The College of Fine Arts and Communications will feature NBC morning news anchor Vai Sikahema on October 11 at 11 a.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. His lecture is titled “Denied Admission to Alum of the Year: My BYU Journey”. Vai Sikahema played football at BYU and graduated in Broadcast Journalism before becoming the first Tongan drafted into the NFL. Sikahema, former running back and kick returner, ranks first among the NFL’s all-time career leaders in number of punt returns and second in return yardage after his time with the Cardinals, Packers and Eagles. Sikahema has since worked as a morning news anchor at NBC. He has earned three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards for his work in local television and is featured in the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers’ Hall of Fame. Sikahema’s influence in the Philadelphia area was instrumental in helping The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints get the Philadelphia Temple approved. Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018 Time: 11 a.m. Location: Madsen Recital Hall HFAC Admission: Free, open to the public

BYU artists take on the Inktober challenge by doing one ink drawing a day for the entire month of October

Communication Arts recognizes the MODE 2017 opening titles, a video by Brent Barson that highlights the technological and stylistic capacity of modern motion design. The Design Annual issue of Communication Arts magazine recognizes the best in visual art across many industries. Though Department of Design Professor Brent Barson has been featured before, he’s happy to be recognized by the publication once again. “It feels really good,” Barson said. “It is tough to get into, there are around 4,000 entrants. It’s very gratifying, makes the effort worth it.” Communication Arts honored Barson for his work on the MODE Conference 2017 opening titles video. MODE, or Motion Design Education, commissioned Barson’s work. MODE has regularly scheduled conventions and continues to “encourage, share and help motion design by providing a platform for research pedagogy,” as stated by the organization’s website. Though the organization was originally founded by three motion design educators, it has since quadrupled in size, with Barson being among the professors who have joined on. “I attended the second MODE they ever had and I asked to get involved, so I was one of the six founding members for the third,” Barson said. “It’s really exciting to see it growing.” The video has a distinct aesthetic. Though the colors were decided by the conference’s color scheme, the rest of the video is almost entirely the product of Barson (the music was done by Micah Dahl Anderson). “The project was born of my academic leave from BYU,” Barson said. “It was a deep dive into this 3D software, Octane Render. What was exciting about it to me is that it can render completely photorealistic scenes. I thought, 'That’s an interesting idea, to create reality while also filming surreality.'” A frame from Barson’s MODE 2017 opening titles.

BYU students have set up an online information hub, organizing the flood of information on two major wildfires that have chased more than 6,000 Utah residents from their homes in recent days. Less than 24 hours after its creation, the Utah County Fire Relief Website had received more than 15,000 visitors. That’s about one new visitor every second. Y Digital Agency Manager Adam Durfee teamed up with BYU students and local volunteers to build a central hub for real-time updates on the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires burning just outside Spanish Fork, Utah. Finish reading 'New Y Digital website streamlines Utah wildfire information' at universe.byu.edu.

BYU students, alumni, faculty and UTA personnel cooperate to create raised awareness of Utah’s air pollution situation through dance.

BYU Music Student Catherine Boyack Wins Top National Award for Flutists Under 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZJf7P-T4o&feature=youtu.be When Keely Song moved to Utah in 2016, she was jarred by what she called the “apocalyptic” talk about air quality during the state’s notorious inversions. So when BYU announced in November it would be providing free UTA passes to students, employees and their families, the dance professor had an idea. “I wanted to create a work that motivated people — including myself, who commutes from Salt Lake City — to use public transit, while being educational and entertaining,” she said. “I didn’t understand how hazardous the air quality is on a red day, and that by limiting our emissions through carpooling, using public transit or not driving at all, we could actually greatly improve the air quality.” Continue reading on news.byu.edu.

When Keely Song moved to Utah in 2016, she was jarred by what she called the “apocalyptic” talk about air quality during the state’s notorious inversions. So when BYU announced in November it would be providing free UTA passes to students, employees and their families, the dance professor had an idea.

https://vimeo.com/160677585 Years ago Daniel, a former pre-med student and social worker, visited a friend in Moab, Utah. He decided to stay, committed to life without the use of money, and for a time took shelter in a cave. His thoughts on home: “Wherever we are, that’s who we are. That’s home.” Xong moved to Wisconsin as a child Hmong refugee after the Vietnam War. In the years that followed she experienced “a lot of racism, a lot of discrimination” there, but as an adult is determined to help her local Hmong community cope with trauma and rebuild and embrace their identity. Clay left his Tennessee home after his son’s suicide and found meaning in helping the people in his Nevada trailer park. “Nevada is my home now,” he said, “and it’s gonna be my home until Nevada kicks me out.” Daniel, Xong and Clay are three of the people featured in Brad Barber’s new short-documentary series, “States of America.” For the series, the Emmy-nominated theatre and media arts professor is featuring one person from every state in 50 four- to five-minute films. He launched the series online a year ago and has been releasing one documentary per month since. The short films “provide an opportunity to listen to and understand lots of different types of Americans in diverse corners of our country,” said Barber, who was named one of Variety’s 10 Documakers to Watch in 2015. “At a time where we are increasingly divided, this kind of empathic experience feels more urgent now than ever.” Read more about the TMA professor's project at news.byu.edu.

Update (July 1, 2020)

Megan Arné and Joselyn Torbenson explored what it means to be an artist while collaborating in Kirsi Mikkola’s studio

Five faculty members were recognized, two with university awards and three with college awards.