Student-run podcast pushes for Art History minor

Published on i-Tunes U as well as on blogspot.com, the podcast has continued to gain art-history-interested listeners since its beginning in August 2011.

“Our listeners have continued to go up in increasing numbers and have never really had a drop-off,” said Megan Flox-Lambert, a philosophy major and Arts and Facts podcast member.

So far, creators of the podcast have shared their learning experience with listeners around the world, including 5,310 subscribers on i-Tunes U and 21,218 downloads. Chloe Harris, a podcaster and photography major, said the most hits to the Arts and Facts blog come from the UK, Australia and Italy.

The podcast’s founding was based on wanting to do something where people interested in art history “can build something together, and it’s an active learning experience,” Harris said.

“I think the school knows more about us now,” art student Julia Allen said. “We recently got invited to a VIP opening at the Woodbury Art Museum last semester. People are starting to take us seriously.”

When considering whether Arts and Facts could work as campus or local radio, Flox-Lambert said she feels like modern media is going to a place where people want to listen on their own terms.

“What’s appealing about a podcast is that you can listen to it whenever you want,” Flox-Lambert said.

Although there is currently no degree at UVU for art history, Flox-Lambert said the waitlist usually fills up for art history classes with sometimes 25 students on the waitlist.

Such enthusiasm in art history has lead to development of an art history minor at UVU, however, the minor will likely not start officially until fall, if everything is finalized.

With news of the Art History and Photography Study Abroad Program being awarded 8th place for Short-Term Programs in Abroad101’s Study Abroad rankings, art history at UVU is steadily gaining more support.

According to Flox-Lambert, once professors are established in the art department, the university could eventually provide art history as a major program.

In the meantime, podcaster Lauren Harding said “it’s just a matter of paperwork.”

Harding, in the absence of an art history program, is completing an integrated studies program with the combination of a classic studies and art history.

In the future, Harding said the group would like the School of the Arts to be more involved with the podcast.