Utah Humanities has made it possible for more people to enjoy Story Crossroads through Spanish, ASL, and Audio Descriptions interpretations. In 2017, Story Crossroads launched “The Language of Story” Academic Series that delved into visual languages and. This partnership with Utah Humanities as well as the Utah Valley University and the South Jordan Arts Council made it possible to film and create a professional piece to share for the general public. Then the people in attendance and beyond can enjoy the insights through the roughly 1-hour presentation featuring Dr. Dale H. Boam. We are also thrilled whenever Jodi Graham, the Grants and Outreach Coordinator, makes an appearance.
From our inaugural year in 2016, Jodi attended our morning sessions and saw and heard the buzz from the students. She was impressed enough to write us a letter of recommendation that included such lines as “The hard work and dedication of the planning team for the festival was evident, and the first festival was a definite success. I personally enjoyed the time I spent at the festival and left wanting to experience more.” Jodi is such a delight to share more pictures and reports of what is happening with Story Crossroads in the community.
Utah Humanities is busy every year with their own projects. Utah Humanities empowers groups and individuals to improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities.
This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Utah Humanities Book Festival. Events connected with this Festival span the state and start September 8th to October 26th, 2017.
Utah Humanities had this to say about their Festival:
Over the past 20 years we’ve inspired Utah communities by offering the state’s largest annual book festival. Our inaugural festival, known then as The Great Salt Lake Book Festival, started in 1998 and was a one-day event featuring 30 authors at Westminster College. Twenty years later, our annual Utah Humanities Book Festival now spans two full months each September and October. We’ve grown to 122 events in 16 communities, and consistently feature over 100 authors. We’ve expanded our reach by partnering with libraries, community centers, cultural organizations, and more to serve upwards of 12,000 Utahns every fall.
Each year, we hear very personal stories about how an author or book has generated conversation, insight, and understanding. We hear about communities coming together and collectively immersing in books of all types – everything from historical fiction to comedy to poetry. We listen to individuals talk about how their personal or professional lives were affected in life-changing ways by talking with an author who inspired them. We hear about how we’ve helped to improve Utah communities through books, reading, and the resulting conversations . . . in short, through the humanities.
Besides this impressive and expansive Festival, the Utah Humanities takes part in a traveling exhibit in connection with the Smithsonian. In 2014, the theme was “Journey Stories” that explored how migration and transportation built our nation, how it has
changed us, and how our mobile world looked to travelers along the way. In 2017, the theme is “The Way We Work” that explores how work became such a central element in American culture by tracing the many changes that affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years.
Learn more about Utah Humanities and these and more projects here: http://www.utahhumanities.org.
So toss, tip, or take off your cap to the Utah Humanities!
We also have year-round events such as the monthly house concerts and the 3rd Annual Story Crossroads Festival that will be on May 23, 2018.