June 08, 2022 Culture » Entertainment Picks
"A" Gallery Summer Solstice Group Show As we creep up on the longest day of the year, it's a reminder of everything that summer can be, especially here in Utah. It's a time of heat and outdoor adventures, of encounters with the arts and encounters with nature. It's a time of seemingly limitless possibilities—including the seemingly limitless ways that artists can explore the idea of warmth and light, as demonstrated in "A" Gallery's Summer Solstice group exhibition.
In some cases, the representations of summer are literal and filled with affectionate nostalgia, like Gary Ruddell's oil on panel work "Study for Lawn Sprinklers" (pictured), capturing a child at play and reveling in the cooling waters. Other pieces depict the regional landscape as it appears during this season, like Gregory Stocks' oil on canvas "Blue Sky Fireworks," Emily Robison's canyonlands scene "Big Red" and Brian Koch's images of sheep in the fields in "Ascension." But there are also more abstract conceptions of warmth and light, as seen in David Adams' acrylic and pencil on canvas piece "Jolt," or Brent Godfrey's bold acrylic "Dress in the Water." And sculptural work by Brian Christensen like "Composition in Lime" almost pulse with the image of a circulatory system.
Summer Solstice shows at "A" Gallery (1321 S. 2100 East) June 10 – July 9, with an artist reception Friday, June 17, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.; regular gallery hours are Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. The entire exhibition is also available for viewing online at the gallery's website. Visit agalleryonline for additional information. (Scott Renshaw)
Ogden Arts Festival Yes, it's definitely arts festival season, with downtown SLC's big event just a few weeks away. But that doesn't mean you have to wait to start enjoying seasonal showcases of visual artists, music, food and general good times.
This weekend brings the Ogden Arts Festival to downtown Ogden, with two days of events and opportunities to get your art on. More than 100 artists will bring their work to the artist marketplace, including 40 participants never before seen at the Ogden Arts Festival and an "emerging artists" showcase area. Two performance stages will highlight live performances by a variety of local and regional musicians, dancers and other performing artists, including two performances by Grassroots Shakespeare Company. The urban arts area includes live graffiti mural creation and skateboard competition. Additional highlights include a Plein Air competition and silent auction on Saturday in conjunction with Eccles Art Center, plus access to Union Station museums including the Railroad Museum and the Browning/Kimball Classic Car Museum. And as always, the event will include plenty of family friendly "art-tivities" and food & beer vendors.
The 2022 Ogden Arts Festival takes place at Historic Union Station (2501 Wall Ave., Ogden) on Saturday, June 11 (noon – 9 p.m.) and Sunday, June 12 (noon – 6 p.m.). Admission is $5 general admission (plus electronic ticketing fees) for adults, free for 18 and under. All entry payments will be digital, including onsite payment, so advance ticket purchases are encouraged. Visit ogdenartsfestival.com for tickets, or text 202-858-1233 for a clickable link. (SR)
Nikki Glaser It's hard to believe that Nikki Glaser has already been doing standup for more than half of her life—but then again, you get a pretty good head start on the competition if you launch your career as a teenager. She made two appearances on Last Comic Standing and started making the usual late-night talk show rounds, but television could only do justice to Nikki Glaser so far, because when she decides to get real, it's not the kind of stuff the FCC would approve of.
That much is clear from her most recent full-length special, the 2019 Netflix show Bangin', in which she launches right into it with a bit about that moment as a girl when you learn about the concept of performing oral sex on a man. "I knew that sex was a thing, that a penis would go in my vagina some day," she says. "But ... I don't have taste buds down there. Like, stick whatever you want down there, who cares? But my mouth? That's where candy goes. I can't believe you would put a dick there."
Like most comedians, Glaser endured a COVID-necessitated performance hiatus, but has come back strong with projects like her podcast The Nikki Glaser Podcast, hosting the HBO Max reality dating series FBoy Island, and the E! reality series Welcome Home, Nikki Glaser? You can get a live dose of Nikki when she stops in at Kingsbury Hall (1395 E. Presidents Circle) on Friday, June 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $48.25, with VIP meet-and-greet packages available. Visit artstickets.utah.edu for tickets and additional event information. (SR)
TEDx Salt Lake City "Thank you for coming to my TED Talk" has become a jokey meme for anyone laying out their ideas and philosophy, but like anything that seeps into the popular consciousness, the history is often lost or largely unknown. The concept that became TED was born nearly 40 years ago, when architect Richard Saul Wurman began to notice unique convergences developing between technology, entertainment and design (hence the TED). And just to give you a sense of how long ago that original TED conference was, they were discussing such then-cutting-edge concepts as "the compact disc" and "e-books."
Flash forward to 2022, and TED is a worldwide enterprise with satellite conferences taking place in multiple cities annually. This week's TEDx Salt Lake City conference, like most of those satellite conferences, is an independent, locally-organized event that brings in a variety of speakers to talk about their unique areas of expertise and "ideas worth spreading." The lineup of 15 participants is scheduled to include Refugee Soccer founder Adam Miles; University of Utah law professor and human rights advocate Erika George (pictured); poet/journalist Melissa Bond; entertainment entrepreneur Shaadie; and Stephanie Larsen, CEO of the LGBTQ+ resource center Encircle.
TEDx Salt Lake City comes to Granite Park Junior High School (3031 S. 200 East) on Saturday, June 11 beginning at 9 a.m. Tickets for the full-day event run from $21.21 - $108.05, which includes lunch from one of several participating food trucks and free parking. Visit TEDxSaltLakeCity.com for tickets and additional speaker and event information. (SR)
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