Not everyone plans to be an art major. Art is an integral part of society, however, and everyone interacts with it on a daily basis. Don’t believe me? Just ask, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and every website everywhere. Even the news is presented with an artistic kind of flair. Now this doesn’t mean everyone has to like Mozart or that we all need to go out tomorrow and master drawing. It does mean that enjoying art is part of life and definitely something that is fun to explore. Lucky for us Utahans, it’s also not that hard. There are lot of opportunities for non-art majors to enjoy art that don’t involve walking around galleries or taking ballet classes.
That said, if you want to walk around galleries, check out the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Not only do they provide plenty of art to look at they also will teach you how to see it. Art Fitness is a workshop designed to give anyone who is interested the tools to unlock art. You can practice right there in the gallery and wow the world with you art savvy.
Speaking of art savvy and galleries, it turns out that showing off art is not the purview of arts majors alone. In the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, medical students are showing off their art. These pieces fit into one of four themes: wellness, cancer, death and professionalism. The pieces are created in many mediums including painting, drawing, poetry and even short stories. The exhibit opens at the end of each school year and is free to everyone.
The Utah Museum of Fine Art demonstrates that art is for everyone with their Art Community Museum Education program, ACME. The program focuses on community outreach through art with a focus on inclusion. Everyone is welcome to participate. There are a variety of different topics and discussions. Past topics include the use of museums, understanding transgender and gender identity and dance mashups. They host dinners, show films, hold discussion groups and even throw dance parties.
The University of Utah is following this initiative. Particularly in the honors college, art and awareness have become intertwined. The honors college offers classes such as Hip-hop and Social Justice along with Science and Storytelling and Art, Action, and the Environment. All of these classes are aimed towards blending arts and non-arts majors.
The U also has programs such as Movement Exchange where U students traveled to Panama over spring break to teach dance. No dance experience necessary, just be able to move and have a passion for dance and people.
The U is a great place because of the many options it offers and the variety of people and talents it is home to. Art is everywhere because it is enjoyable. Passion is what drives innovation. These things are not exclusive to artists. Let’s all enjoy them together.