ABOUT THE VISION OF THE ARTS FUND
Inspired by a speech from President Spencer W. Kimball, Deseret Book held their first Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship auction in 2012. The auction successfully raised scholarship funds for emerging LDS artists. A second auction the following year continued to build momentum for the program. Deseret Book subsequently chose to cease sponsorship of the auction. Wanting to see the program continue, a group of interested individuals met to establish the Vision of the Arts Fund, which is an independent non-profit organization, not directly affiliated with either Deseret Book nor the LDS church.
Goals of the Vision of the Arts Fund include:
1. Continuing and growing the Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship auction.
2. Continuing to Provide scholarships to emerging LDS artists.
3. Establishing a residency program.
4. Providing grants to young mother artists.
5. Providing grants for the creation of significant works by mid to late career artists.
PRESIDENT-
J. Kirk Richards
Kirk is a professional studio artist. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts Studio from BYU in 2000. He especially loves to create and collect spiritually-themed works of art.
VICE PRESIDENT -
Linda Howard
Linda Howard worked as Art Concierge at the Flagship Deseret Book during the first years of the Gospel Vision of the Arts Scholarship Auction. She has since moved to Altus Fine Art publishing, where she helps artists with the printing and marketing of their images. Linda's enthusiasm is felt and appreciated by the many LDS artists she works with every day.
BOARD MEMBER
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Cris Baird
Cris received his B.A. and J.D. from Brigham Young University, and currently practices law at the international law firm, Bracewell LLP. His area of expertise is drafting and negotiating all types of commercial real estate transaction documents. Cris loves art, and with his wife Janae, has acquired a beautiful collection of contemporary LDS works.
BOARD MEMBER
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Shari Lyon
Shari Lyon is an encaustic artist who paints with a specific mixture of beeswax and damar resin. Shari also incorporates the use of oil paints, pan pastels, oil sticks, photography, and drawings. Shari loves the dreamy, ethereal image with texture and appeal unlike any other art form. Together with her husband, Howard Lyon, who is also an artist, they love to support and mentor new and emerging artists.
BOARD MEMBER
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Howard Lyon
Howard Lyon is an artist that was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona. He is the youngest of five children. Howard had very supportive parents, who even when he was very young, made sure he had the materials and education to hone his talents. While attending high school Howard met his wife, Shari Lunt. They now have three children and reside in Utah.
BOARD MEMBER
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Jenny Ostraff
A native of Utah, Jenny Ostraff earned a BFA degree in studio art from BYU and went on to complete a master's degree in public administration and nonprofit management. She currently works as the Development Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County. When not working, Jenny enjoys spending time in the mountains and deserts of Utah, being with family, and making art.
BOARD MEMBER
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Samuel Allan
Samuel is passionate about learning. His own learning, focused on public administration with an emphasis in non-profit organizations, helps him promote learning in diverse ways. He is currently working as an auditor at the Utah State Board of Education where he helps ensure students have the knowledge and skills to learn, engage civically, and lead meaningful lives. As part of the Vision of the Arts, Samuel hopes to help make the vision financially sustainable and publicly available.
AUCTION COMMITTEE
J. Kirk Richards
Kirk has contributed many beloved and well-known artworks to the religious art community. He believes that it is part of his life's calling to help other artists in building their careers, and to partner with them in raising the quality of spiritual works being produced today.
Linda Howard
As mentioned above, Linda's efforts have been monumental in creating and maintaining the Vision of the Arts Fund. One of her roles is serving as our Art Handling Specialist.
Stephanie Blanchard
Stephanie currently serves as our Auction Director. While her creative pursuits consist of writing and quilting, she is passionate about art and loves being a part of facilitating its distribution.
Jennifer Slack
Jennifer has served as an Auction Director for several auctions, and continues to help promote great art. Besides being an artist herself, Jennifer follows many other creative pursuits including blogging and basket weaving!
Scott Higginson
Scott is the owner and founder of Foursquare ART, an online gallery and art consulting service. He also collects artwork and is passionate about networking with artists.
Birgitte Smoot
We are grateful for Birgitte's help as our Social Media specialist! In addition to working with the Beaux-Arts Academy in Provo and with Howard Lyon Fine Art in American Fork, Birgitte also regularly models for artists.
Sara Southwick
Sara serves as one of our eBay specialist to make sure the auctions run smoothly! She earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from BYU, and is an HR Business Partner at Workfront.
Kirsten Noelle Anderson
Though a busy painter and printmaker, Kirsten still finds time to help us with our website!