June Newsletter: Bikuben, Christopher Kelly, Workshops

Yoshua Okón
Octopus

(2011) Two synchronized projections

Symbolic guns up, inert awareness, and swift movements are the actions of postwar Guatemalan soldiers in a Home Depot parking lot. Yoshua Okón's two synchronized projections show a deeper understanding of the life and experiences of undocumented immigrants and the battle of survival they still fight. The Home Depot parking lot is turned into a rugged battle ground where the soldiers hide out in sheds, army crawl across the hard cement and ride in carts all while holding out their hands to simulate blazing weapons. Patrons pass by with their cars and shopping carts averting their eyes and minds to the wounded and endangered. Okón's composition of space, sound, action and expression all lead up to the personal vulnerability and destitute nature that these day laborers face while trying to find work in the United States. Written by Megan Anderson

On view now as part of In Motion: Borders and Migrations

UPCOMING EVENTS

Opening Reception

Bikuben

Between 1876 and 1935, Bikuben was a newspaper published in Utah for the Danish immigrants as a way to foster cultural connectivity and a sense of community. For this exhibition, the word bikuben (meaning beehive) explores ties between Utah and Denmark in terms of progress, industry, and utopia. The exhibition opening will feature a Q&A with renowned Danish artist Mie Olise, whose installation will be on display along with14 other Danish contemporary artists. VIEW EXHIBITION>

Opening Reception JUN 27 | 7-9 PM

Q&A with Mie Olise JUN 27 | 6 PM

Opening Reception

Christopher Kelly: GOD COMPLEX

Artist Christopher Kelly expands on the universal desire to create a world apart from collective society in his first solo museum exhibition, GOD COMPLEX. A genre often associated with futuristic pursuits of new worlds and extraterrestrial life, sci-fi is also an apt metaphor for the discovery of the differences between self and other, human and alien. GOD COMPLEX features video and sculpture pieces that explore the concept of self and other. Join us for the exhibition opening to talk with the artist and see his performance pieces. VIEW EXHIBITION>

JUN 27 | 7-9 PM

Opening and Panel Discussion

Center for Land Use Interpretation: Houston Petrochemical Corridor Landscan

Filmed using a camera mounted to the nose of a helicopter, this landscan takes inventory of the major petrochemical sites in Texas, providing a portrait of the oil industry around the Gulf Coast.

CLUI: Houston Petrochamical Corridor Landscan is the second installment of the Cultural Cartographies series.

JUL 11 - AUG 23

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

In Motion: Borders and Migrations

In collaboration with Professor Elena Shtromberg and the students from the course, Visual Culture along the U.S./Mexico Border at the University of Utah, the exhibit, In Motion: Borders and Migrations, examines different manifestations of the Mexico and United States border in the visual arts, giving residents and visitors of Utah the experience of this unique geographic boundary through artist projects that offer both visual and conceptual alternatives to mainstream media representations. VIEW EXHIBITION>

MAY 16 - SEP 27

Melik Ohanian: Welcome to Hanksville

This film examines the congregation of a group of pseudo-scientists on August 27 2003, during the cosmological opposition of Mars to the Earth. The desert, reminiscent of the vacant landscape on Mars, is transformed into an unknown territory waiting to be explored. VIEW EXHIBITION>

Melik Ohanian: Welcome to Hanksville is the first installment of the Cultural Cartographies series.

MAY 16 - JUL 5

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

E.A.T.

Eat Art Together (E.A.T.) is a community outreach initiative that connects art and food, reimagining our relationships with the land, city, and each other. Partnering with Wasatch Community Gardens, Neighborhood House, and Real Food Rising, UMOCA will host events and sponsor art projects to promote sustainable urban farming and build our relationship with the land that surrounds us.

Local artists Robin Clark and Simon Larson have also provided public art pieces to be installed in community garden spaces. Built with repurposed or recycled materials, each piece will improve the garden it is located in. MORE >

MAY - OCT

Shoes of the City

Shoes represent the individuals that wear them, and local artist Summer Ellison is capturing the stories contained in each pair of shoes in her interactive sculpture piece Shoes of the City. She will use donated shoes to create a path through Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Bring a pair of shoes to the event on August 16 to be a part of the sculpture. Donated shoes will then go to the Road Home, and organization that helps the homeless in Salt Lake City. MORE

AUG 16

FILM SCREENINGS

KUED Presents:

Latino Americans

A chronicle of the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos who have helped shape the United States over the last 500-plus years. Come hear their stories. MORE>

This 6 part series is arranged in correlation with UMOCA's exhibition In Motion: Borders and Migrations.

JUN 28 | 3 PM The New Latinos

JUL 12 | 3 PM Prejudice and Pride

JUL 26 | 3 PM Peril and Promise

LATINO AMERICANS is a production of WETA Washington, D.C.; Bosch and Co., Inc.; and Latino Public Broadcasting, in association with the Independent Television Service.

Major funding for LATINO AMERICANS is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Annenberg Foundation, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and The Summerlee Foundation. Funding for outreach is supported by a grant from The New York Community Trust.

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE ACTIVITY

Open Studios

The doors will be open wide and everyone is invited to see what happens below the galleries inside the Artist-In-Residence studios.

Come meet the artists, talk about art and enjoy some snacks.
JUN 27 | 7 - 9 PM

SEE CURRENT A-I-R ARTISTS>

WORKSHOPS

Public Art Instruction with Tatiana Larsen

Receive instruction from international contemporary artist Tatiana Svrockova Larsen and create an installation piece at UMOCA's Artist-in-Residence workshop. Svrckova Larsen will teach a five-week workshop on installation, sound, video, and performance art, guiding adult students in producing a collaborative street art project for the Salt Lake City Gallery Walk.

Workshops are held every Saturday from July 26 - August 23.

Contact Jared Steffensen to Register>

FAMILY AND YOUTH EVENTS

Stroller Tours

Come see what parents and little ones have been cooing over! Bring in your brood for an exclusive tour of the museum and worry-free time to see the art. Stroller Tours have been featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News and in the July issue of Parents Magazine.

Please RSVP to Jared Steffensen to get rolling.

JUL 9 | 9:30 AM

Family Art Saturday: Journey Through Space

This month we will explore space with two art projects inspired by artist Christopher Kelly. Jet through space with your very own paper bag astronaut helmet, then explore the wonders of the cosmos by creating a galaxy jar with a space-themed snow globe.

JUL 12 | 2 - 4 PM | FREE Supplies Provided

Art Truck: Calder Kamin

These are the final weeks of Calder Kamin's Art Truck exhibition! Check it out at one of these public appearances before the birds fly the coop.

JUL 5 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Downtown Farmer's Market
300 S 300 W, SLC, UT 84101

JUL 15 | 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Lied B&G Club
464 South Concord (1235 W) SLC, UT 84104

JUL 21 | 4:45 - 6:00 pm
Sorenson Multicultural Center
855 W California (1330 S) SLC, UT 84104

MORE JULY APPEARANCES

All New Summer Camps!

UMOCA is excited to team up with Discovery Gateway to offer summer camp opportunities for your second/third grader and your fourth/fifth grader!

Reclaim It!

During this camp, discover ways that art and science illuminate what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Starting at Discovery Gateway, use your imagination to transform trash into treasure. Create unique works of art with unusual materials and unearth the essential reasons why we recycle through science experiments and hands-on projects. Then, head to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art to explore recycled materials in art, gain inspiration from the outdoors, and use the fundamentals of art as a springboard for creating a functional outdoor sculpture in UMOCA's gardens. MORE>

JUL 7-11 | Second & Third Graders
REGISTER HERE

AUG 4-8 | Fourth & Fifth Graders
REGISTER HERE

ART SHOP FEATURE

Matthew Linwood Hill

UMOCA's Art Shop is excited to welcome Matthew Linwood Hill as our newest artists and July's Artists of the Month. With only recently starting to work with mobiles, Hill excels in his ability to find balance through shapes. The simplistic curves and formation that each piece possesses, shows his care and understanding of kinetic space. As Hill says himself, each mobile is a piece of visual poetry; kinetic and lyrical. These dynamic mobiles are the highlight in any room, so stop by UMOCA's Art Shop to see Matthew Linwood Hill's mobiles in motion.

SEE ART SHOP ARTISTS >

GET INVOLVED

Call for Interns

Looking for experience working with cutting edge contemporary art in an award-winning venue? Join UMOCA for an internship this fall. Interns have the opportunity to work one-on-one with department heads to carry out specific projects, and general daily needs. Supplementary learning experiences are also achieved through assisting with public programs including exhibition openings, film screenings, art talks, and community outreach. The application deadline for fall semester is July 15. MORE>

I AM CONTEMPORARY

Become A Member

When you become a UMOCA member, you will have access to unlimited entry plus a continuous calendar of talks and workshops hosted by renowned artists and art world professionals. You also gain preferred access to RSVP film screenings, special events and private opening receptions.

Stay in touch with broader contemporary art community with a range of benefit levels.

Find the membership that describes you>