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Westminster students reopen multipurpose art space in Sugar House

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story published misspelled 2006: Space Oddity. This error is now fixed.

Westminster College students Kyle Pickering, a junior business management major, and Nya Peterson, a junior fine arts major with an emphasis in ceramic art and photography, said they are in the process of reopening a multipurpose arts space on 2006 South and 900 E called 2006: Space Oddity.  

“The name is based on the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Pickering said. “It just says a lot about the arts and I think it really plays into what we’re trying to do here.”

“2001: A Space Odyssey” is a 1968 sci-fi film widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential movies ever made, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning the award for visual effects.

“I kind of stumbled onto the space and met the owner by trying to get a band that was here last year,” Pickering said. “[The owner] liked what I was doing with music, and offered to teach me about his experience selling art and putting on art events, and I was interested.”  

First Event at 2006: Space Oddity

“December 9 is our first event and is just a big collection of artists,” Pickering said. “We’re having 100 artists, everybody gets one entry, but we want to cover this place wall to wall with just art from community members around the area.”

Pickering said younger artists don’t necessarily get the chance to display their art in galleries, so the event on Dec. 9. is an opportunity to get artists together. Entry is $20 and the fee will go towards the space’s rent for the month, according to Pickering. 

I think the long term goal is to definitely get established artists in [the space] and sell some artwork,” Peterson said. “If you’re an artist, please reach out because we want to make as much happen as possible and we want to hear everyone’s ideas.”

Pickering said the more people that can get involved to display art in the space, the better events will be moving forward. 

“Our submission form is on our Instagram @2006.SpaceOddity, where you can submit your piece,” Pickering said. “Artists can put a price on their work if they want to sell it and we also have fliers that will be around campus, the barcode will take you to the submission form.”

Kyle Pickering, a junior business management major, stands next to windows displaying “2006” in front of 2006: Space Oddity, located at 2006 South and 900 E, on Nov. 7. “I just want to make it a space that anybody in the community can come and enjoy and feel represented,” Pickering said. “We want to have music outside and then I want to learn more about how to run and curate art events through [the owner] Evan [Glassman].” Photo courtesy of Devin Logan. Image description: A student wearing a black sweatshirt and dark green pants stands in front of a store window, while pointing at metallic numbers that read “2006” on the window.

Westminster’s Art Community

Kyle Pickering, a junior business management major, said he is in the Honors College at Westminster and received the Katherine Metcalf Nelson Writing and Creative Arts Award, which allowed him to learn and record audio work.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get that audio recording grant if it weren’t for Devin Maxwell, Westminster’s music technology and composition director,” Pickering said. “That kind of spiraled into me doing music stuff and then I feel like it all led into [2006: Space Oddity].” 

Pickering said he has gone to every art event he can in the last month to meet people who have also gone through the process of setting up art spaces.

“If people see that you’re interested in what they’re interested in, that you have good intentions and that you have similar goals, they’ll try to help you and you’ll try to help them,” Pickering said.

Nya Peterson, a junior fine arts major with an emphasis in ceramic art and photography, said 2006: Space Oddity is very exciting for her. Peterson said she credits attending art history courses at Westminster in helping her develop skills, like putting value on art and operating art spaces, to manage 2006. Space Oddity.

“I was really just drawn to it — as soon as Kyle offered it to me, I was like, ‘yes, let’s do it,’” Peterson said. “I feel like I enjoy the way I’m using my degree right now, but I would love to get more focused in the art scene because I’m definitely trying to establish myself as an artist and someone in the curation scene.”

Acquiring 2006: Space Oddity

Pickering said he has an extensive background in music, playing guitar in the Westminster Jazz Ensemble, working with Excellence, a nonprofit that works to create more and better performance opportunities for Utah artists and Mountain Town Music. Pickering said these resources provide him with an array of networking platforms for finding musicians.  

Pickering said he reached out to fellow Westminster student Nya Peterson to help reopen the Sugar House art space. 

“I used to be what I call a ‘gallery girl,’” Peterson said. “I would help people sell art and I also am fairly immersed in the art scene here in Salt Lake.” 

Pickering said Peterson has been a huge help inducting him into the art scene and connecting him to local artists.

“I just want to make it a space that anybody in the community can come and enjoy and feel represented,” Pickering said. “We want to have music outside and then I want to learn more about how to run and curate art events through Evan [Glassman].”

Evan Glassman, an artist and the landlord of the building, said he had previously leased the space to Medium Studio in the last year, but they have recently parted ways.

“I started renovating [the space] again because there were a lot of events here and it just got a little too much,” Glassman said. “Kyle just walked in when I was working on the space.” 

Glassman said he is very impressed with Pickering’s work ethic.  

“Most kids his age are very immature, but he’s very focused and organized,” Glassman said. “It’s a nice opportunity because I need young people. I’ve done this before and it’s a lot of work and I just don’t really have the time or the energy right now.” 

Glassman said he sees himself as being a mentor during this reopening. Glassman said he lived in Chicago, Illinois in the 90s, running a 5,000-square-foot art space, before moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico to do similar studio work. Glassman said he moved to Salt Lake City in the early 2000’s.

“The challenge is how to make the arts’ business functionally profitable and sustainable,” Glassman said. “If we could bring artists together with the community where people are exchanging ideas and making [the space] more multigenerational, [it] would be nice.” 

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Devin Logan is a senior communication major at Westminster College. Recently retired from a decade of competing professionally for the US Freeskiing team, she is excited to pursue a career off of the slopes. While finishing her degree, Devin also works with the US Ski and Snowboard foundation team and High West Whiskey as a Whiskey Ambassador.

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