College of Fine Arts Welcomes 2022-23 Year with Arts Bash
Arts Bash 2019 (courtesy of finearts.utah.edu)
September 5, 2022
The College of Fine Arts kicked off the 2022 Fall Semester Wednesday, Aug. 31 with their annual Arts Bash. This year, the University of Utah’s Office of Orientation and Transition celebrated Weeks of Welcome from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2. Arts Bash is one of many tabling fairs meant to welcome students, faculty and staff back to campus.
Accessing the Arts
Arts Bash ran every year from 2012 to 2019 and is just now returning to Library Plaza. It is one of three annual events put on by the College of Fine Arts, followed by ArtsForce and the CFA Gala. The event, which featured information booths, live performances, interactive art and free nachos, is intended to expose new and returning U students to the opportunities available at their fingertips.
“Arts Bash is the annual celebration of the arts on campus,” said Marina Gomberg, College of Fine Arts director of communications. “We do this big celebration each year to educate our students about Arts Pass, which is a program that is paid for by students’ fine arts fees and allows them to get free or deeply discounted access to hundreds of arts experiences on campus each year.”
The Arts Pass Program includes the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Pioneer Theatre Company, UtahPresents shows and more. “It’s interesting, and of course things fluctuated when we went digital and most everything was free when we were all online, but we are usually issuing around 25,000 Arts Pass tickets each year … it’s incredible” Gomberg said. For comparison, the U’s infamous MUSS most recently sold out at 7,200 registrees. Arts Pass comes connected to all student U cards.
Arts Bash 2022
In addition to promoting the use of the Arts Pass Program, Arts Bash connects students outside of the College of Fine Arts to new academic opportunities. “We have a lot of non-major courses in the College of Fine Arts, there’s art and art history, dance, film and media arts, theatre and music,” Gomberg said.
In general, excitement for a relatively normal year with in-person events and shows is high.
“To experience art with other people is a magical thing that is not easily replaceable,” Gomberg said. “I’m not sure you even can replace it. Everybody did their best during COVID, but it’s just a different experience when you can be in a room seeing their art, experiencing it with them, there’s a synergy to that.”
The U’s arts and programs schedule is stacked for 2022 -2023. This November, Utah Presents is bringing the visionary “Cirque Kalabante” to Kingsbury Hall. Cirque Kalabante performers combine traditional Guinean dance and music with acrobatic performances. Pioneer Theatre will also present the acclaimed musical comedy “The Prom,” in its Utah premiere May 12-27, 2023. Wonderfully enough, this is just the tip of the iceberg. What is sure to be an exciting year for the arts, is just getting started.
