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As
the Utah
Arts Festival
rolls into its final day today, we start taking a look back at some
of the things that were showcased this year. Night
Flight Comics
was proud to bring in cartoonist Phillip Yeh to do a mural for the
festival, encouraging children to not only read but be creative in
life as well.
Starting
up this Saturday, a number of local businesses will start taking part
in a week long event to focus on everything Utahn!
Independents' Week kicks off this Saturday with a sidewalk party out
of Slowtrain Music on Broadway and a local cookoff challenge at the
downtown Farmer's Market. All a part of Local First Utah's
continued effort to promote local business and strengthen the
community. I got to chat with Local First Utah's Executive
Director Alison Einerson about the activities coming up this week, as
well as Local First and a number of other topics.
It’s
late June in downtown SLC, and that can only mean one thing. It’s
going to hit 100 degrees this weekend, and the Utah Arts Festival
makes its return from Thursday to Sunday.
Back
to the Gallery Stroll we go as we hit late June, and the art scene
picks back up speed again for many reason across the state.
This month we head back to Kayo
Gallery
to check out a shared show. --- Jason Metcalf
took over the left side of the room with his view of rebuilding and
Hell. Meanwhile, Cara Despain took over the right side
showcasing her unique paintings of the nature around us. I got
a chance to interview both while taking pictures of the show.Jason
Metcalfhttp://www.jasonmetcalf.com/Gavin:
Hey Jason.
Project
337 brought about a new ideal to the Utah artistic landscape last
year, changing a lot of ideals and conceptions of what art should and
shouldn't be. When the demolition finally took place a couple
months ago, many assumed that the book had finally been closed on the
project. Little did we realize it was just the first
chapter in many more to come.--- Present
Tense is a new display over at the Salt
Lake Art Center, featuring old and new work
of 337 artists combined
into one main display. And from my understanding,
it's also the first time the main floor of the Center has been
opened to display only local artists since it's
opening. I got to talk with 337 artists Nick Potter and CJ
Lester about the display, the documentary, and some of their feelings
post-337.Nick Potter & CJ
Lesterhttp://www.337project.org/Gavin:
Hey guys! First, tell us a little about yourselves.CJ:
Mixed media artist and art teacher at Highland High School.
When
the majority of people think of arcades nowadays, they tend to think
of that corner area in your local theater or mall that's filled with
busted, sticky, no name title games. But one new locally owned arcade
is looking to bring back the arcade experience to a new generation
with some of the best and most hard-to-find arcade games around.
One
of the more interesting comics to hit publication this year didn't
come from any major company, not even from an indie set, but from a
talented self publisher right out of Salt Lake City. Let's
Go To UTAH!
Just
a couple short things for the end of the week. First, check out
this pic of the new paint job that was done last week to the last
remaining wall of 337 Project.--- I would have done something
with guys doing the project, but someone called the cops on them
before I could head over for an interview. I could understand
random tagging, but this was an actual art piece someone was doing.
Some people need a swift slap to the back of the head sometimes.
Taggers don't do this is daylight, geniuses. You know who you
are... Speaking of 337, owner Adam Price recently sent out the
project's first newsletter. Very insightful how the simple
project has now taken on life after death all over the
city. Meanwhile City
Weekly's own Holly Mullen took on a good cause in a recent post
this week about a cyclist that was run down one night by a pathetic
piece of human waste driving a van at high speeds at night.
What's worse, the guy who hit her, took her backpack with her ID and
money and other materials too! I don't know what that says to
you, but to me that sounds like it was done on purpose with intent to
do worse. To read the full piece, check out Holly's post,
and help bring him down! As for me, I'm taking this weekend off a
little to just relax and play games. I've been running around
trying to take care of stuff, I haven't even taken my official
vacation time yet. That's what happens when you listen to
friends. Someone says "no man, save it, we'll go to
California later this year." So you save it, and you ask
them later "I saved it, when you wanna go?" And the
answer you get is...
It's
that time of year again up in Cache Valley, where downtown Logan
becomes a festival for the arts. Summerfest! Making
the 25th year of the event, Summerfest has always been a popular
gatheting for the state, showing off visual and musical arts for an
all ages venue. I got an opprotunity to talk to Summerfest's
Board Chairman Wally Bloss about the festival and a few other topics
that came to mind. --- Wally
Blosshttp://www.logansummerfest.com/Gavin:
Hey Wally, tell us a little about yourself.Wally: I am
the Board Chair of a great group of people who have moved the
Summerfest Arts Faire back to downtown Logan.
Pride
came and went this weekend in it's traditional multicolored fashion.
Probably being one of the coolest festivals (thank you weather
department) as well as one of the most entertaining in its
history. --- Highlights included seeing Mayor Becker in a pink boa,
booth after booth of activities (and awareness to boot) the amazing
lineup of local acts, a slew of local political and random
celebrities, and...
