Autumn Art Hikes promote Local Artists, SUMA

Published: September 09, 2013 | Read Time: 3 minutes

Following a successful summer season, the SUMA Community Engagement will continue its Art Hike series this autumn, beginning Saturday, September 14, with a hike along the Bristlecone Pine Trail with landscape painter J. Brad Holt.

Created to provide an opportunity for the southern Utah community to discover the special places where local artists gain inspiration for their art, the SUMA Art Hikes bring community members and artists together in inspiring locations, along with representatives from the National Park Service, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or Utah Division of Natural Resources, who will teach hikers more about the unique locales selected for each SUMA Art Hike.

Intended to enhance local arts engagement, hikers are also encouraged to bring their own art supplies (sketch books, pencils, pastels, watercolors, etc.) and cameras to capture the natural beauty of the region for themselves, gleaning new inspiration much like the artists who lead these hikes.
September's lead artists, J. Brad Holt is that rare craftsman whose unique brushstroke technique has established him as one of southern Utah’s master landscape painters.

Holt grew up in Cedar City, Utah. As a youngster, he accompanied family friend, painter Jim Jones, into the southern Utah landscape and painted alongside the man he considers his mentor. Holt is a graduate of Cedar City High School, and Southern Utah University. His paintings are featured in several prominent galleries in southern Utah. He spent childhood summers working on his Grandfather’s ranch in Orderville Utah, hauling hay and punching cows. At age seventeen he joined the Utah Army National Guard, and served for the next twenty years as a member of HHB 2/22 FA BN. Holt is a musician specializing in early woodwinds. He spent several seasons as a musician and performer with the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah. For the SUMA Community Engagement Committee, Holt has created poster art for several past events.

SUU’s SUMA Community Engagement Committee invites artists, students and all members of the community to accompany Holt, who along with the coordinator of SUU's Outdoor Education Series, Anne Smith, and a representative from the U.S. Forest Service will lead hikers on a hike to the Bristlecone Pine Trail east of Cedar City, part of Dixie National Forest.

The Art Hikes have been created by the Southern Utah Museum of Art’s (SUMA) Community Engagement Committee to build public awareness for the forthcoming art museum. All Art Hikes are free.

Art experience is not required to participate in the SUMA Art Hike series. On the hike, participants will have the opportunity to interpret the Bristlecone Pine Trail through any medium of their choosing, or to simply enjoy the natural wonders that surround the community. In addition to any art supplies participants may bring to capture the experience, hikers are encouraged to bring water, snacks/lunch (if desired), a poncho or plastic to sit on when sketching, hats, gloves, sunscreen and jackets/rain gear for potential weather change. Please wear study boots or shoes for hiking. All children must be accompanied by a responsible parent or adult.

Hikers will meet at the east side of Main Street Park in Cedar City at 9 a.m.. The hike is free and open to the community. For the Holt hike, participants must contact the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery to reserve a place in the hiking party in advance. Please call 435-586-5432 or email gallery@suu.edu.

Detailed art hike information is available online at suu.edu/pva/suma.

To make a contribution to SUMA, please contact Donna Law, director of performing and visual arts development, at 435-865-8182 or law@suu.edu. Contributions can also be made online at suu.edu/pva/suma.  

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Contact Information:

435-586-5400
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