August 11th, 2010

This year’s Arts Festival kicked off new program and venture for the Kimball Art Center: RELEVANT, through which young, emerging artists are mentored and supported and encouraged to flourish and create right here in Park City.

Daily work sessions included critiques by mentors and peers and round table discussions, of which I was able to be a member. The residency requires dedication, long hours, deadlines and flexibility and will continue next year in 2011.

Through this artist-in-residence program, students were given the experience of developing art for sale, while being challenged to expand their artistic boundaries. During the residency each student’s primary goal was to create a piece… of artwork that was sold at the Opening Night Art Auction and Gala. Ryan Hughes’ painting was picked up at the Friday night Gala by two very lucky collectors– myself and Mr. Mullin.

The rest of the weekend brought even more events and artistic experiences.  On Friday night, Ron Russon painted a demonstration here at the gallery and on Saturday and Sunday we featured two jewelry artists, Susan Richer and Cyndi Sharp, here at Gallery MAR.

Two of our Gallery MAR artists, Penelope Moore and Aaron Memmott, were featured in the festival, and we are fortunate to have new works by both artists in the gallery today. The BMI Cafe at The Downstairs blasted fantastic new musicians all weekend long, with our favorite Seattle-based shown artist above, Alan Stone.

RELEVANT 2010 is an artist-in-residence program for emerging cutting edge artists dedicated to developing their artistic career. Students are given the experience of developing art for sale, while being challenged to expand their artistic boundaries. During the residency each student’s primary goal is to create a piece of artwork that will be sold at the Opening Night Art Auction and Gala and be on display during the Arts Festival. Students are given a theme, timeline, budget and private studio space. Daily work sessions will include critiques by mentors and peers. The residency requires dedication, long hours, deadlines and flexibility.

RELEVANT 2010 is a platform for discovery. The residency will place students in the spotlight, through interaction with the public, interviews with film crews and participation in the Opening Night Auction and Gala. The Park City Kimball Arts Festival is rated as one of the top ten festivals in the country. The three-day festival attracts 45,000 attendees and national press, providing students with great exposure and the opportunity to foster relationships with future collectors.