We would like to thank everyone for making the AAUW Utah Women Artistœôòùs Exhibition a success! We awarded $6850 to fifteen outstanding artists. The exhibition showcased 70 works of art by 53 women artists. The winner of Best of Show was Susan Kirby, an artist from Salt Lake City. She was inspired to become an artist after living in Paris. She describes herself as a self-taught artist who paints personal subjects, family, friends, animals and self-portraits. Susan currently shows her work at Patrick Moore Gallery in Salt Lake City.

Many prominent and outstanding artists also participated. "Evening at the Arts Festival" by Karen Horne was accepted. In 2002, Karen Horne received the recognition "Most Honored Artist of Utah" by the Cultural Olympiad Curatorial Committee. Karen also has works on permanent display in the downtown Hilton Hotel and in the First Ladyœôòùs Office at the Utah State Capital.

This year twelve entries from students were accepted into the exhibition. The winner of the Student Honor Award was Ariel Peterson, a high school student from Ogden. Another student artist, Naba Faizi, reflects on the beauty of traditional Islamic clothing worn by women in her artwork titled "Colors of a Woman". Naba Faizi seeks to educate her local community by dispelling common myths about Islam and the role of women in Islamic life.

The Utah Cultural Celebration Center estimated that over 200 people attended the opening reception, and two works of art were sold opening night. The 70 works in the exhibition reflected a breadth of styles, media, genres, and subjects that showcased the range of talented women artists in Utah. The exhibition also highlighted the breadth of media that Utah artists are currently working in including drawing, photography, sculpture, collage, painting, and crafted objects. The juror, Apsara C. Di Quinzio, who is the Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, selected the works on display from over a 170 entries. The juror focused on the strength of each individual work, privileging pieces that expressed an original use of materials, subjects, and concepts. With the conclusion of another great show we are currently gearing up for our next exhibition and looking for committee members. If you are interested in joining the committee or are able to assist in distributing call for entries please contact Tracey Matthews at 801-8091368.