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Smithsonian Exhibition in Utah:
Journey Stories in West Valley City
Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island for processing after journeying across the Atlantic Ocean. George Granthan Bain Collection. Library of Congress.
Everyone Has a Journey Story...What's Yours?
Journey Stories, a Museum on Main Street exhibition presented by the Smithsonian Institution and the Utah Humanities Council, has been touring Utah since May in collaboration with five communities. The tour began in Moab, continued to Vernal, and will now move on to West Valley City through October.

Grand Opening in West Valley City, September 15th

The Utah Cultural Celebration Center, the next host of Journey Storieswill feature a companion exhibition Nation of Immigrants, curated by artist Namon Bills. Nation of Immigrants features the work of 25 local artists, with each piece reflecting the story of an immigrant.

 

The grand opening of Journey Stories and Nation of Immigrants exhibitions at the Cultural Celebration Center kicks off September 15:

  • Opening Reception: September 15, 6-8 p.m.
  • Special Event: September 15, 8-9 p.m. Utah's Repertory Dance Theatre presents Journey, a tapestry of dance featuring selected works from RDT's prestigious repertory that spotlights the heritage, the stories, and the cultures of diverse people who have contributed so richly to our lifestyle along the Wasatch Front. The performance will also include dance students from Granger High School, Island Traditions, Ballet Folklorico de Las Americas, and Kulturang Pinoy Ensemble of Pilipino.

All events take place at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 West 3100 South in West Valley City. Events are free and open to the public. Check out all the activities planned for the Journey Stories run in West Valley City here.

 

Journey Stories Continues Through March, 2105

Continuing through March 2015, Journey Stories will also travel to Ephraim and Brigham City. The exhibition offers these communities access to the Smithsonian, as well as the opportunity to collect and showcase their own important stories. 

To learn more about the statewide tour, contact the Utah Humanities Council at 801.359.9670 or visit www.utahhumanities.org/journeystories.htm.

 


Utah Humanities Council Newsletter

  September 2014
In This Issue
Journey Stories Tour
17th Annual Book Festival
We Are One Video
New Venture Partnership
New Board Members
ZAP Makes a Difference!
About Us

Connect With Us




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Join Us for the 17th Annual Utah Humanities Book Festival Featuring Billy Collins, Diane Ackerman, Anthony Doerr, and More!

  

Running from September 17th through October 31st, this year's festival is sure to have something for everyone.

This free statewide event will include panels, film screenings, poetry slams, workshops, the return of Literary Death Match, and much more. Join us for conversations with your favorite authors and new writers who will stretch your mind.

Keynote Day in Salt Lake City
Our keynote day will be held on Saturday, September 27th at the Salt Lake City Public Library downtown, and will include Laini Taylor, Diane Ackerman, Katherine Erskine, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Matt Richtel, and BK Loren.

Other Authors Throughout the State
Some of the other authors you can look forward to this year are: Robert Pinsky, Anthony Doerr, Billy Collins, David Lee, Craig Childs, and Jennifer Nielsen. You won't want to miss any of these!

For more details and a printable program, visit us at:


The "We Are One Project" is Brought to Life in Video and Clemente Begins Another School Year
 
Clemente students at the unveiling of their public art project. Photo credit: Jean Cheney

Created by Clemente students to initiate conversations about cultural diversity at East High School and Salt Lake City in general, the We Are One Project has now become a brief documentary produced by Spy Hop.


With a new school year just underway, Clemente is now in its second year at East High School and we are proud to continue offering this year-long humanities course for students who dare to dream!

For more information on the Clemente Course in the Humanities, visit us here.

New Partnership for Venture  
 
Westminster College 2014-2015 Venture Class.

The City of South Salt Lake will host and support the Venture Course this year, in partnership with Westminster College and the Utah Humanities Council.

 

Twenty-five students and seven faculty and staff ventured to the roof top garden of the Salt Lake City Public Library for orientation this week; a fitting place to begin a course that takes a wide-angled look at history, literature, art history, philosophy, and writing.


For more information on the Venture Course in the Humanities, visit us here.

New Additions to our Board of Directors and Staff   
 
Our annual Board Retreat was held in August, and we were honored to meet in Vernal in combination with the Uintah County Heritage Museum's hosting of Journey Stories.

We welcomed four new board members, and sadly, said farewell to four others. We want to thank all board members for their important service to the Utah Humanities Council and for supporting the humanities throughout the state.

New Members:

Nan Groves Anderson, Bicknell 

Nan Groves Anderson serves as the Executive Director of the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, the trade association for the tourism industry in the state of Utah.  She's had many different jobs in the tourism industry and has learned from all of them, loved most of them, and feels fortunate to be able to help promote the best tourism destination in the world:  Utah.  Her industry involvement includes service on the Governor's Rural Partnership Board, Utah State University's Institute for Outdoor Recreation & Tourism Board of Directors, Ski Utah Board of Directors (Ex Officio) and the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee (Governor's Office of Economic Development).  Nan was named one of Utah Business Magazine's "30 Women to Watch" in 2008.  She graduated from Bowling Green State University, attended L'institut de Touraine (Tours, France) and the University of Utah.  Nan and her husband James live in Bicknell and share their home with 4 wiener dogs and 4 cats. 


Joni Crane, Vernal

Joni Crane currently serves on the Environmentally Conscious Consumers for Oil Shale (ECCOS) Board of Directors; Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Impact Council, Chairman; Utah Republican Party Executive Committee; High Uintah District of Boy Scouts of America; Uintah Company Daughters of the Utah Pioneer's Museum; the Uintah County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT); and has co-hosted a daily radio show on KVEL in eastern Utah. As a Utah licensed Bail Bond Agent, Crane finds assisting families and those impacted by drug and alcohol addictions extremely rewarding. The Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Virginia awarded Crane the Loudoun History Award for her documentation and preservation of historically significant sites. She continued her preservation efforts by co-founding the High Desert Angler Chapter of Trout Unlimited to assist with stream restoration. Crane served on the founding board of the international organization Project Linus. As a member of Washington DC's Women in Film and Video she co-directed and produced two historical documentaries that aired on the History Channel. Crane has also served on the Washington DC Council of Governments 20-Year Vision Transportation Committee. 


George Handley, Provo

George Handley has taught Interdisciplinary Humanities at Brigham Young University since 1998 and currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature. He holds degrees in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. He has a special interest in the environmental humanities, having written and spoken often about the intersections between religion, literature, and the environment in academic and civic contexts. In 2013, he was named the Conservation Partner of the Year by The Nature Conservancy of Utah. He is the author of memoir, Home Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River (University of Utah Press, 2010), and of two scholarly books that offer comparative readings of Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. literatures. One of them, New World Poetics: Nature and the Adamic Imagination of Whitman, Neruda, and Walcott (University of Georgia, 2007), was the beneficiary of the Utah Humanities Council Albert J. Colton Memorial Fellowship in 2002. 


Claudia Nakano, Salt Lake City

Claudia H. Nakano is the director of the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs established to inspire, strengthen, and empower Utah's multicultural community. MCA promotes a climate of inclusion by facilitating strategic partnerships between the ethnic community, community leaders, and state government to provide opportunities and resources that address the needs and concerns unique and common among Utah's ethnic population. She previously served on the Department of Community and Culture's executive administration and legislative team as communications director. A University of Utah graduate, she has developed and fostered community relationships through professional and personal affiliations that include the U of U Marriott Library's Ski Archives Board, Envision Utah Board, SL Metro Community Gang Advisory Board, UDOH Health Disparities Advisory Council, First Lady's Uplift Utah Families Task Force, Governor's Asian Advisory Council, Japanese American Citizens League, Salt Lake Council on Diversity Affairs, Minority Enterprise Development and committees for not for profit organizations. Her experience as a small business owner offered an in-depth understanding of business procurement, entrepreneurship, and development.


Retiring Members:
Peter Kraus, Associate Librarian at the University of Utah
Sam Passey, 
Director of the Uintah County Library System
Sylvia Torti, Dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah
Earl Wunderli, Associate General Counsel of the IBM Corporation (retired)

New Administrative Assistant
We also want to welcome to our staff a new Administrative Assistant, Justin Howland. He brings both skill and passion, and will be a terrific addition to our team.

To reach anyone on staff, call 801.359.9670 or visit  us at www.utahhumanities.org/contactus.htm.

ZAP Funding Makes a Difference!  
 

Thanks to the residents of Salt Lake County for their continued support of culture and recreation through the Zoo, Arts and Parks (ZAP) Program. When you pay sales tax, one penny for every $10 you spend is set aside to strengthen our community, including the Utah Humanities Council's free programs.

 

Your support matters. Thank you!


About Us
 The Utah Humanities Council empowers Utahns to improve their communities
 through active engagement in the humanities.



202 West 300 North
Salt Lake City, UT 84103