By Arianne Baadsgarrd
Utah artists are shining through the shadow the Olympics has cast on them.
“In general, there is a sense that the local Utah artists are being ignored by the official Olympic celebrations,” said Shawn Rossite of Artists of Utah.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee came in and took over the Salt Lake Art Center to do their show and wanted the staff to quit for three months, Rossite said.
Utah Art 2002 was created to address the concerns of some Utah-based visual artists that not enough attention was being paid to them by the Olympic Committee.
“There was a need to increase the level of visibility for visual art in Utah,” said Michelle Bruno, media relations representative for Utah Art 2002.
Visual art has reached new heights in Utah at Utah Art 2002”s opening night Feb. 1, Bruno said.
They anticipated approximately 200 people for the evening and were pleasantly surprised with over 600 interested art patrons and the media who attended.
“Because of the work of many people, Utah artists are not being ignored,” said Mary Tull, director of Visions for Learning, an organization sponsored by Utah Art 2002.
According to the official Olympic Web site the Olympic Arts Festival events include 17 exhibitions in visual art and 27 in musical and dance performances.
“I don”t think the Olympic Committee gave the visual arts as much attention as the performing arts,” Tull said.
The situation for the performing arts might not be as good as is appears.
The Hale Center Theatre will not be playing during the Olympics because it was rented out for Olympic related business, according to the Hale Center Theatre Web site.
Rossite said most of the art galleries in and around Salt Lake are having group shows featuring Utah artists and concentrating on Utah themes.
