awards for arts achievement

Beverley Taylor Sorenson has developed a rich legacy of love and support for arts education in Utah. Her work with area schools has helped develop a renewed effort to ensure Utah children have a complete education that includes sequential K-6 arts education.

Growing up, she participated in dance and music training. As an adult, she and her husband, the late biotechnology pioneer James LeVoy Sorenson, have been ardent supporters of both the arts and education through the family’s Legacy Foundation and in other philanthropic efforts. She graduated from the University of Utah with a teaching certificate and taught kindergarten in a Quaker school in New York. As a young woman, she also served as the children’s music coordinator for her church.

During a visit she made to Lincoln Elementary School in Salt Lake City in 1995, she saw the dramatic impact a quality visual arts program made on one of the most troubled schools in the area. She saw first-hand the bridges it created between students of different cultures, religions, and economic backgrounds and how the arts significantly increased learning in other subjects, decreased behavior problems, and increased cooperation and self-esteem among the students.

This experience, coupled with a very personal concern for a grandson who was struggling in school, motivated Ms. Sorenson to dedicate her time and resources to launching Art Works for Kids. She and a small team of professional arts educators started with just six schools and a K-2 program. In 2002, her lobbying efforts secured public funds to help expand the number of schools the program could serve. When funding stopped after just one year due to budget shortfalls, she stepped in and fully funded it herself.

In 2008, the Utah State Legislature funded the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, which brings the Art Works for Kids integrated teaching model to classrooms across the state. In addition to providing instruction in elementary schools, the program funds teacher training programs at colleges and universities; pays for arts supplies, equipment, and materials; and supports ongoing research to ensure quality implementation and results.

Ms. Sorenson continues to be a tireless advocate for quality arts education in Utah.