Center For Latter-Day Saint Arts Inc

THE CENTER HAS A THREE-FOLD MISSION: TO DISPLAY AND PERFORM ART BY LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND ELSEWHERE; TO PUBLISH SCHOLARSHIP AND CRITICISM ABOUT OUR ART TO REACH A WIDER PUBLIC; AND TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE ARCHIVE OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ART, 1830 TO THE PRESENT.

THE CENTER HELD A FESTIVAL AND CELEBRATION IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH ON SEPTEMBER 24-25, 2021. THE WEEKEND KICKED OFF WITH A SYMPOSIUM HELD AT THE MUSEUM OF ART AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. FIFTEEN SCHOLARS GATHERED IN THE MUSEUM OF ART AUDITORIUM AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY TO PRESENT PAPERS AND ART WORK ON THE THEME "ART AND BELIEF." THE EVENT WAS THE CULMINATION OF TWO YEARS OF PLANNING AND ONE SUMMER'S ZOOM SEMINAR. THE EVENT WAS PART OF THE CENTER'S EFFORT TO STIR THOUGHT ABOUT THE ROLE AND PURPOSES OF ART. THAT EVENING, THE CENTER HOSTED VISION, AN EVENING OF DANCE, HELD AT CAPITOL THEATRE IN SALT LAKE CITY. AFTER A FIFTEEN MONTH COVID-RELATED DELAY, AND A RELOCATION FROM NEW YORK CITY TO SALT LAKE CITY, THE DANCE CONCERT FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS OF ELEVEN CHOREOGRAPHERS, CURATED FROM A NATIONAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS AROUND THE BROAD THEME, 'VISION.' PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TANNER DANCE (SLC), THE CONCERT ALSO RECOGNIZED THE LEGACY OF THE LATE VIRGINIA TANNER, AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TRAILBLAZER FOR HER WORK DEVELOPING CREATIVE DANCE TEACHING METHODS FOR CHILDREN. OTHER FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHERS INCLUDED KEELY SONG, CHRISTINE OLLERTON, SHAYLA BOTT, LISA FORD MOULTON, CARLEY CONDER, JACQUE LYNN BELL, JUDITH MIKITA, WENDY BONE, RACHEL BARKER, ADAM DYER AND AMY MARKGRAF. IN ALL, OVER 500 ATTENDED THE CONCERT, INVOLVING 79 DANCERS OF ALL AGES AND LASTING JUST UNDER TWO HOURS. FOLLOWING THE CONCERT, THE ELEVEN CHOREOGRAPHERS PARTICIPATED IN A Q AND A WITH THE ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE. THE WEEKEND CONCLUDED WHEN OVER 400 PEOPLE GATHERED IN THE CITY CREEK MARRIOTT TO HONOR THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF RICHARD BUSHMAN IN AN EVENING THEMED, "LIFE OF RADIANCE." THE PROGRAM INCLUDED A MUSICAL PRESENTATION ORGANIZED BY CRAIG JESSOP ALONG WITH REMARKS FROM ELDER UCHTDORF ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ART IN THE LATTER-DAY SAINT CULTURE.

THE CENTER FOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS ENTERED INTO A LEASE FOR GALLERY SPACE AT 135 COLUMBUS AVENUE IN NEW YORK CITY. IT IS LOCATED NEXT TO THE MANHATTAN NEW YORK TEMPLE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINT, AND ADJACENT TO THE FOLK ART MUSEUM. THE SPACE IS APPROXIMATELY 1200 FT. THE GALLERY IS A CENTER FOR GATHERING AND HANGING OF ART BY LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS. EACH EXHIBITION RUNS APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS LONG. THE FIRST SHOW CONNECTED TO THE 2020 THEME OF THE FIRST VISION. IT BROUGHT TO BEAR THE CONCEPTS OF DISPARATE THINGS COMING TOGETHER-HEAVEN AND EARTH, OF COURSE, BUT ALSO DIVERSE CULTURES, MEDIA, CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS, AND PHILOSOPHIES. MORE THAN HALF OF THE VISITORS TO THE FIRST EXHIBITION WERE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN LATTER-DAY SAINTS, AND THEY LINGERED IN THE GALLERY-THE AVERAGE TIME WAS 30 MINUTES. NUMEROUS PEOPLE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOUNDED THEIR SUPPORT AND CHEERED OUR EFFORTS. THE SECOND SHOW WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IN TONE-IN FACT, THAT IS ONE OF OUR GOALS, TO HAVE EACH EXPERIENCE IN THE GALLERY FEEL SINGULAR. IT WAS WPA IMAGES, PHOTOGRAPHS OF UTAH (1935-1948): ANSEL ADAMS, ANDREAS FEININGER, DOROTHEA LANGE, RUSSELL LEE, ARTHUR ROTHSTEIN, JOHN VACHON. THE BOLDFACE NAMES ESSENTIALLY GUARANTEED A LARGE AUDIENCE, AND INDEED IT WAS SO. IN TOTAL, 2,217 VISITORS SAW THE SHOW IN ITS SEVEN WEEKS (WITH ANOTHER 1,130 VISITORS ONLINE). THE FINAL EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR WAS SILOED: ART OF UNCERTAIN TIMES. THE CENTER ISSUED A CALL FOR PROPOSALS, TITLED ART FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES, IN APRIL, 2020, WHICH WAS BORN OF OUR DESIRE TO BELONG TO OUR COMMUNITY IN A MOMENT OF GLOBAL DISTRESS. THIS EXHIBITION DREW FROM THAT PROJECT. THE INCLINATION TO CREATE OFFERED TETHERS OF HOPE AND HUMANITY AS WE CLUNG TO GEORGES BRAQUE'S NOTION THAT "ART IS A WOUND TURNED TO LIGHT." WE ASKED ARTISTS, SCHOLARS, AND OTHERS FOR SAID ILLUMINATION: HOW WERE THEY TO PROCESS THIS NEW NORMAL? THE ART REPRESENTED THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH THE PANDEMIC.

ART OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS WILL BE A BROAD THEMATIC SURVEY OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ART FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE PRESENT. THE SURVEY WILL FIRST TAKE THE FORM OF A RICHLY ILLUSTRATED VOLUME PREPARED BY 24 EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. THE BOOK WILL BE PUBLISHED BY OXFORD PUBLISHING. WE HAVE ALREADY ENGAGED THE AUTHORS FOR THIS VOLUME. THE BOOK WILL BE FOLLOWED BY AN INCLUSIVE EXHIBIT OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ART THAT WILL OPEN IN NEW YORK CITY AND TRAVEL TO TWO MUSEUMS IN SALT LAKE CITY. OUR AIMS ARE TO RECOGNIZE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS AND TO PRESENT THEIR WORK TO THE WORLD.

OTHER PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: 1) CENTER'S STUDIO PODCAST. THIS MONTHLY PODCAST INCLUDES A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS. 2) COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY COURSES ON LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS. TO FACILITATE THE CREATION AND TEACHING OF ACADEMIC COURSES AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ON LATTER-DAY SAINT ART TOPICS, THE CENTER COMMISSIONS SYLLABI AND COURSE OUTLINES FROM SCHOLARS AND PROFESSORS. 3) ART AT HOME. ART AT HOME IS AN ONLINE ART EDUCATION RESOURCE FOR CHILDREN, TEENS, AND ADULTS THAT LAUNCHED IN 2020. LESSONS EXPLORE THE FULL RANGE OF ART THROUGH THE LENS OF ART MAKING, ART HISTORY, ART CRITICISM AND AESTHETICS WITH VIDEOS, PHOTOGRAPHS, DIAGRAMS, AND TEXTS TO ENGAGE INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES. 4) THE COME, FOLLOW ME (ART COMPANION). EACH WEEK THE CENTER PREPARES VISUAL ART MATERIALS TO AID GOSPEL STUDY. THIS PROGRAM BRINGS ART WORKS AND OBJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CREATED BY MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH TO INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES. 5) ART COMPETITIONS. PAYOUTS INCLUDED FOR ART FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES AND I AM, AN ART COMPETITION FOR DIVERSE ARTISTS 6) OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS, INCLUDING OUR SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS, AND AN ENCYCLOPEDIA PROJECT OF IDENTIFYING LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS IN EVERY MEDIUM.