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CFAC Faculty, Students and Alumni Receive Grants from the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts

June 18, 2020 12:00 AM
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'
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Interdisciplinary Student Team Merges Critical Analysis, Creative Production in Mobile Game "Dark Ride Disneyland"

November 20, 2018 12:00 AM
BYU students across academic disciplines invite Disneyland guests to see the park with new eyes
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BYU Faculty and Staff to present and perform at Mormon Arts Center Festival

June 18, 2018 12:00 AM
The second annual festival held by the Mormon Arts Center will take place June 28-30 at Columbia University in New York City. The festival will help fulfill the Mormon Arts Center’s mission to display, perform and promote Mormon art. More than two dozen events will be featured, including a keynote address by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. BYU faculty and staff presenting at the festival include Christian Asplund from the School of Music, Amy Easton Flake from the College of Religious Education, associate librarian Trevor Alvord, Marin Leggat Roper from the Department of Dance, Lance Larsen from the Department of English, Jeff Parkin and Kelly Loosli from the Department of Theatre and Media Arts. The presenters will be joined by fellow Mormon artists from “Angola, Argentina, Canada, China, Kuwait, Spain, and across the United States,” according to Mormon Arts Center co-director Glen Nelson. A full list of events can be found here. A highlight of the festival will be a piano recital by professor Scott Holden from the School of Music. The performance, titled “A Century of Mormon Music,” will be held at the new recital space Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall. Holden will also perform a recital on BYU’s campus on June 26. Visit the Mormon Arts Center for more information.
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CFAC Faculty Honored at BYU’s 2017 University Conference

September 07, 2017 12:00 AM
Recognition included four university awards and three college awards.
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BYU professors, students team up to develop game to teach young students STEM subjects

December 30, 2016 12:00 AM
The College of Fine Arts and Communications and the College of Engineering teamed up to develop an alternate reality game. Tessera: Light in the Dark will be released in January after over a year of development by professors and students at BYU. Tessera: Light in the Dark is an interactive game about a mysterious collective of historically significant innovators, known as “The Tessera,” hunted by an even more unknown character who goes by “S.” Players navigate real-world and online computational thinking puzzles with the help of the ghosts of these famous men and women who are trying to save everything their think-tank stands for from S’s destructive tendencies. “The normal claim from educators is that the devices that we use, like a cellphone or a computer, is distracting from students’ learning,” said Jeff Sheets, Associate Professor of Communications. “An alternate reality game is a great vehicle to use for teachers because it actually reverses those relationships. Students can play this game while learning and having fun by trying to solve the mystery.” A replayable version of the game that can be condensed into a concise teaching unit will become available for classroom and home use after the live release. Teachers and students will have access to the game, both in and out of the classroom, for no cost. The Tessera players will learn principles of computational thinking (CT), which prepares them to better understand problems in computer science and technology fields. This is not a “learn-to-code” game but students who practice CT can become more confident and interested in studying computer programming. “This makes teachers the heroes because they have helped make learning interesting for students,” said Sheets. “The same tools and techniques that are used to distract students are being used to engage them, and this is the winning formula for teaching kids STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) subjects in the future. Students will be able to solve a puzzle while learning how to computer program. And we are bringing a little bit of the Arts to teaching STEM, they even call it STEAM now.” The game targets students ages 13-16, but aims to get more girls and minorities interested in STEM subjects. This game could potentially encourage more minorities and girls to become involved in STEM classes and careers in the future by showing them the basics of computational thinking. This game will show students that they already have the skills for computational thinking, including coding, and can encourage them to pursue STEM subjects in the future. The game developers designed a trading card game to go along with the online game because they wanted students to have an all-immersive experience. Players can use famous scientists, engineers, artists and mathematicians to claim innovations and gain higher points to win with the trading cards. Each card has a code that can be used in the online game to play against online opponents around the world. This game is designed to be both educational and fun. BYU faculty members have been working with students over the last year to develop this game. Over 30 students from various programs such as illustration, design, advertising, public relations, animation and film have worked together to create the content and to design the game. “The design of the game is two fold,” said Connor King, BFA Graphic Design student. “There is the puzzle and level design, as well as the art design and player experience, both of which are linked together.” Jeff Parkin, a BYU Theatre and Media Arts professor, and Jared Cardon, owner of partner group Tinder Transmedia developed the overall story arc of the game. Students involved created the levels, puzzles, gameplay and a majority of the art included. “After the levels were built, it was tested to see if things broke, and of course, if it was fun! If our game isn't fun, there is no purpose to making it,” said King. “It might look beautiful, and run without any errors, but if it isn't fun, we missed the mark.” Utah locals have the opportunity to attend a launch party for the game on Tuesday, January 17 from 5-7 pm in the Amber Room at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. There will also be a concurrent launch with program partner Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley. The Computer History Museum will host a real-life version of the game in conjunction with the virtual game. To learn more and to receive updates on the game, register on http://thetessera.org.
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Mom Comedy Takes Home Three Awards at Filmed In Utah Awards

April 17, 2014 12:00 AM
A YouTube series created by a BYU Theatre and Media Arts professor and alumnus is receiving recognition in festivals in Utah and throughout the country. “Pretty Darn Funny,” created by Jeff Parkin and Jared Cardon, is a web series sponsored by Deseret Book. The comedy has led the charge as the first Church-sponsored entry into scripted entertainment that has since yielded shows like “Studio C” and “Granite Flats.” It recently was nominated for 10 awards at the 3rd Annual Filmed in Utah Awards, where it won three: Best YouTube Channel, Best Ensemble Cast and Best Director. Parkin, the series’ director, said that he and many other colleagues wanted to create a show that anyone could watch and enjoy. “We hear from a lot of people that they watch it as a family, which is something that makes us really happy–families watching entertainment together,” Parkin said. The show recently finished its second season. The first season centers on Gracie Moore, played by Lisa Clark, a mother who forms a comedy troupe with local women to provide a clean venue for families to be entertained. The second season focuses more on Moore’s relationship with her family–ups and downs, and typical confrontations as well as successes. “I think we and Deseret Book are interested in telling stories about normal people and the fact that we makes mistakes–that it’s normal and it can be funny–instead of getting caught up in perfectionism,” Cardon said. “Laughing at your mistakes is good, and it’s healthy,” Parkin added. For the first season, BYU offered students an opportunity to work the series in exchange for university credit, and around 75 TMA students participated. For season two, about 95 percent of the current cast and crew are either BYU alumni or BYU students. The series has also produced three parody music videos. “Downton Abbey Rap,” “The Hunger Games: Moms vs. Kids!” and “Mom Footloose” have over 341,000 YouTube views combined. Though the series is targeted at an audience of LDS moms, the series gets exceptional engagement with nearly 700,000 views on its channel. Parkin and Cardon both agree that comedy can be family friendly and still be hilarious. “Even though the show is made in Utah and is sponsored by an LDS company, we continue to get lots of positive feedback from fans of divers backgrounds and faiths,” Cardon said. “It’s a great representation of who we are at BYU and as members of the Church.” Watch Pretty Darn Funny for free at www.youtube.com/user/prettydrnfunny Awards & Nominations (Wins are in Bold) Filmed in Utah Awards: 10 Nominations, 3 Wins Best Director (Series/Music Video)- Jeff Parkin Best Ensemble Cast- WON Best YouTube Channel- WON Best Series Best Screenplay (Series/Short) Best Actress (Short/Series) Best Editing (Short/Series/Music Video) Best Sound Mix Best Music Score (Short/Series) Best Song Hollyweb Film Festival 2014 Official Selection Salt Lake Comedy Festival 2014 Official Selection Vancouver Web Festival 2014 Official Selection Toronto Web Festival 2014 Official Selection International Academy of Web Television Awards Best Comedy Series Best Writing (Comedy) Best Female Performance (Comedy) Best Supplemental Content Indie Series Awards Best Writing (Comedy) Best Lead Actress
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