Center For Latter-Day Saint Arts Inc

THE CENTER FOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS HAS A THREEFOLD MISSION: 1. TO DISPLAY AND PERFORM ART BY LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND ELSEWHERE. 2. TO PUBLISH SCHOLARSHIP AND CRITICISM ABOUT OUR ART TO REACH A WIDER PUBLIC. 3. TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE ARCHIVE OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ART FROM 1830 TO THE PRESENT.

THE INTERSECTION OF CULTURAL RELEVANCE AND DIVINE CREATIVITY THE ARTISTS RESIDENCY AT THE CENTER 2023 SAW THE REALIZATION OF A LONG-HELD ASPIRATION OF THE CENTER FOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS: THE ARTISTS RESIDENCY AT THE CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY. THE INAUGURAL CLASS, WHICH EXPLORED THE THEME OF "INTERSECTIONS", WELCOMED SIX ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY: JESSICA HEATON (CHOREOGRAPHER), AARON TORONTO (FILMMAKER), ALIXA BROBBEY (POET), JENNA CARSON (MEMOIRIST), JOSEPH SOWA (COMPOSER), AND SARA LINDSAY (VISUAL ARTIST). THE ARTISTS SPENT ONE WEEK SHARING A TOWNHOUSE IN NEW YORK CITY, ADVANCING WORK ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC PROJECTS OF THEIR OWN DESIGN, PARTICIPATING IN GROUP OUTINGS INCLUDING TWO BROADWAY SHOWS, A WALKING TOUR THROUGH CHELSEA, GUEST SPEAKERS, COMMUNAL MEALS, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. AS ONE RESIDENT REFLECTED, "I KNEW THE RESIDENCY WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT EXPERIENCE, BUT IT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN I HAD EXPECTED. FOR ME, PERHAPS THE MOST VALUABLE PART WAS THE RELATIONSHIPS I FORMED WITH THE OTHER ARTISTS. I LEFT THE RESIDENCY FEELING SO UPLIFTED AND INSPIRED FROM THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH MY FELLOW PARTICIPANTS AND THE GUESTS WHO VISITED US." STORIES & SONGS ON MARCH 18, 2023, MORE THAN 600 GUESTS TOOK THEIR SEATS AT SYMPHONY SPACE IN NEW YORK CITY FOR AN UNPLUGGED EVENING OF STORIES AND SONGS WITH BELOVED FRONTMAN OF THE KILLERS, BRANDON FLOWERS. THE EVENING BEGAN WITH A POWERFUL AND MOVING PERFORMANCE BY SOLO ARTISTS BRI RAY AND ASHLEY HESS, JOINED BY THE MULTICULTURAL, ALL-DENOMINATIONAL MUSICAL GROUP, THE KING WILL COME, TO WHICH THEY BOTH BELONG. THEN FOLLOWED A CAPTIVATING CONVERSATION BETWEEN DESIGN & BRANDING LEGEND STANLEY HAINSWORTH AND BRANDON ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND FAITH. FOR THIRTY MINUTES, STANLEY AND BRANDON ENGAGED IN VULNERABLE, HONEST DISCUSSION OF CHILDHOOD IN THE LIGHTS OF VEGAS, AND UNIVERSAL MESSAGES FROM INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES IN RURAL UTAH, FAMILY, FAITH, AND COMPASSION. THE SETLIST THAT FOLLOWED FEATURED BRANDON ON THE GUITAR ALONGSIDE HIS BANDMATES ROBBIE CONNOLLY AND JAKE BLANTON FOR "TERRIBLE THING" (ACOUSTIC), "LORD,I WOULD FOLLOW THEE" (ACOUSTIC, LATTER-DAY SAINT HYMN), "BE STILL" (ACOUSTIC), AND "READ MY MIND" (ACOUSTIC). THIS BENEFIT CONCERT RAISED MORE THAN 50,000 FOR THE CENTER FOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS TO CONTINUE ITS COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING ARTISTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF CULTURAL RELEVANCE AND DIVINE CREATIVITY. RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION PREPARATIONS THE CENTER CONTINUED PREPARATIONS FOR ITS MARQUEE VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION TO BE HELD AT THE CHURCH HISTORY MUSEUM IN 2024. THE EXHIBITION, CURATED BY HEATHER BELNAP, BRONT HEBDON PATTERSON, AND ASHLEE WHITAKER, WILL BE A RETROSPECTIVE OF 200 YEARS OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ART AND CULTURE. CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION PREPARATIONS THE CENTER CONTINUED PREPARATIONS FOR ITS CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION TO BE HELD AT THE MESA ARTS CENTER IN MESA, ARIZONA IN 2024. THE EXHIBITION, CURATED BY HEATHER BELNAP, BRONT HEBDON PATTERSON, AND ASHLEE WHITAKER, WILL FEATURE CONTEMPORARY ART BY, FOR, AND ABOUT LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

CULTURAL RELEVANCE OXFORD VOLUME THE CENTER CONTINUED PREPARATION OF A 20+ CHAPTER VOLUME OF VISUAL ART OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS FROM THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY TO THE PRESENT, INCLUDING ART BY, FOR, OR ABOUT MORMONS. SCHOLARS FROM VARIOUS DISCIPLINES, PERSPECTIVES, AND BACKGROUNDS HAVE CONTRIBUTED INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS WITH RIGOROUS RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND CULTURE. TOGETHER, THE TWENTY-TWO CHAPTERS COVER PANORAMA PAINTINGS, QUILTS, ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, AND CARTOONS, TO FILM, GALLERY INSTALLATIONS, INDIGENOUS WORKS AND MORE TO OFFER A COMPLEX AND COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE OF MORMON VISUAL ART WITH UNPRECEDENTED BREADTH AND DEPTH. THE VOLUME WILL BE PUBLISHED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS IN 2024. THE SEASON 22/23 IN LATE 2022, THE CENTER LAUNCHED ONE OF ITS MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECTS TO DATE IN SEPTEMBER: THE SEASON 22/23, A COMPREHENSIVE, ONE-YEAR AGGREGATION OF CULTURAL WORKS BY LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS AND CREATORS AROUND THE WORLD AND THROUGHOUT LATTER-DAY SAINT (MORMON) CULTURE.IN TOTAL, THE SEASON CAPTURED AND WROTE ABOUT SOME 2,000 WORKS AND EVENTS. THE SEASON INCLUDED 185 ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, ORIGINAL SCHOLARSHIP, COMMISSIONED IMAGES AND MUSIC, AND NOTICES OF NEW WORKS AND EVENTS WRITTEN BY 66 CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS AND ARTISTS. THE SEASON'S EDITORIAL BOARD SHARED LISTS OF MUSIC, BOOKS, PODCASTS, AND EVENTS THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN, PUBLISHED LETTERS FROM READERS, MADE PLAYLISTS AND SEARCHABLE SPREADSHEETS OF NEW WORKS, AND NOTED ARTISTS WHO HAD PASSED AWAY DURING THE YEAR. IT ALSO FEATURED TWO PRODUCT CATALOGS-ONE A CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE, AND THE OTHER A SUMMER GUIDE. THE MAIN TAKEAWAY OF THE SEASON IS THE MOST OBVIOUS: THE SHEER NUMBER OF ARTISTS WHO ARE LDS IS BOTH OVERWHELMING AND GLORIOUS. THE ARIEL BYBEE ENDOWMENT AT THE CENTER FOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS THE 2023 CYCLE OF THE BYBEE ENDOWMENT ASKED ARTISTS TO RESPOND TO THE CALL FOR VISUAL ARTWORK, INSPIRED BY A SPECIFIC PIECE OF MUSIC OF THEIR CHOOSING. THE WINNERS OF THIS YEAR'S 5,000 COMMISSION PRIZE: SISTER-AND- BROTHER ARTISTS FROM BUENOS AIRES, SUSANA AND GONZALO SILVA. THE SILVAS' PROPOSAL, "TWO STUDIES IN COLLABORATION"IS CONCEIVED AS A MIXED-MEDIA INSTALLATION THAT WILL EXPLORE TWO DISTINCT RESEARCH FRAMEWORKS: THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN GRAPHICAL MUSIC NOTATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ART; AND A REVIEW OF LATIN AMERICAN, FEMALE REPRESENTATION WITHIN THE CANON OF CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL HISTORY. THIS WORK WILL BE EXHIBITED AT SARGENT'S DAUGHTERS, A GALLERY IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, AT A DATE YET TO BE DETERMINED. THE 2023 JURY INCLUDED GEORGINA BRINGAS, ARTIST; KENT CHRISTENSEN, ARTIST; JANALEE EMMER, DIRECTOR, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART; CAMPBELL GRAY, RETIRED DIRECTOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND ART MUSEUM; BRAD KRAMER, OWNER AND DIRECTOR, WRIT & VISION; ALLEGRA LAVIOLA, OWNER AND DIRECTOR, SARGENT'S DAUGHTERS; NEYLAN MCBAINE, CEO, DUET PARTNER; KAH POON, PHOTOGRAPHER; AND WARREN WINEGAR, ART ADVISOR, WINEGAR FINE ART. THE CENTER STUDIO PODCAST HOSTED BY CO-FOUNDER GLEN NELSON, THE AWARD-WINNING CENTER STUDIO PODCAST SHARES VIEWS WITH LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTISTS, CULTURAL THOUGHT LEADERS, AND INFLUENCERS ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

DIVINE CREATIVITY COME FOLLOW ME - ART COMPANION IN 2023, THE CENTER REVIVED ITS PIONEERING RESOURCE THE COME FOLLOW ME (ART COMPANION). THE ART COMPANION IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AN ARTISTIC SUPPLEMENT TO WEEKLY GOSPEL LEARNING FOR EVERY AGE AND TO SPARK THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION.