Seniors foster the arts at Sandy Center

It began at the Sandy Senior Center when an art instructor needed a place for his students to exhibit their works. He found it in center's large space originally set up for senior exercises and ballroom dances.

His first student exhibit drew praise from visiting artists who remarked that they, too, had no public place in the city where they could exhibit their products. And an idea of promoting visual art in Sandy was born. It began with the effort to create a venue for local artists in the center's ballroom space and equipping to become an temporary art gallery, a place for visual art shows where artists could exhibit their works and thus become better known in our community.

Essential to success was the creation of an information website, now known as www.sandyarts.org. It was designed to inform about the visual art activities, shows, schedules and the rules for entering art into shows. It was also to provide online links to such other sites as www.nowplayingutah.com. and other that inform public about various art activities.

Eventually, the center's gallery became a focal place for the city's visual art show and exhibits. It now provides space for four major art shows and eight monthly exhibits. Thus each March the Sandy Watercolor Guild holds a month-long exhibit of the area's watercolor artists. In May, the fine art photographers exhibit their mounted prints in a fine photography show. In June one finds the old ballroom full of paintings produced by the senior artists of the Salt Lake Valley. And, in November the Sandy Arts Guild holds its annual multimedia show of painting, sculpture and fine art photography. The remaining months are dedicated to one-person exhibits by such individual artists as Suzan Rasmussen, Stan Elmer and Shauna Acorn. Public admission to all shows and exhibits is free.

This year, the coming Spring Watercolor Show is generating great interest among the watercolorists of the area. The show is expected to attract more than 100 high quality paintings to be judged and given awards and prizes. Some works will also be available for sale at greatly reduced prices, as the center does not charge any sales commission.