Ostraff views his art as a catalyst for personal change and a celebration of relationships On July 1, Joe Ostraff replaced Gary Barton as chair of the Department of Art. Ostraff received an MFA from the University of Washington and taught high school art for seven years before joining the art faculty at BYU in 1993. At the time, he was one of the more contemporary-minded professors working in the department, making experimental art. Now, contemporary ways of working have become a critical component of a BYU art education. Projects and Awards During his time at BYU, Ostraff has primarily taught painting, drawing and advanced studio courses. He has directed or co-directed numerous collaborative projects involving his students and peer institutions, including the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), Wirral Met College in England, Limerick School of Art and Design in Ireland and Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in New Zealand. These partnerships have involved hundreds of artists and resulted in more than 30 international, national and regional exhibitions. Ostraff is also the only one of nearly 70 fellows to be awarded the prestigious Visual Arts Fellowship by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums three times (in 1993, 1998 and 2010). Together with his wife, Melinda — an ethnobotanist, faculty member in the College of Life Sciences and repeat collaborator with her husband — Ostraff has received roughly half a million dollars in grants over the years. He estimates that 60 to 70 percent of that grant money has helped fund dynamic art opportunities with other artists, including fellow faculty members and students. These grant funds often go toward covering travel costs for his students to collaborate with artists in other locations, or to bring students from other universities to BYU. Read the full article written by Abby Weidmer at art.byu.edu.

School of Communications

School of Music

Department of Dance

BYU provides pianists a rare opportunity to train in ballet accompaniment

Four journalism students created a documentary explaining their adjustment to working remotely during a pandemic

Performing student

Four professionals answered questions about experiences with diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace during a panel discussion

The documentary shorts series 'States of America,' created by BYU Theatre & Media Arts professor Brad Barber and his students, will have its nationwide public television broadcast premiere on WORLD Channel’s “Local, USA” program. 'States of America' features one person in each state exploring their sense of identity and belonging to the place where they live. Episode 1: “Relocation,” will be the first of two half-hour compilation episodes and will air on Monday July 6 at 9/8c. Episode 2: “Connection,” will air on Monday July 13 at 9/8c. Starting Monday July 6, LOCAL, USA: 'States of America' will also be available to stream on PBS.org, the PBS app, and WorldChannel.org, where new state films will be added between now and this fall, when the project will be featured in a national engagement campaign in advance of the 2020 election. 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.” For the full article by Andrea Christensen, check out news.byu.edu. Also be sure to check out the trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvL3n_BFJWw

Two animated projects from BYU professor Brent Barson were recently accepted into the Communication Arts 2020 Design Annual, a prestigious graphic design journal. Out of the 2,900 total entries, just 126 were accepted. “It is a gratifying validation of all the hard work we pour into our projects,” Barson said in response to his projects’ acceptance into the journal. With art direction and illustration by Linda Reynolds, another BYU professor, and animation by Barson, the two designed and created one of the accepted projects, a short film titled “The Get.” The project was commissioned by KUER’s RadioWest Films in Salt Lake City, which presents unique stories with a focus on Utah. “There is so much satisfaction that comes from having others love a project you feel so passionately about,” Reynolds said. Read the full article at news.byu.edu.

Two animated projects from BYU professor Brent Barson were recently accepted into the Communication Arts 2020 Design Annual, a prestigious graphic design journal. Out of the 2,900 total entries, just 126 were accepted.

Downtown Provo is becoming an outdoor art museum, with murals dotting the blocks and adding color, shape and story to the buildings. The mural project has been ongoing for over two years and there are now over 30 giant pieces of art in the downtown area of the city. Provo resident and artist Ainsley Romero created her mural on the side of June Audio Recording Studios, 39 W. 200 North. Because it is on a recording studio building, Romero wanted the theme of the mural to be musical so she created caricatures of people playing different instruments and singing. Romero, who teaches graphic design at Brigham Young University, designed the mural digitally first, then projected it on the wall to complete it. The creation took two weeks and many hours each day, with friends helping. “I’ve always wanted to do a mural,” Romero said. “I like the idea of the client being the city I live in. A mural is almost like a love letter to the city.” Read the full article at heraldextra.com.