What's the BIG IDEA?

The Arts Bring Us Together in Conversation.

SVMoA takes a unique multidisciplinary approach to programming. Three or four times annually BIG IDEA projects ask timely questions and investigate them through art, music, conversation, and workshops. We believe that by engaging with art through a variety of mediums, we can transform our understanding not only of the arts, but also of history, culture, place, and even ourselves. You can participate in a single event or go deeper, exploring the idea through different lenses.

Part of a Sun Valley Museum of Art BIG IDEA project

About BIG IDEAS

The arts create dialogue, build connections and help us define our place in the world. Much of SVMoA’s programming is built around themes, or BIG IDEAS, that are relevant to the world today. Topics can be serious or playful but are designed to engage the entire community and get everyone talking. BIG IDEA projects are multidisciplinary in nature—connecting visual art exhibitions, film, lectures, music and classes. BIG IDEAS are often developed in collaboration with other local non-profit organizations and businesses, using expertise from all avenues to explore a subject in depth.

Current BIG IDEA Project

Dams: Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

August 26 - December 30, 2022

Coinciding with renewed dialogue about the possibility of breaching dams throughout the Columbia River Basin, this BIG IDEA project offers a con-versation about the impact of dams on Idaho and the American West. For more than a century, dams have shaped Idaho’s landscapes, ecosystems and economies. At this historic moment, the project considers the history of damming in the Pacific Northwest, the effects of dams on the region, and a reimagined future for rivers and the life dependent on them in the American West.

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