EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 50th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 18-21, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. The curtain raiser highlights the history of the Festival which is marking its golden anniversary. BANDALOOP, among the most prominent pioneers of vertical dance, returns to UAF for the fourth time, having appeared in 2005. 2013 and 2018. Once again, the Oakland-based arts company will perform on the 240-foot-high curving glass façade of the City Library, as part of a June tour in four cities featuring a work with ecological roots that will resonate with collective concerns about the Great Salt Lake’s ecological crisis, as the dance artists perform FLOCK while integrating company repertoire pieces including Downstream and its new creation, life || lines, all with an original score featuring music by four composers. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the second time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Gaslight Zone. Make-and-take opportunities will be among the most extensive in history, with Make Salt Lake as well as Secondhand Salamander which is bringing back the classic Mad Hatter project, and, of course, the Kids’ Art Yard. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation featuring eight artists in four Festival campus locations, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. Holdman Studios, based in Lehi with an international portfolio of commissions to create stained glass in religious and civic buildings, including a recent update to the Utah State Capitol rotunda, is offering an unprecedented series of free workshops for participants to create their own stained glass artwork. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 23rd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with 84 short films on a slate of 15 programs, the second largest 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, Sock Opera Dance, and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, which will feature Trash Panda Drum Group and competitions featuring Sol Tribe as part of the Salt Open Styles Battle along with the Red Bull Dance Your Style battle and a collaboration with Utah Valley University’s ESPRIT in Rep Your Set Choreo Competition, with choreographers who specialize variously in hip hop, contemporary, salsa, reggaeton, afro, popping. Headliners this year include Digable Planets, well known among jazz musicians as well as hip hop artists (June 18); Yola, six-time Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, and actor (June 19); Austin-based musician Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known as Shakey Graves, who has been cited for creating new musical experiences tailored to each fan, ranging from Bandcamp-exclusive releases to hosting interactive scavenger hunts while on tour (June 20) and Rubblebucket, a band well known for its hybrid genre blend of psychedelia and electronic dance music (June 21). For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
JESSICA NICHOLE BEGAY (JUNE 21, 12:45 p.m., Garden Stage)
Now based in Salt Lake City, Jessica Nichole Begay, who is Diné (Navajo), grew up in the Navajo Nation (Gallup and Crownpoint, New Mexico). A model, writer, poet, and artist, she has been sharing her writing since 2022. This is her second consecutive performance at the Festival.
TUR: I’d like to hear about your process as a poet and writer. How do you approach the challenge of creating new work?
JB: Truthfully, my best poems come out of pain and rage. I often have to sit with these emotions as I see the world crumbling before our eyes. I am open to feeling these emotions and begin to write down what I feel. I pour myself into my writing and write until I am tired. This is my therapy. I welcome the uneasiness of life and write from the heart. If I am tired and distraught, I will write until I am inspired and hopeful again. I challenge myself to write when I feel defeated because that is all we have sometimes, our words. Write as much as you can when you can; it’s your soul speaking through. You have the power to unite communities and bring awareness to things no one is speaking about. One of my favorite things to do is attend workshops or sit at a coffee shop if I am dealing with writer’s block.
TUR: How do you work with multiple sources of inspiration, and what are those sources of inspiration?
JB: Inviting multiple sources of inspiration is what makes my poetry what it is. Sometimes I draw from my experiences as a young girl, or I pull from my knowledge as a young adult, figuring things out. There are moments when I hear the whispers of my grandmother and father in my ear as I write. I remember my ancestors’ stories and their hardships. Through my lived experiences and the stories of my loved ones, my poems emerge. Honoring their voices is important to me. They are the reason I am here, sharing what I know. I harness the strength of my ancestors and hold onto their memory.
TUR: You’ll also be reading and performing onstage during the festival. What works or excerpts will you perform?
JB: Performing “I’m Here” is my favorite poem. It was written back in 2023. I wrote the beginning on a friend’s couch in their living room in one go. I could not stop writing; it felt like these words needed to reach the paper. This poem emerged from award-winning poet and artist Teresa Siagatonu’s poetry prompt, “Write a poem where every line begins with the words “I’m here because”.” Living in SLC, it has not always been easy to find community. This poem is a testament to honoring myself and my ancestors through my words. I’m here because of them. We, Indigenous people, have always been here; the land knows who we are. However, it is easy to be overlooked when our histories and stories are overlooked as well. I invite you to read about or research the lived experiences of American Indians.
TUR: Feedback, especially from peers and colleagues in the writing/storytelling communities, is so critical to the writing process yet it also can be an uncomfortably humbling experience for writers. What advice would you give to aspiring writers about how to approach the often sensitive aspects of making and receiving meaningful feedback on writing?
JB: Without honest feedback, you miss out on the opportunity to grow as a writer and miss out on so much wisdom. I had the greatest opportunity to join a workshop titled “We Are Telling Our Stories” led by Hawai’i’s first poet laureate, Kealoha Wong. I gathered newfound knowledge and expanded on many of my existing poems. Learn as much as you can and do not shy away from creating. You know your truth.
TUR: What projects are you working on in the near future?
JB: Over the past few years, I have been writing and holding onto many pieces. It may take me a few more years or a little less, but I am working on releasing a poetry book of my own. Until then, please join me at open mics and other community event.