36th ANNUAL SEARS INVITATIONAL ART SHOW AND SALE

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February 19 – April 2, 2023

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SPECIAL HOURS: Mon – Sat 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

ART PREVIEW: Saturday February 18, 4:00 – 5:30 pm For Gala Ticket Holders Only

GALA OPENING RECEPTION & PRESALE: Saturday February 18, 7:00 pm

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This year Utah Tech celebrates the 36th Annual Robert N. and Peggy Sears Invitational Art Show and Sale. This special exhibit opens every year on the Saturday of President’s Day weekend in February. The show boasts a variety of representational art including landscape, portrait, western, and impressionistic pieces. Each year new artists are invited to submit images of their artwork for consideration of an invitation to participate. Upon acceptance to the show, each artist is invited to submit two original recent pieces of artwork. Recognized artists continue to participate and find their way in the world of art. Collectors and investors vie for their artwork each year. The show and sale have an impressive history of success. This is the Sears only fundraiser. This is the show not to miss!

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UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY ART DEPARTMENT SHOWCASE

 

April 21 – May 5, 2023

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ARTIST RECEPTION: April 21, 6  – 8 pm

In the Eccles Grand Foyer: Featured Art Department Faculty Member: Brain Astle

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The Art Department of UT celebrates this annual exhibit to showcase the year’s work of their finest students. The art students experience the benefits of learning to present themselves and their artwork in a professional manner and to improve their portfolios. This show is always a favorite.

 

 

THE SEARS LEGACY

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June 16 – August 25, 2023

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ARTIST RECEPTION: June 16, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

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Featuring Artwork from the Robert and Peggy Sears Collection & Past Invitational Purchase Prize Winners

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Bob and Peggy Sears’ passion for art helped build the museum that now bears their name. In 1988, at Bob’s urging, Dixie State College (now Utah Tech University) hosted the first annual Invitational Art Show and Sale. The purpose of the Invitational was to expose Southern Utah residents to top art from across Utah and the region, and to raise funds for a gallery space on campus for the visual arts. 

Each year since 1988, the museum purchased one work of art from the Invitation, the Purchase Prize Winner. As the number of Purchase Prize works of art grew, the burgeoning art collection needed an appropriate home. This dovetailed with Bob and Peggy’s ultimate dream, the creation of an art museum on campus.

Upon Bob’s death in 1997, the family donated a large part of their private art collection to the college. In 2004, Bob and Peggy’s goal became a reality with the construction of the Eccles Fine Art Center, which houses the Robert N. and Peggy B. Sears Art Museum. The gallery that bears their name now hosts the annual Invitational show they initiated, and holds two prestigious collections, the Sears family collection and the Purchase Prize winners.