Thursday, May 03, 2007

Celebrating Hispanic Culture

WHO: Universe City in the Strawberry Gallery
WHAT: Ruby Chacon and AnnaJane Arroyo
WHERE: 2556 Washington Boulevard, Ogden
WHEN: May 4-19: Fridays, 5:00-8:00 pm, Saturdays, noon-8:00 pm,
or by appointment: 458-8959.

In conjunction with the First Friday Art Stroll in downtown Ogden,
Universe City will feature the paintings of Ruby Chacon and
photographs of AnnaJane Arroyo with opening night Friday, May 4th.
The exhibit will run through May 19: Fridays, 5:00-8:00; Saturdays,
from noon-8:00 pm. Private appointments to view the exhibit
individually or as a group tour can be made by calling 458-8959.
This exhibit is scheduled to coincide with Ogden’s Cinco de Mayo
Celebrations in the Amphitheater. Both women examine their cultural
heritage through their art work. Working on a large scale, with
brilliant colors and striking images Ruby’s work provides a very
contemporary view. AnnaJane’s equally brilliant color photos of the
Ogden’s annual September car-show approach the abstract.
Ruby Chacón, a Utah native, is recognized as one of the contemporary
voices in American Art. She received her BFA in painting and drawing
in 1998 from the University of Utah. Chacón’s work has been
exhibited around the Southwest and in London, Tokyo, and Osaka,
Japan. She has been invited to Self-Help Graphics in Los Angeles,
where her work has been silk-screened and added to The Chicano Art
Collection, a body of work that is archived in various international
museums, including parts of Europe and Mexico City. Chacón received
the Cultural Heritage Award in 2003. Recently she was featured in
“Bello” magazine and published in “Triumphs of Our Communities: Four
Decades of Mexican American Art” through the Bilingual Press/
Editorial Bilingue at Arizona State University, and in Salt Lake
Magazine. Currently, Chacón serves on the Salt Lake City public
Library Board, the Advisory Board for MUAH (Museum of Utah Art and
History), the Salt Lake Arts Academy Board, Spy Hop Board, and is the
co-founder of Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts. Currently, she
is working on a 60’ x 25’ mural with the students of Horizonte in
Salt Lake City.

AnnaJane graduated cum laude and top in her Social Work class from
Weber State College in 1986 wth a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work
and Sociology and a masters degree in social work from the University
of Utah in 1989. She has a Certified Social Workers License from the
State of Utah. She was the first Diversity Coordinator of the Ogden-
Weber Applied Technology College (OWATC), the Agency Administrator of
the Ogden Area Community Action Agency, Inc., which also administered
the Head Start Programs. She was the WSU Director of the Department
of Services for MultiCultural Students when she retired. AnnaJane
came out of retirement to serve as the Executive Director of the
Saint Anne’s Center, a homeless shelter in Ogden. She has served as
the co-chair of the 2005 UCLR Youth and Unity Conference and also
served as chair of the Image de UTAH NU CHAC’s Ogden Cinco de Mayo
Festival & Scholarship fundraiser events for four years, from 2001 -
2004. She is CEO of AJ ARROYO CONSULTANTS, continues to engage in
volunteer work and enjoys spending time with her family.
Her photographs included in this exhibit focus on the brilliant
colors and designs of one-of-a-kind entries in Ogden’ annual car show
held in conjunction with the Acela celebration of Mexican
Independence at Ogden’s Amphitheatre. At first the photos appear to
be hard-edged abstracts and can stand alone as just that. It is only
on closer examination that the curving and shiny forms of the cars
begin to take shape. They are a joyous celebration of color.

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