“To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it.” - Paulo Freire
Last fall, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts invited community members, artists, creatives, activists, students, and teachers to submit proposals for a site-specific, participatory installation in our educational exhibition space: Art. Community. Museum. Education. (ACME) Lab.
After a rigorous review process, the UMFA selected teaching artist Sydney Porter Williams to create our newest ACME Lab: Interwoven: Social Transformation Through Art and Community. Collaboratively envisioned with Courtney Buss, Florencia Hernandez, Ada May, and Emily Schmuckal — students from Sydney’s University of Utah course, Art for Critical Consciousness — this exhibition deepens our understanding of shared humanity by highlighting our intersecting identities and diverse experiences.
Utilizing original artworks, poems, and audio recordings created in community workshops, Interwoven acknowledges inequities in our society, celebrates the richness of individual and collective identities, and encourages visitors to become active participants in collective social transformation.
Join us as part of a transformative journey through art and community!
About the Artists
Sydney Porter Williams
Sydney Porter Williams is a community-based teaching artist in Salt Lake City who utilizes art as a method of transformation in classrooms and communities. She is a professor of art and art education at the University of Utah and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Community-Based Art Education and an Honors BFA in Art Teaching – both from the University of Utah. She has extensive experience facilitating community artmaking and collaboration and received the Utah Art Education Association’s Preservice Educator of the Year Award in 2022.
Porter Williams’ pedagogical practice is interwoven with her multi-disciplinary studio practice, where she offers interactive opportunities for vulnerability and connection through unraveling and exploring her history. Her scholarly interests include art for social transformation, youth activist art, and artmaking as a dialogical and therapeutic practice.
Courtney Buss
Courtney Buss is currently pursuing a BFA in Art Teaching, complemented by a minor in illustration. She received the Summer 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award to perform research on community-engaged art education, accessibility in museums, and the development of a socially engaged participatory art installation for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (ACME Lab).
Buss plans to obtain a Master's degree and pursue curation in the future. Skilled in various art forms, she will continue contributing to the art community and engaging in community-based art projects to create more inclusive and interactive art experiences.
Florencia Hernandez
Florencia Hernandez is pursuing her bachelor's degree in graphic design with a minor in photography at the University of Utah. She obtained her associate’s degree in graphic communications from Salt Lake Community College in 2023 and was recognized for her academic achievement twice on the Dean's list at Salt Lake Community College from 2020 to 2022. She also earned the Herschel Saperstein and Starfish scholarships at the University of Utah.
Hernandez's unique perspective on art and design comes from spending her formative years in Mexico, which provided her with a diverse and multicultural understanding of creative expression. Florencia enjoys using a variety of mediums in her art to express the connection between her style and ethnicity. She also aims to shed light on the daily struggles faced by Latinx people in the United States. Hernandez plans to become a magazine company editor or designer; she values the perception of the beauty of realistic art through photography and graphic design.
Ada May
Ada May is a multi-media artist pursuing a BFA in painting and drawing at the University of Utah with a minor in illustration. She is interested in native plants, studies their history, and incorporates them into her work. May is also skilled in crochet and other alternative artmaking methods, engaging in a broad, interdisciplinary practice.
Emily Schmuckal
Emily Schmuckal is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Utah. She is currently pursuing a BA in History with a minor in Computer Science. Her passion in work, school, and artmaking is telling stories and exploring the human experience. She has worked in various art forms, most prominently figure drawing and creative writing. Schmuckal plans to earn a master’s degree in museum studies, pursue a career path in the museum industry, and use her creative writing skills to publish a novel.
Sponsors:
