We Wish You an Artful 2008

The Salt Lake Art Center Interim Director Leslie Peterson shares a New Year's greeting.

Happy New Year to all! As I look forward to the challenges the New Year will bring, I know one of the things I can depend on is the ever-evolving landscape at the Salt Lake Art Center. One of the highlights of working at the Art Center is watching the galleries transform themselves into entirely different spaces for each new exhibition, and to see how the interior spaces are designed to best highlight the artwork, and, depending on the nature of the show, to create a sense of intimacy, awe, or surprise for visitors. It’s rather like setting the stage for a grand spectacle and inviting our visitors to be the players in our galleries.

Additionally, I eagerly anticipate what the students in our youth education programs will produce in response to our exhibitions. At the moment, for example, we have one of the most delightful landscapes in our education gallery created by students from Beacon Heights Elementary under the direction of artist/instructors April Daugherty and Ginna Herridge and based on our Main Gallery exhibition SF Recycled. Walking down the corridor outside our offices, we encounter a forest populated by all manner of enchanting wild life created out of recyclable materials. The imagination, tenacity and talent evident in the display are an inspiration to all of us.

You never know exactly what to expect at the Salt Lake Art Center, but you do know that you’ll find an opportunity to reflect, to celebrate, to contemplate and to discover.

I hope the New Year will provide opportunities for you to visit often, to take pleasure in the unexpected, to share your reactions with us, and to spread the word about the treasures one can find at the Salt Lake Art Center. Above all, I and my colleagues wish you peace and prosperity in 2008!