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From high school dropout to award-winning international filmmaker, Kenyan director Likarion Wainaina discusses poignant inspiration for Supa Modo, Tumbleweeds Film Festival opener

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When Supa Modo, the award-winning feature-length narrative film from Kenyan director Likarion Wainaina, opens the Utah Film Center’s Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth on Friday (March 1, 7:30 p.m., The City Library auditorium), Wainaina will be in attendance. As mentioned in the festival preview last week at The Utah Review, Supa Modo sets … Read more

The sounds of the desert: Ryan Ruehlen’s GeoRhythmic Drift Music installation set to open at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

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The desert is a vacant cochlea, a geographical chamber of bone, in which waves propagate from the base freely distant sound brought close to my hearing. The vehicle was now perched in an alcove of short, pinyon pine, amidst a vast solitude and harsh stillness. Soaking in the yellow grassy plain, I paced around laying … Read more

Robin Banks’ Static Patterns exhibition delightfully perceptive exploration of childhood home’s poetic space

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In The Poetics of Space, the 1957 book by French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, the interactive effects of our minds with our most intimate, familiar surroundings were the focus of his phenomenological approach. Bachelard saw the childhood home, for example, as a theatrical space that inspired expressions of our dreamlike imaginations. With Bachelard, it was French … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Utah independent filmmakers at Fear No Film include Arthur Veenema, Christopher Lee

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Of the 11 short films from Utah that are part of the 54 in this year’s Fear No Film international program of the Utah Arts Festival, three come from independent filmmakers, another sign of a strengthening film industry in the state. Tomorrow’s Shores, directed by Arthur Veenema, is one of the six short films in … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Kevin Sybrowsky’s metal artworks synthesize vintage durable manufactured goods with witty contemporary reflections

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In his marvelously creative eye, artist Kevin Sybrowsky always sees a charming, witty story in every metal piece he makes. Scouring antique shops, thrift stories and businesses which his network of friends and colleagues alert him to check out, he sees the potential in every item he collects even before he decides how to upcycle … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Saturday headliners include People Under The Stairs, Guy Davis, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Azwaj premiere by Saad Haddad

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Saturday’s headliners present many options for what historically are the largest crowds for single-day attendance at the Utah Arts Festival. And, with sunny skies and temperatures expected to be in the comfortable range of the mid-80s, every festival music stage will be packed. The Arts Fest Amplified Concert Series continues with People Under The Stairs … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Julie Simpson’s handmade textiles, Jared Judd’s sculptures of preservation among Artist Marketplace features

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Many artists at the Utah Arts Festival‘s Artist Marketplace have unique stories to relate not only about their art but also about the creative and educational path they took toward becoming artists. They include Julie Clendenen Simpson, whom marketplace coordinator Matt Jacobson says, “has a beautiful ability to create and produce handmade textiles by combining … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Friday headliners include DJ A-Trak, Talia Keys and The Love, Osmond Chapman Orchestra, world premiere dance, jazz commissions

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Friday’s performing arts lineup at the Utah Arts Festival covers everything from electronic dance music on the Amphitheatre Stage to world premieres of jazz and dance commissions on the Festival Stage. BANDALOOP (5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Library Square plaza) and The Bboy Federation (6 p.m., The Round) continue their daily shows. The Big Mouth … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Aasia Hamid’s self-taught bead artistry, Nathan Brimhall’s volumetric sculptures among Artist Marketplace highlights

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Eye-popping art is the standard in this year’s Artist Marketplace at the Utah Arts Festival. Two examples are Aasia Hamid’s intricate jewelry pieces incorporating bead work with tiny seed beads woven together with needle and fishing line thread. Hamid (Booth 46) is making her second appearance at the festival, is from Gilbert Arizona. Nathan Brimhall … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: Christopher Diaz at forefront of new literary voices as writer, performer, teacher

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From Houston, Christopher Diaz (June 23, 8 p.m., The Big Mouth Stage) is among the exceptional lineup of writers and performers from a new literary generation that has become the foundation for the Literary Arts activities at the Utah Arts Festival, especially in the last four years. Diaz, who is Chamorro, fulfills many roles. In … Read more