The Park City Kimball Arts Festival named 16 of 195 participating artists as the 2026 Best in Show recipients. Of those 16, three — Local Artist winner Johnny Adolphson, Emerging Artist winner Paxton Juhlin and Overall Artist winner R. Michael Wommack — had some sort of connection with the Wasatch Back. Photographer Adolphson is based in Heber City. Jewelist Juhlin grew up in Park City before moving to Salt Lake City and pastel artist Wommack, who hails from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, is an Arts Festival veteran. Hillary Gilson, left and Aldy Milliken, right, award Pennsylvania-based pastel artist R. Michael Wommack the Overall Artist Best in Show award at the 2026 Kimball Arts Festival. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “I was here 10 years ago, and I decided to come back and give it another go,” Wommack said. “It’s a huge honor (to be recognized), because it’s such a massively talented group of people, a top-notch group of artists. So this means the world to me.” Wommack’s pastels-on-paper drawings stem from memories. “These are scenes from my childhood, and they were triggered by a dream where I was swimming in pools at night,” he said. “No one I knew when I was growing up had a pool, but in my dream everyone had a pool.” The dream also inspired the color in Wommack’s works. “(To capture that) I started making drawings with my pastels, which I hadn’t used in a long time,” he said. “It’s the perfect medium. The colors are really vivid and very dreamlike.” Wommack’s first artistic influence was Charlie Brown’s creator, Charles Schulz. “I was so obsessed with ‘The Peanuts’ comic strip that I just started drawing,” he said. “I was probably 8 or 9, and everyone would look at my drawings and say, ‘Wow, you can really draw.’ So from that day forward, I started drawing. My parents tried to get me out of that lane, but it didn’t work.” Arts Festival organizers select the Best in Show judges, said Festival Director Hillary Gilson. “It’s a mix of people who are involved with the Kimball Art Center and people who are involved with the arts fest,” she said. “We like to have a mix of people who are involved in the art world — those in the gallery side of things, some who are collectors and practicing artists. Of course we also have people who are familiar with the local art scene and national and global art world. That way we get a well-rounded group of people with all of these perspectives.”  Some of the judges began their evaluations Friday night, said Aldy Milliken, Kimball Art Center executive director. “They walked around to get a feel of things and then they started taking notes (Saturday),” he said. “Some started at 10 a.m. and took the whole day, and others took five or six hours.” Best in Show recipients are automatically accepted into next year’s arts festival and don’t have to pay an application fee. Gilson also hands out Best in Show banners the recipients can display anytime they are accepted into future Kimball Arts Festivals. Juhlin, who grew up attending the festival as a kid in Park City, said the guaranteed acceptance into next year’s festival is the biggest prize. It means he has all year to work on pieces to bring. This year he was accepted off the waitlist, which only gave him about two months to “hole up” in his studio. Now he can create stress free. Adolfson, Juhlin and Wommack, who received their Best in Show nods Saturday night, also received a box of flowers, Gilson said. Aldy Milliken, left and Hillary Gilson, right, award Heber City-based photographer Johnny Adolphson the Local Artist Best in Show award at the 2026 Kimball Arts Festival. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordJohnny Adolphson, Heber City-based photographer, accepts the Local Artist Best in Show award at the 2026 Kimball Arts Festival. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordHillary Gilson, left presents Salt Lake City-based artist Paxton Juhlin the Emerging Artist Best in Show award at the 2026 Kimball Arts Festival. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordAldy Milliken, left and Hillary Gilson, right, award Salt Lake City-based artist Paxton Juhlin the Emerging Artist Best in Show award at the 2026 Kimball Arts Festival. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “These were all provided by Flower Bar Co, who did arrangements in the VIP lounge, and some of our VIPs arranged the flowers to give to these three Best in Show winners,” she said. The 2026 Park City Kimball Arts Festival Best in Show recipients Overall Artist Artist: R. Michael Wommack, drawing  Hometown: Langhorne, Pennsylvania Web: rmichaelwommack.com Local Artist Artist: Johnny Adolphson, photography Hometown: Heber City Web: johnnyadolphsonphotography.com Emerging Artist Artist: Paxton Juhlin, jewelry Hometown: Salt Lake City  Web: paxtonjuhlin.com Ceramic Artist: Randy O’Brien Hometown: Tucson, Arizona  Prior Best in Show: 2022 Web: obrienceramics.weebly.com Digital Art Artist: Bowen Ross Hometown: Buda, Texas  Web: bowenrossart.com Drawing Artist: Tessa Gibbons Hometown: Wading River, New York Web: tessagibbons.com Fiber Artist: Janvier Ngamije Hometown: Lewisville, Texas Prior Best in Show: 2024 Web: designbysociety.com Glass Artist: Jeremy Chelsea Griffith  Hometown: Murphysboro, Illinois Web: delishglass.com Jewelry  Artist: Jackson Avila  Hometown: Evergreen, Colorado Prior Best in Show: 2021 Web: etsy.com/shop/NatureStudio1 Metalwork Artist: Jay Hall Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona Prior Best in Show: 2025 Web: jayhall.art Mixed Media Artist: Dolan Geiman Hometown: Englewood, Colorado Web: dolangeiman.com Painting Artist: Taman VanScoy Hometown: Long Beach, California Prior Best in Show: 2023 Web: tamanvanscoy.com Photography Artist: Paige Whitcomb Hometown: Springfield, Missouri  Prior Best in Show: 2019, 2023 and 2024 Web: paigewhitcomb.com Printmaking Artist: Helen Gotlib  Hometown: Dexter, Michigan Prior Best in Show: 2021 Web: helengotlib.com Sculpture Artist: Yves Goyattan Hometown: Monterey, California  2023, 2024 and 2025 Web: yvesgoyatton.com Wood Artist: Thomas Tyers  Hometown: Omro, Wisconsin Web: tltcarving.com The post Kimball Arts Festival announces 2026 Best in Show recipients appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less