At community COVID-19 clinics, trust makes the difference

WEST VALLEY CITY —  “I love the work that you all are doing,” said Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson at a community vaccination clinic on Nov. 19. Henderson thanked the partners who organized the series of pop-up clinics at Rancho Markets across the Wasatch Front, praising their efforts to shrink the health gaps among the Latino and multicultural communities particularly …

Black Benatar publicity photo

The Creative Pivot: UtahPresents

When UtahPresents shows were canceled in the spring, Executive Director Brooke Horejsi seized the opportunity. If an audience couldn’t be invited to Kingsbury Hall, she asked, could the space be used to help artists create new work?  She invited arts companies to consider campus residencies. First up was Kinetic Light, a disability arts company “with physically fearless performers,” as Horejsi …

Art chair in Sears Art Museum COVID-19 Popups Exhibition

The Creative Pivot: Sears Art Museum

Most exhibitions at St. George’s Sears Art Museum are months in the planning, with artworks that are meticulously hung and arranged. But instead immediacy was the inspiration for “COVID-19 Pops-Up in Art,” an exhibition in the Dixie State University museum’s foyer, says Kathy Cieslewicz, museum curator. Anchoring the show were artist Stewart Seidman’s series of eight large acrylic paintings about …

The Creative Pivot: Excellence in the Community

Jeff Whiteley says he started to grieve when the Excellence in the Community concert series was forced to pause in late March — until the nonprofit’s founder hit upon a new plan.  On April 16, even as Salt Lake County health restrictions tightened, the music series relaunched with weekly Wednesday and Saturday performances. The only thing missing was the in-person …

An actress poses in a pool of water in front of distant mountains

The Creative Pivot: Alone Together Film Fest

ALONE TOGETHER FILM FEST Film students graduating into a pandemic will face the most difficult job market in years, while many screenings of their works were canceled due to COVID-19, says Miriam Albert-Sobrino, an assistant professor in film and media arts at the University of Utah.  That’s why she and Sonia Albert-Sobrino, her filmmaking and U. teaching colleague — and …

The Creative Pivot: Moab’s KZMU

When Moab’s community radio station closed its building in mid-March, the station first turned to an automated system, which it usually relies on for overnight programming. After a week, KZMU volunteer DJs began taping their shows from home, complete with ambient sounds. Listeners heard familiar voices, and “you could hear the birds in the background, and you could hear the …

A woman lying in a grass field covered by a white sheet

The Creative Pivot: Granary Arts

Using front yards as an outdoor art gallery, like a progressive dinner, was the aim of “Lawn Gnomes 2020,” a partnership between Ephraim’s Granary Arts and Salt Lake City Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts. While both arts galleries were closed, curators invited local artists to plant new works in their yards, and visitors were invited to follow a map to …

Pandemic Bread

 It’s all about the dough for two Utah potters during quarantine By Ellen Fagg Weist In hindsight, two Utah potters seemed particularly well-positioned to take advantage of the quarantine bread-baking trend. During the pandemic, Joe Bennion, who owns Spring City’s Horseshoe Mountain Pottery,  has regularly sold out of his stock of sturdy bread baker pots. In July, one batch of …

Salt Lake Telegram 1918 Flu

Life and Death in the Cache County During the Spanish Flu

In episode 14 of the “Speak Your Piece” podcast, Senior Historian Brad Westwood interviews Dr. Holly George about her work on topics such as theater in Washington state and the history of the Spanish Flu. Perhaps the most poignant part of the interview — as well as the most timely — is when Dr. George talks about the death of …