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.

In addition to being one of the top programs in the country, BYU’s advertising department fosters an environment to talk about important issues.

The videos highlight traditional dances with personal meaning to the dancers

What if you were able to work on real-life projects for global brands such as Amazon, Gatorade, Nike and Spotify as a student? Students who work in BYU’s AdLab, a professionally mentored, student-led advertising agency, do just that. Oh, and they are also pretty good at winning awards. Like Emmy-award winning good. Earlier this month, one recent project from the team became the latest to win the Emmy for Commercial, PSA, or Promo from the College Television Awards. The commercial tells the story of a father and son who reconcile their relationship when the father accepts his son for who he is rather than what he wants his son to be. A big reason why the students and faculty in this lab are so successful is their ability to be in sync with the advertising industry and its trends. Most recently, they have embraced the new model of brand storytelling through social advocacy. To do that, professors and advisors encourage students to tap into their personal backgrounds, areas of interest and passion to help brainstorm the next project. See the full article by Aaron Sorenson at news.byu.edu.

Eight faculty and staff members from the College of Fine Arts and Communications retire this year

Mary Hoskins chosen as second place winner for Classical Emerging Professional category

Anelise Leishman reflects on her time at BYU

As the dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, I’m grateful for all the energy and efforts of our faculty, staff and students to contribute in a meaningful way to help alleviate the pain and hurt in our society and communities. Recent events have once again shown me that this college is filled with deep-feeling and compassionate souls. Last year, our college undertook an initiative to create a diversity and inclusion statement. It is a work in progress, headed up by associate deans Amy Jensen and Jeremy Grimshaw, and involves many from around the college. The College of Fine Arts and Communications Diversity and Inclusion Committee has been meeting weekly during Spring term and will continue working together during the 2020-2021 school year. Committee members are charged with working on diversity, inclusion, and accessibility goals established by college and department leaders. I hope as a community we are committed to change, not just making statements. In a recent email, some of our colleagues in the Department of Art expressed much of what I have been feeling. Collectively and individually, I hope we move forward in ways that demonstrate sustained efforts to show love, care and concern for all people. I invite you to read the statements made by President Nelson and President Worthen and consider how you can foster dialogue on these crucial issues. I hope we truly envelop a commitment to the BYU Aims, which state a desired outcome for all of us: “Leading him or her to the ultimate wellspring of charity — the love for others that Christ bestows on his followers.” -Ed Ed Adams Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communications

Cooper Sutton, who now lives in Manhattan, New York, recalls his involvement in the Church project launched last year

The center announced 50 winners in various creative disciplines, including visual arts, literature, music composition, film and dance In response to the ongoing circumstances that have impacted individuals across all disciplines, the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts recently announced 50 grant winners to support its artistic community. These grants were awarded in disciplines of visual arts, scholarship, literature, musical composition, film and dance. Thirteen of the grant recipients had ties to the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, with faculty, students and alumni being among those 50 recognized. The winners were chosen from hundreds of submissions to the center’s “Art for Uncertain Times” program, which was initiated to provide micro-grants for artists and scholars in the Latter-day Saint art community. The center’s call for submissions aimed to allow scholars and creative artists in any discipline to engage with the goals of the center — to advocate and explore the arts of our culture: visual art, music, literature, film, dance, design and drama. The organization encouraged submissions that related “to the needs of people at this specific moment in time.” The 50 winners each received grants of $250 for the submission of their works, which will be distributed digitally through the center’s website and social media platforms in the near future. In its announcement, the organization emphasized the talent of those who participated in the program. “The Center received hundreds of high-caliber proposals from artists and scholars all over the globe. We asked for a diversity of voices and are delighted by the diversity that we received — in viewpoints, disciplinary methods and geographical origins.” Check out the complete list of grant winners (by discipline) who have ties to the college. Dance Dance | Rachel Barker - “Untitled” Dance | Keely Song - “Covenant Keepers” Film TMA | Barrett Burgin - “Gathered” TMA | Jeff Parkin - “Silver Linings and Compensatory Blessings” Music Music | Jed Blodgett & Andrew Maxfield - “Untitled” Music | Esther Megargel - “Songs of Comfort and Joy for Soprano, Piano and Flute” Music | Joseph Sowa - “Untitled” Visual Art Art | Madeline Rands - 'Untitled' Art | Colby Sanford - “What Is Tiny, What Is Big?” Art | Maddison Colvin - “Threshold (After Sonatine)” Design | Silvia Borja - “Fish Out of Water” Design | Claire Forste - “Sufficient unto the Day” Design | Sarah Robinson - 'The Signs of the Times' Design | Brinnan Schill - “Untitled” Design | Emily Wall - 'Untitled'

“Flute Tube” is geared towards Clayton’s flute students, but videos for general musicians are also included on the channel When BYU School of Music professor April Clayton started a YouTube channel in early 2013, she had one purpose in mind: share her performance of the piece “Half Moon at Checkerboard Mesa,” composed by Phillip Bimstein. But when COVID-19 hit seven years later, Clayton saw an opportunity to revive her channel to provide additional assistance to her students. The result was a series of videos known as “Flute Tube.” “I knew very early on in this pandemic that I wanted to begin posting some instructional videos for my students,” Clayton said. “I felt their lesson experience over Zoom was too sparse — I wanted to provide another learning tool for them. I knew this was a chance to explain some topics truly in depth. In fact, it gave me a platform to go into much more depth as a teacher than I am usually able.” Read the full article at music.byu.edu.

In place of an annual conference, winners were invited to record their winning compositions