Students strolling through Library Plaza yesterday heard the U marching band Pride of Utah playing “A Utah Man Am I” along with other fan favorites, while others enjoyed free ice cream dished out by the Theater Department as ballet dancers performed on stage. Students could also design their own T-shirts and visit booths set up by the six departments within the College of Fine Arts.
The third annual Arts Bash was designed to get the word out to students that they have free access to performances and concerts on campus.
Kingsbury Hall, Pioneer Theatre Company, Tanner Dance and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts all shared information about their upcoming performances and events, reminding students that their U cards get them discounts and free admission to certain events.
Luis Torres, a senior in psychology and ceramics, molded a piece while sitting at the art & art history booth.
“It’s a very good environment, especially for an artist,” he said. “Being able to work outside with people and for them to see the progress you’re doing with your work, it’s really fun.”
Torres said art is important to him because it serves as a means of expression.
“It’s being able to document certain feelings or certain images,” he said. “We’re creating memories. We remember things, and if we don’t express those sorts of things, then, you know, there’s something that is trapped inside of us. It marks who we are, and we’re able to do something, because a lot of what is unique in humans, I feel, is creativity.”
Yesterday’s celebration of art also reminded students about the “U & the Arts” program, which provides all U students free access to performances and concerts staged by the College of Fine Arts held on campus throughout the year.
“This university has been known for its arts,” said Raymond Tymas-Jones, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “My goal is to have as many students who matriculate here have their lives and experience enriched by artistic and cultural events that are provided every year by this college.”
Tymas-Jones said that he feels that humans have a particular need for the arts, and that there is something inside of people that craves some sort of expression. Belonging to a community of professional artists and humanists is important because it helps us understand ourselves in a way that we would not have before, Tymas-Jones said.