EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new features this year: Voodoo Productions’ street theater will include roaming graffiti stilt walkers, contortionists and living master works of art. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the first time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. For kids, as admission for those 12 and under will be free, there will be plenty of make-and-take art options in Frozen Spaces in the Art Yard. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 22nd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with the strongest slate of narrative short films in the event’s history. Of course, dance, who wears the empress jewels in performing arts, will be represented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Echoing Spirit Dancers and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, at The Round. For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
ALICIA HANSON
One of the artists in this year’s Emerging Artists initiative for the festival, Alicia Hanson is a Mexican-born artist living in Riverton Utah, whose work explores themes of identity, belonging and transformation. She creates mixed-media and oil paintings where rendered subjects emerge from abstract backgrounds, symbolizing the journey of finding one’s place in the world. Through her art, Hanson aims to connect with others who have ever felt unseen, offering beauty and inspiration in life’s uncertainties.
TUR: How have you used art media forms in helping to create a holistic body of artistic work that searches for a more complete expression of your own innermost and most powerful states of emotion, inspiration, contemplation, and self-identity?
AH: For me, art is a very personal process. I mostly paint with oil and oil on mixed media. I often blend impressionistic forms with more abstracted backgrounds, to me it reflects the tension between clarity and chaos. It is something that I experience in my life and my identity. My work is inspired by resilience, nature and beauty found within, and I use that as the foundation to express vulnerability and strength. Painting is a way for me to process and connect, but also to hopefully invite others into that emotional space.
TUR: What is your training as an artist? Who do you consider your most significant influences and inspirations? Do these influences shift as you progress both in your work and life?
AH: I have been drawing and painting as far back as I can remember. I studied digital arts on a scholarship in college, although I left the program and pursued more traditional work. Most of my training is self-taught and taking online classes from other artists. I am inspired by artists like Torsten Wolber, Dimitra Milan, Vladimir Volegov and I also try to learn from the old masters. My influences definitely shift as I grow and develop in art and life. That is a large part of why I love painting, I never ‘arrive’ since I’m always evolving, learning and growing.
TUR: Do you work full-time exclusively as an artist? Or, how do you augment your work as an artist?
AH: Art is my passion and focus, but I also work in real estate. It gives me the flexibility to still work while making time for art and family life. Art has, and always will, remain a core part of who I am.
TUR: Do you find it easy or difficult to start new work? And, typically, how do you prepare yourself to handle both the creative and physical demands of creating your art?
AH: The only difficulty in starting new work is making time when juggling multiple responsibilities. I often have several painting ideas floating in my mind that I can’t wait to get on canvas. My personality type doesn’t like to procrastinate. I find that making art is my favorite thing to do, and I could spend more hours on it if there were more hours in the day!
TUR: With regard to participating in the Utah Arts Festival, please share your feelings about being a part of this enterprise? Have you been in other festivals and do you plan to explore other festival venues?
AH: I’m honored and excited to participate in the Utah Arts Festival as an Emerging Artist this year. It’s important to me to share my work face-to-face with others and make connections with others. This is the first arts festival that I will be participating in. I’m hoping to have success and be able to pursue more events like this in the future. Connecting with others through art, whether they relate to the stories behind a piece, or are simply inspired by it, is fulfilling to me.