Art Exhibits to See in the Nine Rails Creative District | News, Sports, Jobs

1 / 4

An interactive art installation by Lauren Lee McCarthy, titled “The Changing Room”, can be seen at the Ogden Contemporary Arts Garage from February 12 to May 30. It will be free to the public.

Photo provided

2 / 4

“I Know Some Nice People”, an art exhibition by Matthew Choberka of Ogden will be on view at The Argo House from February 5 to April 30.

Photo provided

3 / 4

In honor of Women’s History Month, Eccles Art Center will showcase the winning works of its national women’s competition throughout March.

Picture provided

4 / 4

The YCC Family Crisis Center has spread love and messages of hope around Ogden through its “Heart of Utah” project.

Photo provided

❮ ❯

Get your art in Ogden! March’s First Friday Art Stroll will feature several art exhibits that you MUST see.

“The Dressing Room” at Ogden Contemporary Art Garage

Have you ever been to the OCA? The long-awaited art studio located in the garage of the historic Monarch building is finally open! Their grand opening exhibition features “The Changing Room” by Lauren Lee McCarthy, exploring the connection between artificial intelligence and emotion. Social media, smart phones, Alexa, Google, targeted ads and more influence our lives and certainly our moods and energy levels.

“Imagining an environment of intelligent architecture that controls emotion, McCarthy curates the entire gallery into various live-work-like environments conducive to human interaction while being guided by digital presence,” reads a statement on the OCA website. “On the second level is an accessible control panel where visitors are prompted to browse and select one of two hundred emotions, which is then evoked throughout the space – and ultimately everyone within – through a layered response of lights, sounds and visuals.” I hope this raises the question of what is at stake when we bring AI into public and private spaces, and how our emotional experiences mediated by technology,” McCarthy says of the exhibit.

Have we gone too far in an artificial direction? Visit the exhibition and decide for yourself.

“I Know Some Nice People” by Matt Choberka at Argo House

Self-examination has been a theme for most of us over the past year and when Monarch creative Matthew Choberaka examined himself, it exploded on paper. “Living in this time is in many ways frightening, and in all of my recent work I strive to acknowledge and overcome it,” Choberka says in his artist statement. Choberaka’s work is filled with vivid colors and alarming forms, prompting the viewer to examine the emotions he arouses within himself. “(T)hese images embody a grotesque that I see all over our contemporary lives…in our politics, in our culture,” he says. The “I Know Some Nice People” pop-up exhibit is available for viewing at The Argo House, 529 25th St. through April 30.

Women’s competition at the Eccles Art Center

Eccles Art Center, 2580 Jefferson Ave., is celebrating women next month with the winners of its national women’s competition. The invitational contest is a change from last month’s photo contest, as the mediums include painting and sculpture.

Project Heart of Utah by YCC

Domestic violence and suicide rates have skyrocketed since last March, and the YCC Family Crisis Center in the heart of Ogden has decided to do something beautiful about it. In previous years, the YCC raised over $75,000 to help families in Utah, but due to the pandemic they were unable to hold their annual gala and donations dropped exponentially. The YCC reached out to individuals and businesses across the Wasatch Front for their “Heart of Utah” project. Individuals or businesses were invited to sponsor a heart-shaped sculpture reminiscent of candy hearts, to be displayed with their logo and a message of hope and healing. All sponsorships have helped the YCC Family Crisis Center prevent and mitigate domestic and sexual violence in our community.

“As the demand for our services continues to grow, the need for partnership and generosity has become even more essential,” said Margaret Rose, CEO of YCC. “And we hope seeing this giant installation across the city will get people talking about the serious problem of domestic violence in Utah.”

This first Friday will be your last chance to see the installation, which will conclude on March 6, at Platforms and throughout Ogden. Although the installation is gone, the message of love, hope and healing will never go away.