Weber State Department of Visual Art & Design

08/28/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at Block Party to learn more about DOVAD and Shaw Gallery!

Thanks Art Guild (Weber State Art Guild) for having such a fun activity. Everyone loved making the on buttons!

08/27/2026

Please give a warm welcome to DOVAD’s new visiting assistant professor, Ian Burnley! 🥳

08/26/2026

Everyone please give a warm welcome to DOVAD’s newest instructor of photography, Claire A. Warden! 🥳🫶

08/24/2026

Welcome, new DOVAD faculty! 🎉

We’re excited to welcome three new faculty members to the Department of Visual Art & Design at Weber State University!

Ian Burnley — Visiting Assistant Professor
A lens-based artist whose work explores cultural histories through discarded ephemera and the recent past.

Alejandro Moya — Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
A graphic designer and artist whose work explores branding, typography, print, interactive, and community-based design.

Claire A. Warden — Instructor of Photography
An interdisciplinary artist working across still and moving image to explore identity, representation, language, and experimental image-making.

Please join us in giving Alejandro, Ian, and Claire a warm welcome to DOVAD!

08/17/2026

Explore RECEIVERS, a student exhibition featuring experimental approaches to photography and image-making. Much of the work was created in an Experimental Photography course last semester, with additional work from Design Concepts.

The exhibition brings together a range of alternative photographic processes, including cyanotype, salt, platinum-palladium, and albumen printing, alongside video, sculpture, and 2D works. Together, these pieces showcase the experimentation, curiosity, and creative exploration happening in DOVAD's classrooms.

📍 Shepherd Union Gallery
📅 Aug. 27–Sept. 18
🎉 Opening Reception: Aug. 27 | 6–7 p.m.

Featuring work by Becky Cannon, Cathy Cox, Adria Derby, Craig Dinsdale, Dee Evertsen, Capree Gange, Sadie M. Gardepy, Sunni Hathcock, Sarah Jensen, Lexie Jorgensen, Sydney Kendrick, Reyn Kiesel, Janika Linville, Aubrey Matkin, Ivy Miller, Matty Miller, Hayden Mott, Sheleece Simon, Laura Spencer, Karissa Strate, and Isac Velazquez.

06/23/2026

Congratulations to alumna Eleanor Mahin Thorp on her solo exhibition, "Snowtrickle, feldspar, dirt," at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.

Drawing from geological fieldwork and visits to landscapes shaped by mining, extraction, preservation, and local histories, Thorp creates richly layered paintings that explore the physical weight of place and the stories embedded within the land itself.

Join UMOCA for the opening reception on Friday, June 26, from 6–9 p.m., with an artist talk by Eleanor at 7 p.m.

We're proud to celebrate Eleanor's continued success and are excited to see her work featured in this remarkable exhibition. Congratulations, Eleanor!

Image 1: Eleanor Mahin Thorp, A Sister of Spiteful, 11” x 14”, Copper overburden, stone, roadside plastics, oil, on wood panel. 2025
Image 2: Eleanor Mahin Thorp, Convergence, 11”x14”, Copper overburden, roadside plastics, hair, paint chips, oil, on wood panel. 2025

06/19/2026

Congratulations to DOVAD alum Zane Smart on the opening of The Moment Light Enters.

We’re proud to celebrate Zane’s latest exhibition and the continued growth of his artistic practice.

Join us in recognizing this exciting milestone and wishing Zane continued success. We love seeing our alumni making an impact and sharing their creative vision with the community. 👏

This exhibition was generously sponsored by the Fromer-McCree Family Trust.

06/18/2026

🌳 Explore Ogden’s Trees with Us! 🌳

Join us on June 24 at 6:30 p.m. for the Lester Park Tree Walk, a community project created by Weber State University design students in collaboration with botany students. Discover the unique trees that call Lester Park home, follow our student-designed map, and learn something new about the natural world right in the heart of Ogden.

We’re looking for community members to help us test the experience and provide feedback on the tree walk, so bring your curiosity and your walking shoes!’=

Bonus: Free popsicles for all attendees while supplies last.

📍 Lester Park (next to the Ogden Library on 25th Street)
🗓 June 24 | ⏰ 6:30 p.m.

06/09/2026

🎹✨ Ever wonder why there’s a giant piano outside Abravanel Hall?

This 9-foot-tall, 13-foot-wide playable sculpture is more than just a conversation piece — it’s a celebration of music, art, and community. Created by Utah artist and DOVAD Professor Jason Manley, the piece is made from five upcycled pianos and invites everyone (musicians and curious passersby alike) to stop, play, and be part of the experience.

Part of the “Key Changes” project, this larger-than-life instrument brings visual art and performing arts together in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. 🎶 Stop by, take a turn at the keys, and discover the magic waiting outside Abravanel Hall.

Read the full article here:

A 9-foot-tall playable piano art piece draws attention to an event coming to Salt Lake City this month, but it also might inspire new players.

06/05/2026

🎹 Five pianos. One incredible work of art.

Tomorrow at noon (Friday, June 5), The Blocks Arts District, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, and Salt Lake County Arts & Culture unveil Piano Assemblage Ensemble — a monumental new sculpture created by Utah artist and DOVAD professor Jason Manley with the help of DOVAD students Jayden Wright and David Vogel.

Crafted from deconstructed pianos and featuring a functioning piano visitors can play, this interactive installation transforms music into a larger-than-life public art experience.

Following the unveiling, enjoy a free outdoor performance by local pianist and 2026 Bachauer International Piano Competition competitor Bennett Larsen.

📍 Abravanel Hall Plaza
📅 June 5, 2026
⏰ Noon

Free and open to the public!