Feature: On the Spot
 Salt Lake's Mikell Stringham
Mikell Stringham, a Utah native, is a young entrepreneur energetically pursuing an alternative business model with her gallery-without-walls, Mondo Fine Art.
Stringham
received her B.A. in Business Marketing from the University of Utah. Passionate about art, she later moved to Italy, where she attended the Florence University of Art, studying photography, oil painting, interior design, and gallery management. Actively involved in the community, Stringham currently serves on the Utah Museum of Fine Art's Young Benefactors Executive Committee, and in the fall of 2009, she started a not-for-profit project, the International heART Exchange, that unites humanitarian organizations in an effort to connect children, on a global level, through the universal language of art.
Her for-profit art project, Mondo Fine Art, represents local, national, and international contemporary artists. The gallery has no fixed brick-and-mortar location. Instead Stringham promotes her artists with an online presence at www.mondofineart.com -- which has begun posting video interviews with its artists -- as well as at special-event exhibitions hosted by local businesses and private homes. The most recent venture was "Modern Values," a night hosted by Light Spot in Salt Lake City, featuring a panel discussion on modernism and an exhibition of works by local artists John Bell and Carlisle. The artwork remains on display and open to the public through May 22.
 What is the most memorable exhibit you've seen recently?
I was recently in New York for the Armory Show. I really liked their focus this year on contemporary artwork coming out of Berlin. But my favorite show of the week was Independent, set up in the old Dia Art Center space, where multiple international galleries and artists came together and curated a show in collaboration. It was more set up as an exhibition than a fair and featured really fresh and cutting edge contemporary works.
What is your favorite building in Utah?
The Salt Lake City Public Library - beautiful modern design with great use of space and light - I love spending time there.
If you could choose someone to paint or sculpt your portrait (living or dead) who would it be?
This is just too difficult a question! I've been fortunate to sit for a few portrait artists, and what I love most about the experience is the opportunity to get to know the artist better through their creative process. There are too many artists that I admire (both living and dead) to narrow it down to one.
What are you reading?
"The $12 Million Dollar Stuffed Shark" by Don Thompson and "I Sold Andy Warhol. (too soon)" by Richard Polsky.
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15 Bytes: About Us
Our editorial contributors this edition
Lane Bachman hitchhiked around Europe and the Balkans and did time at the Naropa Institute in Boulder Colorado (a minimum security facility), played in a series of defunct ambient funk dance bands, and is now paying for past sins in Salt Lake City.
 Simon Blundell is a Salt Lake native and has studied art, communication, journalism, design, and advertising. These filtered through the lens of photography, earned him a communication degree in photographic communication. After working with advertising and editorial clients, he returned to school where he earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA). Simon continues to explore photography and art in all its aspects. He loves music, literature, film, good food, travel, and motorcycles.
 Ehren Clark received his B.A. in Modern and Contemporary Art History and Criticism at the University of Utah and an M.A. in the art of the Renaissance at the University of Reading, UK. He currently writes for the The City Weekly, and will be teaching art history classes at Westminster College in the fall.
 Kelly Green, a Salt Lake native, first discovered photography when her parents gave her a point-n-shoot camera while traveling through Southern Utah. She was instantly hooked. She photographs in black and white and color film with 35mm and medium formats, dipping into the digital world for live music shots or 15 Bytes assignments.
 Jay Heuman, a native of Toronto, holds an MA in Art History from York University. He is the Salt Lake Art Center's Curator of Education.
 John Hughes is an award-winning artist and teacher who has been painting the landscape both in and out of the studio since 1983. He maintains a studio in Taylorsville and teaches students in private workshops and in a course at Salt Lake Community College.
 Karina Francis Jones is a mother, photographer and dancer currently living in Salt Lake City. A native east coaster, she fell in love with photography working in her Toronto high school darkroom. University took her to the west coast, where she settled and spent a few years shooting in Los Angeles. She is currently exploring the idea of movement and line by photographing dance.
 Sue Martin holds an M.A. in Theatre and has worked in public relations. As an artist, she works in watercolor, oil, and acrylic to capture Utah landscapes or the beauty of everyday objects in still life.
 Amanda Moore is an artist located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally from Cleveland, Tennessee, she received her B.A. in 1998 in English with a focus on Literature and Fiction Writing from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. She came to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah and in 2006 received her M.F.A. in Photography. Amanda now teaches as an adjunct professor at Westminster College.
 Shawn Rossiter, a native of Boston, grew up on the East Coast. He has degrees in English, French and Italian Literature. He dropped out of a Masters program in Contemporary Literature to pursue a career as an artist. He founded Artists of Utah in 2001 and is editor of its magazine, 15 Bytes.
 Kim Silcox, a native of San Francisco, is a full-time photographer and designer. She is currently working on What I Thought I Saw, a book project that challenges our perceptions of how we see people.
 Dale Thompson has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College. She loves art for its ability to challenge her pespective on everything from major life changes to everyday routines that are often overlooked. Her writing career includes work for a local theatre, journalism in Park City, and freelance contributions for various nonprofit organizations.
 Geoff Wichert has degrees in critical writing and creative nonfiction. He teaches writing at Snow College, where he also taught Art History for six years.
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Randy Hankins by Kelly Green
