The GIVING EXHIBITION: Artists of Historic Helper and Utah – 5 October 2024

ARTIST FOCUS: Ben Steele, Recipient of the 2023 Governor’s Mansion Artist Award, and Melanie Price-Steele

MURRAY, UT, UNITED STATES, September 13, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Helper Project’s annual fundraiser, the GIVING EXHIBITION, will be held from 2-7PM on Saturday, 5 October 2024 in Historic Helper, Utah, at Adams Fine Arts Gallery, 115 S Main St, Helper, UT 84526. To RSVP email Michelle Sulley @ michelle@thehelperproject.net.

Two of the dozens of artists represented at the GIVING EXHIBITION are Ben Steele and Melanie Price-Steele. Ben and Mel own the Beg, Borrow and Steele Art Company, a store and gallery in Helper.

ARTIST FOCUS

BEN STEELE - Recipient of the prestigious 2023 Governor’s Mansion Artist Award, watch the video below

“Ben was born in Kennewick, WA in 1977 and relocated to Utah in his teens, graduating from University of Utah in 2002 with a BFA in painting and drawing. He continued his artistic education at the Helper Workshops under the instruction of David Dornan and Paul Davis, moving to Helper, UT for a multi-year internship with Dornan. He has been living and working in the small coal and railroad town ever since with his wife, Melanie, and their three sons.”

“His work can be found in many personal and corporate collections, including Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, actor Steve Carell, Bumble founder and former CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, Shark Tank panel member Robert Herjavec, sportscaster Dan Patrick, Academy Award-winning film and television producer Michael Sugar, golfer Fred Couples, Raymond James Financial, Zions Bank Art Collection, State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection, the San Francisco Giants Executive Offices, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, and in multiple Delta Airline Sky Club lounges throughout the US.”

MELANIE PRICE-STEELE

Melanie was born in 1981 in Idaho Falls, ID. She graduated from Utah State University in 2002 with a degree in Print Journalism/Communications and English. Soon after, she relocated to Helper, UT and the visual arts soon worked their way into her creative process.

Her work is an accumulation of words, symbols and iconography that come together to form a cohesive whole. With an emphasis on the commercial rhetoric of our billboard society, Price-Steele investigates how the marketing and advertising we see every day becomes a subtle part of our identity. Her paintings combine hand-cut, gessoed canvas with thinly layered enamel and/or acrylic with oil paint, abstracting the familiar into a subdued noise that both enhances and detracts from our daily lives.

The GIVING EXHIBITION will include the paintings and artwork of dozens of nationally and internationally renowned Helper and Utah based artists. In addition to sales at the event in Helper, online sales will start on 23 September and go through 11 October at https://www.thehelperproject.net/

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of paintings will be donated to The Helper Project and will be used for historic renovation, economic rejuvenation, cultural and art projects/events and scholarships for students in Helper and Carbon County.

ABOUT THE HELPER PROJECT:

Helper, Utah was once a thriving coal mining community filled with 157 shops, restaurants, and bars owned by one of 16 nationalities represented in the town. It was named for the “helper” engines that made it possible for the trains to climb the steep grade through Price Canyon to Soldier Summit at 7,747’. However, with the downturn in coal production, hard times and accompanying problems creeped into Helper and Carbon County.

In recent years, Helper has evolved into a flourishing art, commercial and recreational community. Longtime citizens, dozens of artists and newcomers dedicated to Helper have ensured the history of the town is preserved – it’s evident when you walk down Main Street. The Helper Project works to support the historic, economic, and cultural needs of the citizens.

The mission of The Helper Project is simple: To foster revitalization and historic preservation, encourage economic development, promote cultural connections for the city and citizens of historic Helper, Utah and provide financial support for educational opportunities to the youth of this vibrant community.

Donate to The Helper Project, go to https://www.thehelperproject.net/donate/

KEITH G BATEMAN
Keith
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Ben Steele, Recipient of the 2023 Governor’s Mansion Artist Award