2022: A YEAR IN REVIEW

THE CENTER GALLERY

The Center Gallery completed its operations at the end of May. (Its lease was for one year after opening.) In its unbeatable location across the street from Lincoln Center and under the eaves of the Manhattan New York temple, all but one of its five exhibitions took place in this fiscal year. Nearly 10,000 visitors viewed the exhibitions, and depending upon the show, 70-90% of those in the gallery were from the community rather than members of the Church. In all, exhibitions featured 57 artists from 12 countries. Among the highlights of the Center Gallery were two book-length publications and notable exhibitions on the sacred feminine, depression-era photographs of Utah, and art created during the early months of the pandemic by LDS people around the world.

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE CENTER GALLERY

Beginning in January 2022 and running without interruption thereafter was a weekly program in the Center Gallery of lecture presentations, concerts, readings, figure drawing classes, film screenings, and vocal master classes. Some of these were collaborations with other institutions, including Brigham Young University and The Juilliard School. The culminating event in the popular series was a three-day festival of new musicals written by LDS songwriting teams. Each of the exhibitions remain in full (images and texts) on the gallery’s website.

THE ARIEL BYBEE ENDOWMENT AT THE CENTER fOR LATTER-DAY SAINT ARTS

2022 marked the inauguration of the Endowment with a call for LDS composers to submit proposals to write a song cycle for the illustrious, international opera soprano, Rachel Willis-Sørensen. She will premiere the work at a future date. A jury of composers, singers, and professionals (who would be the envy of any international vocal gathering) selected a winner: S. Andrew Lloyd, from San Antonio, Texas. He will compose a work for soprano and piano setting the Francis Thompson poem, “The Hound of Heaven.” The Endowment has already raised more than half of its target amount of $150,000, the investment income of which will fund annual prizes honoring the legacy of Ariel Bybee, in perpetuity.

MORMON HISTORY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

The Center collaborated with the Mormon History Association (MHA) in sponsoring its annual conference, adding arts sessions to the usual program of historical explorations. The 2022 conference, held at Utah State University in Logan, opened with a concert of LeRoy Robertson music by Craig Jessop’s American Festival Chorus and a fascinating brief sketch of Robertson’s career. Preceding the concert, attendees enjoyed a gorgeous exhibition of art by Latter-day Saints at the nearby Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art. From there the conference continued with two solid days of inspiring presentations, over sixty in all, the largest number ever in MHA history.

I AM: THE JOURNEY

In June 2022, the Center presented I AM: The Journey, a celebration of global, Latter-day Saint voices through art, music and dance. This family-friendly, multi-disciplinary stage performance and accompanying visual arts exhibition was sponsored by Deseret Book and Allyson & Dan Chard and took place at the Conference Center Theater in SLC on June 18, 2022. 

I AM: The Journey was led by the Center’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and co-produced and co-directed by Kevin and Lita Giddins. The I AM visual arts exhibition, curated by Kwani Povi Winder, was then on display at the Flagship City Creek location of Deseret Book through July 31, 2022. A documentary featuring the artists of I AM: The Journey aired on KSL in October 2022.

THE SEASON 22/23 LAUNCH

The Center launched one of its most ambitious projects to date in September: The Season 22/23, a comprehensive, one-year aggregation of cultural works by Latter-day Saint artists and creators around the world and throughout Latter-day Saint (Mormon) culture. The Season includes a database of thousands of current cultural events projects around the world, classified by genre, artist, content and/or synopsis, venue and event details. A monthly publication expounds upon these listings, with editorial content by qualified contributors who are making sense of the Latter-day Saint cultural texture. Guided by an editorial board of thought leaders working in various disciplines and locations, The Season's editorial content is a framework for readers to think through the cultural discourse and foster an elevated artistic community.

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

It has been a banner year for the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, but then every year is. This one was marked above all by the arrival of our new executive director, Mykal Urbina, who comes to us from working at the New York Philharmonic and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, California. Mykal has taken hold of our diverse operations with professional finesse and kept us going through a complicated year. She has fulfilled all of our expectations for what for us is a major change in our organizational structure.

The history of philanthropic organizations shows that virtually all of them in time pass through a transition from a mainly volunteer organization to a mix of volunteers and professional staff. Success means growth, and growth brings more complicated operations. The Center’s operations have constantly broadened ever since our founding in 2017 and now require full-time oversight and expert strategizing.

We have expanded because we wish to support the entire creative process from the beginning with the artists, through performance and display for audiences, to study and analysis by scholars. The creative process, we believe, does not end when a work of art is completed. The process continues until it is absorbed into the culture. So besides supporting artists, we have programs to help our patrons bring art into everyday life. We sponsor scholarly study and critical analysis. We produce podcasts, teaching manuals, conferences and seminars. Our ultimate aim is to enhance art and learning in Latter-day Saint society and to make this culture visible to the world at large.

High ambitions to be sure, but suitable for our people and our culture and within reach, we believe, with people like Mykal helping out.

Richard Bushman

Chair, Board of Directors

DONORS

WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE DONORS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CENTER.

Donations Received October 1, 2021 - December 18, 2022

$100,000+ 

The Beesley Family Foundation

Kem and Carolyn Gardner 

$25,000-$99,999 

Anonymous 

The Foulger Family Foundation

Stanley Hainsworth

The Sam and Diane Stewart Family Foundation  

$10,000-$24,999 

Anonymous

Richard and Claudia Bushman 

Dan and Allyson Chard 

Kathleen and James Crapo 

Deseret Book 

Tom and Maureen Sederberg 

Joel and Colleen Wiest 

Jennifer Wilcox 

$5,000-$9,999 

Gary and Marilyn Baughman in memory of Milo Baughman 

Linda S. Daines 

Brad and Melody Pelo 

Kimberley Stewart 

Rosalie Stone 

$2,500-$4,999 

D. Page Busken 

Anne-Marie Wright Lampropoulos 

Deanna and Peter Pilling 

Kenneth G. Shelley 

Matthew and Jane Darger Thomas 

Dave and Rachel Weidman

Witness Music STL 

$1,000-$2,499 

Anonymous 

Ryan and Shima Baughman 

Jason Bond

Dwight Blazin

Kristin Christensen

Colin and Julie Cropper 

Kimberly and Derek Ence 

Chris and Hedy Eyre

The Goodliffe Family in honor of Richard Bushman's 90th birthday 

Peter and Alexandra Harris 

Sharon Harris and Edje Jeter 

Jenna and Jeff Holt 

Brent Jenson 

Steve and Kalleen Lund 

Neylan McBaine

Glen and Marcia Nelson

Kathleen and Bob Nilsen 

Bonnie and Jim Parkin 

Michael and Stephanie Percival 

Jon Pinnock 

Susan Robison 

David Brent and Enid Magnuson Smith 

Debbie Stevens and David Doxey in the memory of Joanne Bushman Doxey 

Colette and Hank Taylor 

David and Rachel Weidman 

Clayton Williams 

$500-$999 

Anonymous 

Cris and Janae Baird 

Jason Bond 

David and Jennifer Buckner 

John K. and Shirley A. Carmack 

Connie Chard 

Bryan and Emily Davis 

Kathie and Pat Debenham 

Richard Breck England

Tom and Holly Holst 

Kathryn and Andrew Kimball 

June Lauper 

Lauri Manbeian 

Neylan McBaine 

Glen and Marcia Nelson 

Erika Anderson Neu

Amy and Greg Pal 

Patrick Perkins

Brian E. Powell 

Carolyn and Boyd Richards 

John and Helen Stone 

David and Marné Stott 

Sariah Toronto 

Robert Turley

$100-$499 

Anonymous 

Kay and Heidi Ashton Family 

Bill Atkinson 

Jonathan and Cynthia Austin 

Darrell and Jenny Babidge

Steven D. and Marjorie Bennion 

Amy Bentley 

Preston and Rachel Blair 

Serge Bushman and Patricia Shelley

Jeffrey Butler

Jared and Adrienne Cardon 

John and Reva Corrigan 

Cathleen and Brent Croxton 

Rose Datoc Dall 

Ben Darger 

C. Brooklyn and Jill Mulvay Derr 

Lisa Draper 

Chester and Heidi Elton 

Michele and David Erekson 

Linda and Rob Etherington 

Ena and Michael Fowles 

Laurel Galli

Leslie Graff 

Jon and Katie Groberg 

Stephen Hodson

Nelson Holmes 

Tom and Holly Holst

Craig Jessop 

Whitney Johnson

James C. and Mary H. Johnston 

Nina Johnston in memory of Phyllis Liljenquist Leishman 

Jane and Dan Jones 

Amber and Derek Keller 

Elizabeth Knight

Greg and Cynthia Kofford 

Dave and Margaret Lazenby 

Mary Ann W. Lee 

Adelynn Mejia

Matthew and Mary Maroon 

Andrew and Liz Maxfield 

Marilyn McPhie 

Carole Mikita 

Megan A. Nebeker 

Karen Parkinson 

Bob Payne 

Charles Randall and Jann Paul 

Gayla and Ferril Sorenson 

Justin Wheatley 

-$100 

Anonymous (7 donors) 

Mason Allred 

Paola Bidinelli 

Pamela Bigger 

Cindy Butikofer 

Scott and Vicki Christensen 

Todd Coleman 

Stefanie Condie 

J Davis

Zachary Davis 

Francisco Estévez Díaz

Laura Erekson

Elise Faust 

Jane Feldman 

Sherman Feher

Dylan Findley 

Megan and Ben Geilman 

Mark Graham 

Maggie Golightly Haslam 

Brittany Hall

Laura Paulsen Howe

Laura Allred Hurtado

Cornelia Jensen 

Eric Jepson 

Aaron Johnston

Mary Louise Lillian 

David and Sara Lindsay 

Ron Linn 

Julián Mansilla 

Brent Meacham 

Esther Megargel 

Adam and Gwen Miller 

Dula Parkinson 

Taylor Petrey

Douglas Pew 

Margaret Flather Rogers 

Megan Roxas 

Ben Sabey

David Sargent 

Ron Schneider 

Sylvie Scowcroft and Mark Thomas 

Rhonda Seamons 

Tara Lynn Tanner 

Jonette Cahoon Vaughan 

Austin Walters 

Chase Westfall 

Clinton Whiting 

Ethan Wickman 

Darlene Young 

BOARD, COMMITTEES, STAFF

Board of Directors

Richard Bushman, chairman

Glen Nelson                                                               

Allyson Chard

Claudia Bushman, historian

Jason Bond, treasurer

Mary Ann Lee

Brad Pelo

Monica Heslington

Stanley Hainsworth

COMMITTEES & ADVISORS

Center Gallery Committee

Claudia Bushman

Richard Bushman

Claire Forste

Ena Fowles

Emily Larsen Doxford

Marilee Moe

Deanna Pilling

Walter Rane

Leilani Rigby

Tyran Schouten

Ashlee Whitaker

Warren Winegar

Race, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee

Fidalis Buehler

Camlyn Giddins

Lita Little Giddins, co-head

Kevin Giddins, co-head

Kwani Povi Winder

Tyrone Whitehorse

Editorial Board, The Season

Charlie Bird

Ted Bushman

Kathie Debenham

Gabriel González

Brian Kershisnik

Jeff Parkin

Arisael Rivera

Madeline Rupard

Joël René Scoville

Benjamin Taylor

Kwani Winder 

Warren Winegar

Advisory Board

Barbara and Bill Benac

Dan Chard

Caitlin Connolly

Dr. James and Kathy Crapo

Kathie Debenham

Jennifer Wilcox

James Faulconer

Lita Little Giddins

Kevin Giddins

James Goldberg

Margaret Olsen

Laura Hurtado

Brian Kershisnik

Lance Larsen

Ryan Morley

Linda Nearon

Jeff Parkin

Steven Peck

Jenny Reeder

Rosalie E. Stone

Benjamin Taylor

Ruth Todd

Chase Westfall

Colleen Wiest

Warren Winegar, head

Staff

Mykal Urbina, Executive Director

Glen Nelson, Director of Special Projects

Emily Larsen Doxford, Director of Communications & Marketing

Emily Spung, Administrative Assistant