Alumni explain challenges and blessings of being an artist during the pandemic

BYU alumna Emily Applegarth adapted her music business to the impacts of COVID-19, providing online and in-home music lessons

After their original study abroad was canceled,

The college welcomes new faculty and staff for the 2020-2021 Academic Year

Singing and performing have always appealed to Alison Taylor. "I chose to pursue acting because it was fun and decided that if a different path presented itself then I would change. Instead, I fell even more in love with performance and discovered pathways within theatre that I hadn’t really considered. It’s something I love, and one of the few things that I truly am confident in," said the acting major.

Photographer Kendal Bryan seeks moments of quiet movement in her images

Kofi Aidoo started college as a food science major with big plans of becoming a dentist and high expectations about BYU. Now he’s a senior and an advertising major — and his plans and expectations have changed. Aidoo was born in Modesto, California, where his parents, who were originally from Ghana, converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when Aidoo was 2 years old. Aidoo said the Latter-day Saint community where he lived had him convinced that BYU was the perfect school. “It’s what we all aspire to. You’re bound to be successful if you go to BYU, you know?” Aidoo said. He said his time at school has actually been very different than what he originally imagined. He said he appreciates BYU and loves his program but has noticed a huge difference between his experience as a student of color and the experiences of many of his peers. This difference has led Aidoo to become an active advocate for anti-racism in Provo. Though he isn’t associated with the official Black Lives Matter organization, he said that he tries to be a part of the movement. Aidoo helped organize a march against racism that took place on June 13 in Provo, and he’s been vocal on social media about recent events and protests related to racial injustice. Read the rest of the article written by Emily Andersen at universe.byu.edu.

After Randy Boothe dedicated decades to the Young Ambassadors, he is now passing on the leadership to Nathan Balser

Due to the global pandemic, this year’s annual student art show is being displayed online Every winter semester, students from the BYU Department of Art have the opportunity to display artwork in a special gallery exhibition in the Harris Fine Arts Center. This year, faculty and staff adapted to the social distancing requirements due to the pandemic and displayed the artwork online. “The day the university decided to vacate the campus and move to remote learning was the day before the gallery was set to accept submissions for what would have been this year's physical student show,” said gallery director Eric Edvalson. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel the physical show, but we still wanted to give the students an opportunity to show their work.The online exhibition displays over 50 pieces of art from the students. Although seniors have opportunities throughout the year to display their work at their final BFA exhibitions, the annual student show is a valuable opportunity for the wider student body of the Department of Art to display their work and to possibly win awards. This year, guest juror Madeline Rupard selected the award-winning artwork for the online exhibition. Rupard is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute with an MFA in painting, and she is an alumni of the BYU Department of Art.Tess Cowley won first place for her piece “Untitled - Ceramic” while Carrie Jube Everett took second with “Figment” and Elisabeth Baird took third with her piece “Bread.” Honorable Mentions included: Stephen Clawson, “The Regular Price;” Jeffrey Hampshire, “Google Earth Series;” Carolyn Koo, “A Picnic Feeling;” Hannah Landeen, “Travis’ Hoodie;” and Ricey Wright, “See You At the Top.”“Without a doubt, we would love to be viewing this art in person if we could,” Edvalson said. “Still, the diversity of work really shines in a digital environment, both individually and collectively.”To view the exhibition visit 2020 Annual Student Exhibition.

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Department of Dance