Color flashed from the Hindu dancers, visible among the crowd at the Museum of Art last Friday.
BYU’s MOA welcomes new exhibits and new visitors on the first Friday of the month. The first event of the semester was Friday, Sept. 5. The event focused on the museum’s newest exhibit, “Loving Devotion: Visions of Vishnu.”
The exhibit features several artifacts related to Hindu worship and helps visitors understand the relationship between Hindu deities and heritage.
Traditional Indian food, music and dance were featured throughout the night.
Museum educator Kalisha Grimsman was pleased with both the turnout for the night and the participant interest in different cultures.
“It’s good to see people really interested in learning about and celebrating different cultures,” Grimsman said.
The museum invited the president of the Hindu Temple in South Jordan to attend the event, along with several youth dancers. The dancers performed a few traditional Indian dances as guests gathered around to watch.
Adi Gundlapalli, a professor of medicine at the University of Utah, was glad to see so many people at the museum.
“Nowadays you don’t see as many people interested in culture and art anymore,” Gundlapalli said.
The museum puts on the First Friday at the MOA every month to help bring students to the museum and help them learn.
“We want them to see that the museum can be a fun and exciting place for learning outside of the classroom,” Grimsman said.
The event attracted not only BYU students but also students from surrounding schools.
Andrea Gonzales, a student at LDS Business College, felt the event was a great way to attract people.
“It makes you want to learn more about it,” Gonzales said.
The Loving Devotion exhibit will be at the Museum of Art until March 21.
