Early-career artists from across Utah are showing work at the Bountiful Davis Art Center through Nov. 13. The Statewide Emerging Artists' Annual, a juried exhibition now in its second year, features 40 artists in three galleries at 90 N. Main St. in Bountiful.
Admission is free.
Christopher Lynn, a 2025 Utah Artist Fellow and associate professor at Brigham Young University, served as guest juror for the 2026 exhibition, according to the art center's exhibition page. Lynn is based in West Valley City.
He has held curatorial positions at SPACES in Cleveland, the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago and the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He participated as an artist in BDAC's 2024 Statewide Annual before returning as juror.
The exhibition, known as SWEAA, is open to current Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students, recent graduates, self-taught artists and those returning to art after time away, according to the BDAC website. Selected artists are eligible for unrestricted cash awards. The Best in Show winner receives a solo exhibition at BDAC the following year.
That pipeline is already visible on Main Street. Sydney Porter Williams, the 2025 Best in Show winner, is showing "Real Grief | Potential Grief" in the Annex Gallery. Porter Williams directs the Community Arts Research & Education Program and teaches art at the University of Utah. She built the installation around cropped photographs of hands from generations of her family. Medication bottles line the walls, lit from within, and a canopy of embroidered flowers hangs overhead.
The 2026 Best in Show winner will receive a solo exhibition at BDAC in 2027.
BDAC executive director Sarina Ehrgott is recruiting Utah colleges and universities to join the program as Founding Academic Partners, according to a partnership brochure published by the art center. The partnerships aim to expand cash awards, create exhibition mentorship slots for students and strengthen ties between higher education and professional gallery practice.
Through the mentorship component, students work alongside BDAC staff on artwork handling, installation, lighting and curatorial planning, the brochure states.
Founded in 1974 through a partnership between Bountiful City and the University of Utah, BDAC adopted a 2025–2028 strategic plan that lists focusing the Statewide Annual on college and emerging artists and increasing prize money among its goals, according to the plan document. Artists interested in future SWEAA exhibitions can find details and apply at BDAC.org. The application fee is $20.
Upcoming at BDAC: The Statewide Emerging Artists' Annual is on view through Nov. 13 at 90 N. Main St. in Bountiful. The gallery is free and open to the public. Visit BDAC.org for hours and upcoming events.
