A new exhibit featuring the work of acclaimed English satirical novelist William Makepeace Thackeray is now being shown in the L. Tom Perry Special Collection's foyer and reference room on Level 1 of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library announces a new exhibit featuring the work of photographer Justin Hackworth. Located in the Auditorium Gallery on Level 1 of the library, Hackworth's '30 Strangers' will be open to the public for the month of July.

Brigham Young University’s Ballroom Dance Company has danced the globe performing their internationally award-winning routines. From April 26--—May 17, 2011, the company traveled on their first-ever tour to Vietnam and their fourth tour to Thailand. The company performed in venues ranging from university performance halls to a theme park in Hanoi, Vietnam. Because of the variety of show locations, the team entertained equally diverse audiences that included Thai ballroom dancers, orphans, and even Thai Royalty.

Federal regulation such as No Child Left Behind is placing heavy pressure on teachers to help students pass standardized tests, and many educators are concerned that including arts instruction in school may take precious time away from such preparation. The result: a decrease in arts education. To help address this problem, this year's Arts Express Summer Conference for Elementary Educators, 'The Reflecting Pool: Assessment in the Arts,' will be held at Timberland Middle School in Alpine, Utah, June 14 and 15 hosted by the Brigham Young University ARTS Partnership. Teachers, parents, administrators and school volunteers are invited to hear keynote speaker Deb Brzoska, a performing artist at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center and a nationally recognized leader in arts assessment, to learn about some of the issues involved in elementary arts education. Arts instruction and integration classes will be offered in dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts. In addition, the conference will welcome acclaimed pianist Jon Schmidt for a guest concert featuring his original compositions. For more information, call Cally Flox at (801) 422-6146 or email her at cally_flox@byu.edu. To register, visit education.byu.edu/arts. Without the arts, students will lose opportunities to connect to deeper feelings and emotions, say conference organizers. 'Society changes so quickly that children are being prepared for jobs that don't yet exist,' said Cally Flox, arts director for CITES, the BYU Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling. 'Creativity, innovation, and problem-solving are the most important skills we can give them for their futures. The arts provide a practical way to develop those skills.' 'Our conference gives teachers practical strategies and skills for providing arts instruction and integration in their classrooms,' Flox said. 'We're meeting a critical need for children to have access to the arts.' The BYU ARTS Partnership, which is sponsored by BYU's David O. McKay School of Education and the College of Fine Arts and Communications, was formed to ensure the continuation of arts education in schools by (1) exposing students to arts experiences and (2) integrating the arts into curriculum. The ARTS Partnership encourages educators to help students see the beauty and creativity in the fine arts, thus increasing their understanding and appreciation for their culture. Developing arts skills at an early age creates opportunities for developing excellence in fine arts and for expanding and personalizing other curricular areas through experiencing arts integrated into a variety of contexts. Source: BYU News

'The Yankee Spirit: Highlights from the New Britain Museum of American Art' July 1-Oct. 29

Students of the Brigham Young University School of Music will perform in the Spring Student Chamber Music Concert Wednesday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall.

Illustrations of a struggling cello player created by Elisabeth Pulido and the imaginative red rock landscape created by Tyler Carter were both entered as digital prints into this year’s Society of Illustrators: 2011 Student Scholarship Competition. “This is the most prestigious annual student illustration competition because it’s the largest,” said BYU illustration professor, Richard Hull. “They get over 6,000 entries every year from university programs to private art college programs but only select about 130. So getting in is very significant.” This year, Pulido’s piece, which she created for the BYU NOVA Chamber Players, titled, Lack of Practice, and Carter’s work known as, Crisium, were two of the hundred or so illustrations recognized by the Society out of the thousands of entries submitted. Source: CFAC Website

Season tickets on sale July 6 The Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications announces its 2011-2012 Performing Arts Series season. The season features professional musicians, dancers and theatre-makers from as far as China and Russia and as close as Salt Lake City.

Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library is now hosting free art and advertising exhibits: The Communications Department Annual Student Advertising Show is now open and will continue through Tuesday, May 31. The show is located in the North Gallery on Level 2 of the library. Student pieces from last semester include sample work for well-recognized clients including Ocean Spray, the Washington Post, A&W, J.C. Penney, Doritos, Sunkist, Crest, Fruity Pebbles and more. For more information about the advertisements, contact Jeff Sheets at (801) 422-3524 or email jeff_sheets@byu.edu. The library is exhibiting past favorite art works that have graced the library walls for years. The exhibit is located at the Level 3 exhibit space in the library and will be open until Wednesday, June 15. The 'Art in the Library Exhibit' is the third of seven exhibits to celebrate 50 years of the Lee Library's current site. Throughout the year visitors to the Level 3 exhibit space will be able to learn about collecting, preservation and history, as well as see some of the treasures of BYU. For more information about the exhibits, contact Roger Layton at (801) 422-6687 or email roger_layton@byu.edu.

Brigham Young University's Department of Theatre and Media Arts' 2010-2011 season will conclude with 'The Diary of Anne Frank' Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pardoe Theatre. Additional matinee performances will be available June 2, 4, 10 and 11 at 2 p.m.

The Brigham Young University School of Music will present the two-act opera 'Béatrice et Bénédict' by Hector Berlioz, based on William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing,' Wednesday through Saturday, June 8-11, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall. Tickets are $6 on Wednesday and $10 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and can be purchased at byuarts.com/tickets or by calling the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-4322. The opera tells the story of two quarreling acquaintances who are tricked by their friends into falling in love with each other. The dialogue will be in English with songs being performed in French with English subtitles. According to director Arden Hopkin, the comic opera is set in Messina, Italy, where the town awaits the return of the Sicilian army from the Moorish wars. The governor's daughter, Hero, is especially awaiting her betrothed, Claudio. Béatrice, her cousin, is staying with them. Bénédict, a lieutenant in the army, also returns in the company. 'No sooner is the marriage arranged than Béatrice and Bénédict begin to spar with each other in their ongoing battle of the sexes,' Hopkin said. 'Amidst preparations for the wedding, the other characters hatch a plot to trick Béatrice and Bénédict into falling in love with each other.' The show is double-cast, and includes Annalise Belnap and Jennifer McKay as Béatrice, Jubal Joslyn and Justin Call as Bénédict, Shannon Fry and Laura Snow as Hero, Jordan Reynolds and Corey Bennett as Claudio, Jade Howard and Valerie Perkins as Ursule, Kevin Smith and David Petrucci as Don Pedro, and Brandtley Henderson and Ross Coughanour as characters Somarone and Leonato. Others on the production team include Auriela Joslyn, conductor; Lisa Elzey, production stage manager; Melissa DeGuire and Maria Schulte Gardner, costume designers; Marie Steck Johnson, makeup and hair designer; and Mike Handley, lighting designer. For more information, contact Arden Hopkin at (801) 422-3157 or email jahopkin@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

The star-studded WWII-era film 'Hollywood Canteen' will have a one-time showing at Brigham Young University Friday, May 27, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium.