The Statewide Emerging Artists Exhibition (SWEAA) is a juried showcase celebrating the innovation, talent, and vision of Utah’s early-career artists. This year, BDAC is proud to present SWEAA under the curatorial direction of Jorge Rojas—a multidisciplinary artist, independent curator, and museum educator based in Salt Lake City.

Rojas brings decades of experience across contemporary art, performance, and museum programming, having worked with institutions such as the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Museo del Barrio, and Queens Museum. His curatorial practice often explores layered cultural narratives, accessibility, and the role of art in public life.

With SWEAA 2025, Rojas lends his expertise to highlight a diverse array of emerging voices across the state. The exhibition presents a dynamic range of mediums and perspectives, offering a glimpse into the future of Utah’s creative landscape.

2025 Artists

The Statewide Emerging Artists’ Annual (SWEAA) spotlights the vision, innovation, and talent of Utah’s early-career artists. Curated this year by juror Jorge Rojas, SWEAA affirms BDAC’s mission to support artists at pivotal points in their careers—providing visibility, professional recognition, and a platform for artistic risk-taking.

This year’s exhibition reflects the remarkable breadth of Utah’s creative future, spanning painting, sculpture, video, installation, fiber art, and beyond.

Award Winners

Best in Show. 

This artists is invited to have a solo exhibition in 2026

Sydney Porter Williams – Awakening (Installation)

First Place Awards 

• Sculpture: Melanie Fischer – Papers

• Painting: Quinn Wride – Order of the Arrow

• Installation: Maria Samuelson – Untitled

• Video: Crystal Gonzalez Callison – Spanglitch

• Drawing: Isabella Aycock – A Study of Vaingloriousness

Honorable Mentions

• Addie Harmon – The Forest (Video-performance)

• Rod Heiss – Is There Still Hope (Painting)

• Emily Hawkins – Untitled (White Sleeves) (Installation)

• Allison McKinney – Beyond Control (Digital Photography)

• Trevor Dahl – For Whom Does the Grail Serve? (Painting)

• Crystal Gonzalez Callison – Mash Mash: Absence and Presence (Sculpture)

• Michael Hirshon – The Tailor (Drawing)

• Payden Mouritsen – Mother (Installation)

• Kaneez Zehra Hassan – Matka (Ceramic)

• Phillip Brown – An Unanswered Question (Drawing)

• Adalynne Ellsworth – Coming Together (Painting)

• Allison McKinney – archetype for our shadow (Mixed Media)

• Phillip Brown – How will we carry these lives, so many flowers cut still in bloom? (Mixed Media)

• Taylor Wright – Crowned (Painting)

• Ana Castro – Fragments We Keep (Fiber Art)

• Pablo Cruz-Ayala – Generational Wealth (Mixed Media)

• Annie Wang – Ruby (Painting)

• Jennifer Farley – The Forgotten Canopy (Intaglio)

• Olivia Dawson – Performance Issues (Ceramic)

• Rosanna Lynne Welter – Glyphs (Fiber Art)

• Laura Carroll – Plunge (Digital Media)

• Phoebe Davenport – the fifth left intercostal space (or approximately where you can find me) (Fashion Design)

• Tiffany Hunter – 1998/2025 (Mixed Media)

• Mors Smith – Show us Your Genitals (Ceramic)

• Emily White Tousley – Interior-Exterior Parts 1, 3, and 5 (Mixed Media)

• Isabella Aycock – I was Batman Three Years in a Row for Halloween (Drawing)

Accepted Artists

• Crystal Gonzalez Callison

• Isabella Aycock

• Maria Samuelson

• Melanie Fischer

• Quinn Wride

• Sydney Porter Williams

• Abby Ferre

• Adalynne Ellsworth

• Addie Harmon

• Allison McKinney

• Ana Castro

• Anna Everhart

• Annie Wang

• Benjamin Childress

• Camie Derfler

• Connor Weight

• Emily Hawkins

• Emily White Tousley

• Emmaline Russell

• Gabrielle Oman

• Greg Schlesinger

• Heather Olsen

• Helaman Hernandez Salas

• Jeanette Lukens

• Jennifer Farley

• Jeremiah Parkin

• Jillian Elder

• Kaneez Zehra Hassan

• Laura Carroll

• Lindsey Western

• Mallory Sanders

• Margot Shepherd

• Michael Hirshon

• Mike Erikson

• Mors Smith

• Nicholas Ioan Lazaroae

• Olivia Dawson

• Pablo Cruz-Ayala

• Pamela Beach

• Payden Mouritsen

• Phillip Brown

• Phoebe Davenport

• Rebeca R. Ozaeta

• Rod Heiss

• Rosanna Lynne Welter

• Ryan Allred

• Shannon Bernard

• Taylor Wright

• Tiffany Hunter

• Trevor Dahl

• Whitney Staheli

• Zae Kunkel