord Byron. They was a philosophy major, insistently searching for “metaphysical purpose,” as xe describes it in an interview with The Utah Review. Bassam will perform June 24 at 2 p.m. on The Big Mouth Stage at the Utah Arts Festival. … Read more
One of dance’s most powerful functions is its capacity to express something so profoundly that the audience watching it connects to it immediately. As we have listened to the voices of the #MeToo movement that always have been there but suddenly gained the frequency and volume which has asked us to empathize on a deeper … Read more
Dance has a monumental presence at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. There are the daily performances of BANDALOOP, the phenomenal vertical dance company from Oakland, California; a June 22 performance of RUUDDANCES featuring Ballet West and Ballet West Academy performers who will present classic and contemporary ballet works including the festival’s dance commission by Peggy … Read more
In The Gallery at Library Square on the fourth floor of The City Library, Process: Sculptures by Cordell Taylor will be the featured fine art exhibition for this year’s Utah Arts Festival. A Brigham City, Utah native, Taylor has worked as a professional sculptor for a quarter of a century and his work is available … Read more
Compared to many other jazz musicians, Melanie Shore had a late start. She started out as a classically trained pianist in her childhood but by the end of high school, she realized, as she describes in an interview with The Utah Review, “I didn’t have a passion for it.” As she “scoped jazz out” in … Read more
For the 16th annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, curator Topher Horman has crafted seven sequences of presentations in the most intriguing interpretations of the various ways in which societal band aids are removed and the underlying concerns and scars are exposed. Each program is described below. Screenings last about an … Read more
The Utah Short Film of The Year competition, part of Fear No Film, has become one of the most popular events at the https://uaf.org/film. This year’s slate of six short films includes a recommended film from The University of Utah’s film studies school, one of the four Spy Hop Productions’ PitchNic films from last fall, … Read more
In 2018, it seems insistently exasperating and dismaying thinking that some of the most urgent issues of our communities and societies always will be intractable. Managing outrage is tricky even when one realizes the moment calls for elucidation and an epiphany that leads to meaningful awareness, reconciliation and resolution. And, we are still learning how … Read more
In the 44 hours over the four days in which the 42nd Utah Arts Festival (June 21-24) will be open to the public, so many activities and performances will be available that only the savviest planner attending every minute of that time will be able, at best, to sample a respectable share of what each … Read more
For this year’s Utah Arts Festival (June 21-24), the Amphitheatre Stage will be the site of the festival’s biggest experiment – the Arts Fest Amplified Concert Series. The nightly concerts cover a versatile and diverse palette of musical tastes and influences. Ticket price of $25 includes same-day festival admission. Children 5 and older must have … Read more