Roots of Knowledge celebrates five years

The artwork of the Bingham Gallery, also known as Roots of Knowledge, has been lighting the halls of the Fulton Library for five years to date. 

At ten feet high, the stained glass art piece stretches 200 feet in length, including 80 window panes, 60,000+ individual pieces taking 12 years to complete, according to the RoK website. “The purpose of Roots of Knowledge was to create an unprecedented work of art that encapsulates the spirit of learning and inspire people to see it to create, invent and discover things that can benefit the world,” said Trevor Peterson, the current RoK curator, and one of the artists who collaborated on the project. 

“The imagery in the windows are examples of this legacy of knowledge and wisdom that we can hopefully contribute to in our own time,” said Peterson. The project was created by a group of artists from Holdman Studios, a stained glass art studio located in Lehi. Depicted in the artwork is the history of humanity, spanning from the days of the “Wooly mammoths and cavemen to the iPhone,” according to the gallery website. The RoK includes pictures of different events and people who shaped human history, including the creation of the planets, to the renaissance era, leading up to modern human history. 

Since the unveiling of the RoK, not only is it appreciated by those on campus and in the community for its artistry, the gallery is used as a venue to host different events for the school and community. One recurring event held in the gallery is the Roots of Knowledge Speaker Series, which includes lectures from different scholars at Utah Valley University. The gallery was also a venue for its own five year celebration, held November 4 – 18, 2021. 

“During the 5th anniversary in November, because of all the esoteric and trivial content portrayed in the windows, special games for prizes were held, in which guests went on hunts to find special items in RoK, such as pop culture references and historical artifacts embedded into the glass panels,” said Peterson. 

Events to celebrate the anniversary took place every Thursday in November, excluding Thanksgiving. A few special guests were featured as speakers during the celebration, including Tom and Gayle Holdman, the founders of Holdman Studios, and President Astrid S. Tuminez. 

The gallery is free to view, open for walk-in during the Fulton Library Hours. Self guided tours are available, along with guided tours that can be requested on the gallery website.