To access your schedule & other conference resources:
Registration is $75 before April 15, then $90 until May 10, or when we reach capacity. Contact your district arts representative or your principal to ask about financial support that may be available. No refunds after May 10.
Read about the national and local presenters coming to Arts Express!
Read about this year's unique breakout sessions here.
More coming soon!
Artist In Residence: Frank McEntire
We are honored to have Frank McEntire as this year's artist in residence. Frank is known as an artist, curator, writer, and arts administrator. His sculpture has been shown widely, as he has put together assemblages and installations pointedly expressive and symbolic of cultural and political themes. He has curated exhibitions for most museums and art centers in Utah. He is the former art critic for the Salt Lake Tribune and Salt Lake Magazine and has published numerous essays for magazines and exhibition catalogs and an award-wining book Final Light, about legendary Utah painter V. Douglas Snow. McEntire’s leadership as the former executive director of the Utah Arts Council (now Utah Division of Arts and Museums) and his service on boards, panels, and task forces has enhanced the careers of many artists and the overall cultural life of the state. In the catalog for McEntire’s ambitious Spontaneous Memorial installation when it was exhibited in Houston, TX, renowned author, curator, and museum director Jim Edwards stated he has “come to think of Frank McEntire as one of our country’s most outstanding assemblage artists. He has joined the ranks of Ed and Nancy Kienholz and Betye Saar, American artists who have also devoted their art to issues dealing with social justice politics, religion, and spirituality” (Dictionary of Utah Fine Artists, p. 240, 2022).
Working Artist: John Patten
John Patten serves as the executive director of the BYU-Public School Partnership and directs BYU’s Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES). Prior to this appointment in 2022, he worked in Alpine School District for 30 years—first as an art teacher, then as assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent. He and his wife Arryn have 5 children and one grandchild and they live in Springville. Sewing costumes for cosplay has become a hobby ever since he and a daughter attended FanX for the first time in 2014. Not only do they attend the three-day event each year, they typically sport at least one different costume each day.
Performing Artist:
Meadowlark String Band Storytellers
The Meadowlark String Band Storytellers weave words, warbles song and delights creatures of all ages with their stories and music. Bringing together their collective experiences as performers and life enthusiasts, Melissa Chilinski and Roz Newmark thoroughly enjoy sharing the marvel of spinning yarns. Melissa has been an active musician for a decade, impressing audiences with her abilities on guitar, banjo, and vocals. For over twenty years, Roz performed as a storyteller with Ripple Tales, a duo who blended story, movement, song and audience participation. Now, building a new tradition, the Meadowlark String Band Storytellers will lay down the bread crumbs that can lead you back to your childlike wonder of life. If you’re afraid a smile might crack your face, it is strongly advised that you do not venture into their world of melodies and magic.
Performing Artist: DJ "Woody" (Michael Wood)
While shopping record stores in Berkeley in my high school days, Michael discovered a much vaster musical palette from the radio that he listened to at home or the choir I participated in. Classic Rock and Soul, Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz and Classical: the whole spectrum of music that appealed to different audiences for different reasons. It hooked me to understanding what the world of DJing was all about.