Art Contest

FIRST ANNUAL

Ogden Connection ART CONTEST

We love custom art here at Connection Publishing and want to recognize local artists in this magazine. We are pleased to announce the first ever Ogden Connection Art Contest. We will have 4 overall winners to be recognized in our next quarterly publication.

PRIZES Please submit to ONE of the two categories below for a chance to win one of 4 prizes.

ADULTS + Popular Vote The piece of art receiving the most votes overall will receive a $50 cash prize and 2 passes to Fly High Trampoline Park

+ Publisher's Choice The piece of art most appreciated by our Publisher - Ryan Spelts - will win a $50 cash prize and 2 passes to Fly High Trampoline Park. Limit to two entries per person.

CHILDREN + Popular Vote The child created artwork submitted by the parent of a child age 14 or younger will receive a $25 cash prize and 2 passes to Fly High Trampoline Park

+ Publisher's Choice Child created artwork submitted by on on behalf of a child age 14 or less most appreciated by our Publisher - Ryan Spelts - will win a $25 cash prize and 2 passes to Fly High Trampoline Park. Limit to two entries per person.

WIN CASH PRIZES! & FLY HIGH PASSES!

SUBMIT To enter the contest visit ogdenconnection.com/art-contest Artwork can be submitted February 10th-April 15th, 2020 We will accept any original artwork submitted by the artist, including painting, drawing, sculpture, or creation. Photo quality is very important since the photo of your work will be voted on by the community and your peers. All digital files submitted need to be at 300 dpi resolution.

Look for the winners in our May publication!

Touching the Void: Pop Up Art Exhibitions at The Argo House, Curated by Carper Contemporary

ABOUT THE ARTIST +

Lydia Gravis earned her B.A. in painting and drawing from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. in 2003, and her MFA in visual art from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University in 2013. “Touching the Void” will be on display at The Argo House through February 29 th , with work also available at carpercontemporary.com.

Touching the Void features abstract drawings and paintings by Ogden-based artist Lydia Gravis, who uses physical mark making to empathically respond to the intangible human experiences of everyday life. A pop-up exhibition presented by Carper Contemporary at The Argo House, Touching the Void features over twenty pieces by Gravis that range from intimate drawings to dizzying compositions created with graphite, watercolor, ink, or oil. “The art I make often stems from an empathic desire to respond to situations that I or others feel, but don’t necessarily understand,” says Gravis, who is also Director of the Shaw Gallery at Weber State University. “These situations may seem senseless or tragic, but ultimately connect us to our collective experience of being human.” Profound feelings such as grief and loss - or simply the daily overwhelm of navigating our contemporary world - are the seeds of inspiration for Gravis’ creative process. Colonies of lines, obsessive micro textures, and abstract marks attempt to provide a visual language for these intangible ideas, which ultimately draws the artist into a meditative act of making. “Because I work abstractly, what inspires the work isn’t what it becomes,” explains Gravis. “I eventually relinquish my initial intention of control, and it is with this surrender that an unpredictable creative process unfolds.” Ultimately driven by her desire for engagement and sustained by the meditative act of making, Gravis hopes to pass on a sense of wonder and resonance to those who view the work. Founded by independent curator and art writer Kelly Carper, Carper Contemporary occupies collaborative or borrowed spaces for ephemeral exhibitions and artist features. Touching the Void is presented in collaboration with The Argo House, an incubator for art and design professionals and a gathering space for Ogden’s creative community. Carper curates rotating exhibitions at The Argo House every quarter and also features local and regional contemporary artists at WB’s Eatery in The Monarch. Carper Contemporary’s curatorial projects aim to provide more outlets for experiencing contemporary art in Northern Utah, while ultimately expanding the landscape and pushing the boundaries of the commercial art market on a broader level. Carper aims to inspire the next generation of art buyers while giving seasoned collectors new and exciting ways to purchase art and experience exhibitions.

Walk The Nine Rails District

 Eccles Community Art Center

 Weber County Library

 Weber Gymnasium

Ogden City and other community partners have established the Nine Rails Creative District in Ogden, Utah. This district will create new opportunities for the community to engage with art in the public realm, and will support places and programs that encourage creative people to live and work in Ogden.

The Monarch Creative Studio Member Spotlight: The Banyan Collective

BY KELLY CARPER

R. Brandon Long and Todd Oberndorfer are the voices and founders of The Banyan Collective, Ogden’s very own podcasting group that covers art, music, and outdoor adventure in northern Utah. The Banyan Collective hosts the Nine Rails Arts Podcast, First Friday Van Sessions, and many others, which are recorded in their retro camper-turnedrecording-studio, dubbed “Banyan1,” inside The Monarch. Long and Oberndorfer have designed their Monarch studio with multiple podcast recording options for live audience viewing, including interviews and music performances. They’ve also made it an inviting space with indoor turf, picnic table, and deck that surrounds Banyan1. “Our vision for our Monarch studio is to act as a space where the community feels at home,” says Long. “We invite everyone to hang out with us and get to know more about the arts and adventure worlds, while having a good time and feeling like one big family.” The Banyan Collective’s Monarch studio is an exciting step for Long and Oberndorfer to secure a permanent location after nearly eight years of producing podcasts for our community. The two Ogden locals started recording together in 2010; at the time, Long was a DJ at Weber State’s radio station, KWCR 88.1, while also working for the Weber State Outdoor Program. What initially started as a specialty program to market the Outdoor Program on KWCR evolved into what is now Banyan’s flagship podcast - the Ogden Outdoor Adventure Show. “The station manager at the time taught us how to upload the radio show to a platform called Podbean, which then could be listened to anytime as a podcast,” says Long. “We had to explain what a podcast was for many years.” + ARTS & CULTURE

While the term “podcasting” was coined in 2004 and added to iTunes in 2005, it didn’t gain the popularity it has now until 2014 with the release of “Serial,” NPR’s investigative journalism series. Four years prior, the first episodes of the Ogden Outdoor Adventure Show aired, which today has over 330 episodes and more than a hundred thousand downloads. The Banyan Collective now produces a total of five podcasts, which, in addition to the Ogden Outdoor Adventure Show, the Nine Rails Arts Podcast and Van Sessions, include LITerally and Leaky Waders.

Before acquiring their permanent home, Banyan’s shows were all recorded in the their mobile studio, a 1987 Dodge Xplorer camper van lovingly referred to as #TanVan. #TanVan continues to make appearances for Van Sessions, a live performance podcast series with local musicians occurring every First Friday in The Monarch. Two to three bands offer a 4-song,-semi-acoustic set with intermingled conversation for an intimate experience with the artists. “Join us for a unique live audience and music podcast with talented artists bringing you free entertainment as you explore The Monarch’s Creative Studios for every First Friday Art Stroll,” states the Banyan Collective. Banyans's shows used to be recorded in the #TanVan.

Keep up with their schedule on Facebook @ OgdenBanyanCollective and Instagram @ thebanyancollective. Podcasts are available for download at thebanyancollective.com as well as iTunes, Spotify and more. Listen to the Podcast

 Argo House

 The Monarch

 US Forest Service Bldg.

 The Bigelow Hotel and Residences

The Nine Rails Creative District has been identified as the area between Grant and Madison Avenues, from 24th to 26th Streets by these iconic buildings and landmarks. The name Nine Rails pays tribute to Ogden’s history as a railroad town, originally a major connection point on the Transcontinental Railroad and later, during World War II, a hub for nine different rail lines.