From Artist to Juror: Christopher Lynn Joins BDAC’s 2026 Statewide Emerging Artists’ Annual

An emerging artist does not need someone to predict the future of their career. They need meaningful opportunities to have their work seen, considered, and placed into conversation with the larger arts community.

That is the purpose of the Bountiful Davis Art Center’s Statewide Emerging Artists’ Annual—and why the role of the guest juror is so important.

For the 2026 exhibition, BDAC is pleased to welcome Christopher Lynn as guest juror. An interdisciplinary artist, curator, writer, and educator, Lynn brings a breadth of experience that spans artistic practice, academic teaching, institutional leadership, and contemporary curatorial work.

A Perspective Shaped by Many Roles

Lynn lives and works in West Valley City, Utah, and currently serves as Associate Professor of Historical, Critical, and Cultural Studies in Art at Brigham Young University. His artwork has been presented nationally and internationally at venues including Kunsthalle Below in Germany, the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in South Korea, Art Book Fair Basel in Switzerland, Southern Utah Museum of Art, Finch Lane Gallery, and the Rio Gallery. In 2025, he was named a Utah Artist Fellow in Visual Arts, an award recognizing artistic excellence and supporting the continued development of artists’ professional careers.

His recent artistic projects move among installation, sound, video, photography, drawing, and digital media. This interdisciplinary practice gives Lynn direct insight into the many forms contemporary art can take—and makes him particularly well suited to consider an exhibition that welcomes work in media ranging from painting and sculpture to performance, installation, fiber, video, and new media.

Lynn also brings significant curatorial and organizational experience. He has served as gallery director for the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, assistant curator for galleries and museums at DePauw University, and executive director of both SPACES in Cleveland and the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His curatorial work has included projects with SPRING/BREAK Los Angeles and the Journal for Transnational American Studies, while his writing has appeared in publications focused on contemporary art, criticism, and education. Brigham Young University’s Department of Art notes that he teaches courses in historical, cultural, and critical studies.

Together, these roles allow Lynn to approach artwork from several directions: as a maker, an educator, a curator, a writer, and an experienced institutional leader.

A Continuing Connection with BDAC

This is not Lynn’s first connection to Bountiful Davis Art Center. In 2024, he was among the artists selected to participate in BDAC’s Statewide Annual exhibition.

His return as the 2026 guest juror reflects the kind of interconnected arts community BDAC is working to strengthen—one in which artists participate, contribute expertise, encounter one another’s work, and help create new opportunities for the artists who follow.

As guest juror, Lynn will select the artists featured in the 2026 Statewide Emerging Artists’ Annual and identify three outstanding works to receive unrestricted cash awards. The artist selected for Best in Show will also be offered a solo exhibition at BDAC in 2027, providing an opportunity to develop and present a more substantial body of work in a professional gallery setting.

More Than a Selection Process

A juried exhibition is often understood primarily through its outcome: which artists are selected and which works receive awards. But the juror’s role carries significance beyond those decisions.

For an emerging artist, having work reviewed by an established professional can be an important point of contact with the broader field. It places the work before someone who understands artistic practice as well as the curatorial, academic, and institutional contexts in which art circulates.

Lynn’s own career reflects the many ways an artist can contribute to that field. He has made and exhibited artwork, written about contemporary practice, taught developing artists, directed arts organizations, and created opportunities for artists through curatorial work. That perspective aligns closely with SWEAA’s purpose: not simply to showcase promising work, but to connect emerging artists with the people, institutions, and professional experiences that can help sustain a creative life.

Building Utah’s Creative Future

The 2026 Statewide Emerging Artists’ Annual is open to current BFA and MFA students and artists who have had five or fewer solo exhibitions. The exhibition recognizes that emerging status is not defined by age or by a single path. Artists may be students or recent graduates, self-taught, returning to their practices after significant gaps, or building careers through less traditional routes.

What they share is a vital stage of development: a period of experimentation, ambition, and discovery in which meaningful visibility can make a lasting difference.

The 2026 exhibition will be on view at Bountiful Davis Art Center from September 11 through November 13. The opening reception will be held Friday, September 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., with awards announced at 7:00 p.m.

By inviting Christopher Lynn to serve as guest juror, BDAC connects Utah’s emerging artists with a professional whose career bridges artistic practice, education, curatorial leadership, and critical inquiry. His participation strengthens SWEAA as both an exhibition and an incubator—creating space for artists to be recognized for the work they are making now while building connections that can support what comes next.