March 1, 2020
Sunshine 2.0 is a professional traveling theater troupe based at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) in Rochester, New York. The troupe provides performances and activities for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults that highlight the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEaM), as well as educational topics pertaining to the Deaf experience. The theater troupe travels to schools, and programs serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students, colleges, museums, conferences, civic groups, festivals and other venues. Performances are presented in voice and in American Sign Language, are accessible to all audience members and cover […]
December 2, 2019
Axis Dance Company: Changing the face of dance & disability. We accomplish our mission through three pillars of activity: artistry, engagement, advocacy The heart of AXIS is the commissioning, creation, and performance of contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without physical disabilities. Our artistic vision to collaborate with high profile choreographers and cutting edge innovative dance makers of our time was an excellent strategy that has resulted in artistically stunning and significant dance works. More than any other company in the United States, AXIS has been at the forefront of the field, building a […]
November 7, 2019
Robert Smith, BTSALP and Alpine School District Coach, is back guiding the 4th grade students in Ms. Mickelsen’s class through a session of scientific sketching and drawing. Topic: Butterflies! Scientific drawing require the artist to look at things through the eyes of a scientist. Charles Darwin was a scientist who was also an artist. He studied plants and animals and drew them in an accurate and detailed way. Boxes of butterflies, beetles and other creatures can be checked out from the Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus.
May 21, 2019
The Sorenson Legacy Foundation was created to improve the lives of others and the world in which we live. The foundation provides support for a wide range of endeavors from community development and education to health care, scientific and artistic pursuits. On Friday, April 26, 2019 the Sorenson Legacy Awards were presented to nine outstanding arts educators. This year’s winners are as follows: ARTcetera, Provo School District, Exemplary Arts Program in a School or District Randall Beach, Secondary Music Instruction – Instrumental, Cache County School District Monique deWitt, Elementary Visual Arts Instruction, Alpine School District Steve Durtschi, Secondary Music Instruction […]
May 5, 2019
A great time was had at KRCL’s 90.9 RadioActive show talking about Oakridge Elementary School’s (Granite School District) graphic novel project and the Transcontinental Railroad. Thanks to the incredible work of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program. Segment starts at the 7:52 and ends on a wonderful 4th grader’s rendition of John Henry at the 27:28 mark. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike in a graphic novel with Max Chang of Spike 150, Oakridge Elementary student Taegen, and Trish Saccomano of Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program. As home to the site where Central Pacific and Union Pacific crews […]
May 3, 2019
The Master of Arts in Teaching – Fine Arts at the U of U was just ranked #11 as one of the best online education degree programs in the country! The program isn’t even a year old!!! Check it out!!!
March 20, 2019
Jeremy Chatterton, principal at Dilworth Elementary School in Salt Lake City School District, is definitely a friend of BTSALP. He is willing to share the success of the BTSALP every chance he can! Jeremy presented information about his school and the program at the Principal’s Symposium held at the University of Utah and at the BTSALP Legislative Dinner.
January 27, 2019
Follow along as the fifth graders at Moss Elementary School in Granite School District make plaster casts of their own faces. Kirsten Schiel, BTSALP Visual Art Specialist at Moss demonstrates to parents, community volunteers, and University of Utah student helpers, the steps of mask making. After donning a paint shirt, (This process gets MESSY!) Vaseline is liberally applied all over the face. That includes eyebrows! Plaster strips – think the kind that are used if you break your arm – are cut, dipped in warm water and applied to the face. Start with the forehead, go down the cheeks, across […]
December 12, 2018
All nine of the Murray Murals are finished and will be unveiled on January 21st for all to see! Each elementary school in Murray City limits created a mural that represented THEIR school – what makes it unique and what they ♥love♥ about it! Their artwork was combined with art from University of Utah undergraduate students, graduate students, BTSALP Visual Art Specialists, and University of Utah faculty members with input from Murray City representatives. Murray City historical information and landmarks were included in each mural. Many thanks to professor Kim Martinez for being the brain, beauty and BRAWN of the […]
December 3, 2018
Britt Black, BTSALP Visual Art Specialist at Philo T. Farnsworth Elementary and Gerald L. Wright Elementary was featured on the Murray City website. Read all about Britt and her connection to Murray City below. Britt loved to doodle and imagine all kinds of creative ideas when she was young but never paid much attention to art. While attending Hillcrest Jr. High, she was required to take an Art class from Mr. Kline. Although reluctant, she eventually decided to give her assignments a real try. It was not until her older sister, Meghan, encouraged her to take Mr. White’s Drawing 1 […]
October 11, 2018
BTSALP Visual Art specialist, Catherine Widner and the first grade students at Jim Bridger Elementary, used a beautiful sunshine filled day to create cyanotypes using items from nature. First Grade Science Standard 4 – Life Science: Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things. Thanks to the Education majors from the University of Utah who were on hand to help the first grade students arrange their materials and process their cyanotypes.
October 5, 2018
Work continues on the murals for elementary schools in Murray School District. Follow along as we update this fascinating mural making process. Images have been gathered and now the “fun” begins . . . Scanning the images from the elementary students, combining them with artwork from university students, moving them around digitally and combining them with hand drawing is the next step in the process. And the “fun” continues . . . Compositions, layout, color palettes, and calligraphic line systems are finalized. Maquette drawings (a small preliminary model or sketch) are presented for input to representatives from Murray City. […]
September 12, 2018
Laurie Shea, BTSALP Visual Art Specialist at Beacon Heights Elementary started the school year off with a fun, informative project on Utah Birds of Prey. She had the sixth grade students research different birds of prey. They drew the birds highlighting the different shapes found on the birds. Then it was time to blow up the balloons and construct the birds using newspaper and paper mache. Great collaboration between preservice teachers, Dayna Morris and Christy Edgel from the Integrated Curriculum class at the University of Utah, BTSALP and Beacon Heights. Extra hands ALWAYS come in handy! Coming Soon: The finished […]
September 3, 2018
The Department of Art and Art History at the University of Utah, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTSALP) and Murray City have created an opportunity for University of Utah undergraduate art majors, graduate art majors, BTSALP Visual Art specialists and elementary students to collaboratively paint nine socially engaged, portable murals in the elementary schools within the Murray City boundaries. The murals will be unveiled by Murray youth at their annual “Murray Fun Days Parade,” July 2019. The murals will then be permanently displayed at various schools in the district. Each mural will have a theme developed collaboratively specific to […]
June 14, 2018
Two of our BTSALP Visual Arts specialists in the University of Utah region have concluded and published some exciting research. Read about Jonathan Hale’s joint project between Sprucewood Elementary School and Jordan Valley School (Canyons School District, Salt Lake City, Utah) in VSA INTERNATIONAL: The Kennedy Center Office of VSA and Accessibility blog post below. Peer Partners in the Elementary Art Classroom Lead to Growth for Students With and Without Disabilities Megan Hallett, Director of Framework Arts and BTSALP specialst at Escalante Elementary School, (Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, Utah) is the mastermind behind the Family Art […]
April 28, 2016
Infuse art! Change our world! The second annual free statewide ArtsLINK conference took place on Saturday, March 25, 2016 at the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex on the University of Utah campus. Learn all about this conference in the latest BTSALP newsletter.
November 11, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015 The Dance of Life: An Intergenerational Dancing Event was held at the Beveley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, University of Utah. Activities included Master Classes and Film Workshops for dancers ages 12-18, as well as dance activities for children, teens and adults. To learn more about daCi and the day of dance event visit their website.