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Arts Council Social on Feb. 24, 2025

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  You are invited to the Cedar City Arts Council Social on Monday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Frehner Hall of the Utah Shakespeare Festival Building near the Fred Adams statue.  This is a free public event to celebrate the Cedar City arts community.  Refreshments will be served. This year's Arts Service Award will be presented to Roland Williams. The popular pianist and organist has served the Master Singers for many years as an accompanist.  He has performed in numerous other community events. He has served on the Cedar City Music Arts Board for many years.  "We appreciate the steadfast service of musicians and artists like Roland who have contributed over many years to building our arts community," said Roger Gold, CCAC President.  "Even though in pain much of the time as he played these last few years, he never missed a beat. He serves as an inspiration to those who know him," said Harold Shirley, Master Singers. He has performed in many civic events...

Pursuing Your Art and Mini-grants

(column for Iron County Today)   Fold or Flourish? By Sara Penny, CCAC VP What is your art form? Do you write, paint, act, dance, or make pottery? Are you taking photographs, playing music in a group, or singing in a choir?  Having art as a daily part of your life is healing.  You might write poetry for yourself, do embroidery, or do sketches for family or friends. Art is art and everyone can participate. When we feel brave enough to share our art that is a bonus.   Having an artistic goal can be exhilarating, but there are commonly frustrating moments. Having a growth mindset helps to proceed. Accepting failures as a learning opportunity is the best response, instead of a stop sign on the project. So flourish rather than fold. The key concept is to keep moving forward.  There are countless examples of books being written over years instead of months. “You can’t use up creativity: the more you use, the more you have,” wrote Maya Angelou. “Too often creativity is...

Mini Grant Success Story 2025

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  Creating Order from Chaos by Sara Penny, CCAC Vice President Putting a puzzle together is about creating order from chaos. Sometimes, an arts project feels like scattered pieces that just won’t fit—but when everything locks into place, it can be wonderful. LuAnne Brown wanted to add a string program at the Escalante Valley Elementary in Beryl. She knew there were smaller instruments in the Dalley Collection at SUU, but they were overly loved and needed repairs.    A mini-grant from the Cedar City Arts Council helped with repairs so there is now an orchestra for the school. Special thanks to Luke and Vicky Heaton for excellent string services at Whittlesticks.    LuAnne explained how important these instruments have become for her students, "We have had some amazing students in our class, both last year and this. One boy comes to mind.  He came to our school when he was in third grade.  He is part of the Latin American community who are  an ...

Reading List for 2025

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Art and Photo Contest Exhibit 2024

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Thanks to the Cedar Livestock & Heritage Festival for the prize money and ribbons. Thanks to Randy Seely for coordinating the art and photo contest. The exhibit at Diamond Z Cross Hollows Arena. Thanks to everyone who participated. Collect your artwork at the Southern Utah Museum of Art starting Tuesday. Prize checks,  ribbons, and pins provided by the Cedar Livestock & Heritage Festival  Shaylee Lamoreaux, Randy Seely, and  Donna Christensen 2D Participants K-5 Elementary 1st Place: Jocelyn Coronel 2nd Place: Leo DiAntonio 3rd Place: Emmie Marshall 6-8 Middle School 1st Place: Naomi Milby 9-12 High School 1st Place: Sara Arenas Cedillo 2nd Place: Ayda Ramsay 3rd Place: Seth Lewis 3D Participants 1st Place: Tucker McCormick Photography 1st Place: Ayda Ramsay 2nd Place: Luke Marchant 3rd Place: Claire Marchant Honorable Mention: Madylyn Starla Murray Entries from Anaheim. The grandparents live in Cedar City and are involved in the sheep industry. Randy Seely direc...

August 20, 2024 Social with Pottery, Dancers, and Photography

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 Thanks to our Summer Social Presenters Aja Madsen has been a dancer for a lifetime– true love lasts forever. She started in BYU's Young Dancemaker program and kept going until she graduated with a dance degree from Brigham Young University. Then wanderlust took her to New York City where she had many awesome dance experiences. She is happy to call Cedar City home and has enjoyed teaching ballet and creative dance at Little Leap Frogs studio right here in the Johnson Center. Creating dance has always been a Top 5 joy for her. She is excited to curate more experiences for adults and children to dance and is looking forward to her next adventure.Project description: Picture presentation of Dance in the Desert project where I led a dance class through some mindful movements in nature and taught them some new ways of seeing their body in space. Russell Wrankle is a professor of art at Southern Utah University (SUU) and the proprietor of “Shape Theory Ceramics Community Studio.” Wit...

Art and Photography Contest for 2024

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EXTENDED Deadline to Oct. 12 Submit entries to Artisans As you may know the previous deadline for art submissions for this year's  Livestock Heritage Art Contest  was set for  September 27th . Part of the reason for the early deadline this year is because SUMA needed to close their museum on this date in order to prepare for their next major exhibit installation. Each year we average about 60 submissions to put on display for the contest. After collecting artwork last Friday, we only have about 20 submissions in total. We desperately need more submissions and have our community see the artistic talent of our Iron County students! To help extend our deadline for additional art submissions Steve Yates at Artisans Gallery has offered to be a drop off location for the next couple of weeks with an extended submission deadline of  October 12th . If artwork is framed, GREAT! However, not everyone can afford a frame. Just submit your students' artwork with the submission for...