Opening reception for "Reinventing Portraits: Paintings from Utah's Prison Education Project." Art Exhibit runs Dec 5, 2023–Jan 14, 2024, at the Main Library's Lower Urban Room.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
In a semester-long art course through the University of Utah's Prison Education Project, students at the Utah Department of Corrections engaged in questions surrounding portraiture in a contemporary setting. Those questions included: How do we wish to portray ourselves to the world? What is at stake in the difference between realism and symbolism? How can we depict inner qualities? Aspirations? Unseen beauty?
Led by artist Mollie Hosmer-Dillard, with invaluable support from Mia Brown, Ashlee Cook, Ruben Gomez, Emily Warneke, Daycy Gomez, and Andy Eisen, 12 incarcerated artists ventured different visual solutions to these problems.
This project was made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake City arts council.
AGE GROUP: | All Ages | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Exhibits | Arts & Creativity |
NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed for renovations.
Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.
A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.
