By Sarah Payne | [email protected]

The city of South Jordan held a memorable event Sept. 18–28. South Jordan City’s 11th Annual Art Show was hosted by the Gale Center of History and Culture. The show and the following event, the Artist’s Reception, is organized each year by the South Jordan Arts Council, which includes volunteer art professionals residing in South Jordan. 

The South Jordan Arts Council is funded in part by Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks . Each year, South Jordan residents of all ages and from many artistic backgrounds submit artwork. 

The Art Show was a huge success. South Jordan City’s Administrative Service Director, Spencer Kyle, said they found in South Jordan a great deal of “remarkable talent.” Amanda Robinson, the Art Show chair, said the show was “incredibly rewarding.” The ultimate goal behind the Art Show, she said, was to “foster a love for art in young and old alike.” 

The show typically consists of several categories. These categories traditionally include Photography, 3D, and sculpture. This year, the additional categories of Traditional 1 and Traditional 2 were added. These are additional visual arts areas. Traditional 1 focuses mainly on drawings, consisting of pencil drawings, ink drawings and watercolor paintings. Traditional 2, however, consists mainly of paintings, including acrylic and oil paintings, and digital designs. Brooks Jones, a Traditional 1 winner for her ink drawing “My Father’s Hat,” said about the show, “It was a lot of fun. There was a great turnout, great participation, great art, great talent.” 

Jones has done ink drawings in the past and commented on her inspiration for her work. The drawing depicts a firefighter’s hat, one of the many her father, who is a firefighter of station 8 in Salt Lake City, has hanging on the wall. After seeing him battle the fires raging south of the valley, Jones said the art show felt “timely.” 

“It was a nice little homage to what he and the other firefighters were doing,” she said. “[The show] was a great platform for me to express that.”

Larry Osoro, who has been involved with the art show since its inception, was mindful of changes that had occurred since that time, among which are found changes to the website, lack of visibility and a lesser turnout. However, he is optimistic about the future. 

“All things considered, it looked very nice, but it seemed smaller than the previous,” he said.  

Osoro, who entered two acrylic pieces called “Snow Leopard and Paganini,” noted that the artwork entered in the art show was of very high quality. 

“The art was good; I was impressed,” he said. “I have been involved since day one; the quality of art has improved every year.”

The winners of the South Jordan City Art Show were awarded on Sept. 17 at the Artist’s Reception. The adult winners included the following: Brooks Jones, Gwen Hawley, Doug Stout, Linda Thomas, Nate Brimhall, Dannielle Elison, Shawn Perkins, David Fowers, Shaheen Hossain, Gurmeet Jabbal, Rod Kirk, Larry Osoro, Jerry Payne, Emily Perkins, Cindi Smith and Lyndy Perkins.Vanisri Mudaliar was awarded the overall Arts Council Award, for her painting “Kathakali Dance,” a stunning painting done in acrylic. Kelsey Perkins won Best in Show for her painting “The Sitting Lady.” 

The South Jordan City Art Show showcased the talent each person possesses. It showed how each person can make a contribution and increased love for the arts among its residents.