The Utah Arts Festival entertained crowds through sporadic rain and blazing heat all weekend as the four-day commemoration of the arts wound down on Sunday, claiming one of the most successful years to date.
Patrons flooded through the Library Square from noon to 11 p.m. each day, perusing the booths of over 163 visual artists, getting sidetracked by street performers and being by headlining performances.
Visiting and local artists alike were able to interact with their peers and those admiring their art. Rather than maintaining a typical artist/audience relationship, the UAF encouraged people to step out of the role of the spectator and allowed for conversation between the artist and those who were able to connect with their pieces.
Several artists, including jewelry maker Mïa Vollkommer, enjoyed the atmosphere and being a part of the festival as a whole.
“There are artists here, and I’ve followed their work for years and years, and we’re in the same show together, and it’s kind of an ego boost to be in their peer group,” she said. Her handcrafted jewelry combines traditional techniques and a modern aesthetic, adding to the diverse portfolio the UAF boasts of.
Local artist Aaron Memmott sold nearly all of his paintings depicting city-scapes and well-known scenes from around Utah. He attributes his success to being in the show in past years and, after winning an award of merit, has been invited to return for the festival’s 39th year. When asked what he would do differently next year, “Keep painting” was his reply. “[The festival] is jury-based, and it’s nice to be accepted.”
Other mediums, such as film photography, drew crowds, and photographer Robert Hall’s work was no exception. Invited to return to the festival after 45 years of mastering his 19th century photographic process and receiving an Award of Merit at last year’s show, he was thrilled to reappear at the 38th annual fair.
“It’s been a banner show … it’s been fantastic,” he said. Hall teaches workshops in Lehi when not traveling the world to shoot, allowing others to try their hand at a different medium.
The variety of art displayed at this year’s festival ranged from paintings to poetry, sculpture to sound, drawings to dance. Dallas, Tex. artist Jennifer Lashbrook works within a lesser-known medium. Her specialty is swatch paintings: collaged paint samples from the hardware store. After passing the paint swatches every time she had to get lumber for her canvas paintings, she decided to give it a try.“I hadn’t ever seen anybody else use the paint swatches, so I thought that I would just kind of run with it and just forget about paint and make all my paintings this way from now on,” she said.
Each piece could take her anywhere from a few weeks to a year, and though it was hard to let some of them go, Lashbrook was enthusiastic with the response to her art and honored to receive the People’s Choice Award.
The UAF provided opportunities for artists and audience alike to enjoy, participate and appreciate known and unknown mediums. And as June 29th brought the festival to a close with performances by Samba Fogo and Harper and Midwest Kind, art enthusiasts left feeling inspired and insightful, just enough to last them until June of next year, when art fans will unite again.