07/23/2026
Our friends at The Exponent II have several sessions this year at the Sunstone Symposium that are each well worth your time. Whether it's evocative art, spiritual medicine, dramatic history, garment discourse, or gothic polygamy horror, we've got something for you! How about all of the above? Don't mind if we do.
Heading to the Sunstone Symposium next week? Be sure to register and add these sessions featuring Exponent II artists, editors, and bloggers to your schedule!
The event will be held July 30 – Aug 2, 2026, at the University of Utah at the A. Ray Olpin Student Union, 200 S Central Campus Dr, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah.
🗓️ Friday, July 31
10:25 AM – 11:55 AM | Saltair
121. From Cover Art to Cultural Commentary: Feminist Artists of Exponent II
Speakers: Megan Gielman, Morgan Gilmore, Rocio Cisneros, Lisa DeLong, Melissa Tshikamba, Laura Erekson, Susan Krueger Barber
About: For over fifty years, Exponent II has documented Mormon feminist thought—not only through essays and theology, but through visual art. Led by Exponent II’s art editor, Rocio Cisneros, this roundtable brings together artists featured in Exponent II to explore how their work engages Mormon visual culture. Presentations and projected images will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A.
4:25 PM – 5:25 PM | Panorama East
165. MMHA Presents: Mormon Women and Intergenerational Trauma: Reclaiming and Transforming LDS Culture into Spiritual Anti-venom
Speaker: Heather Sundahl
About: An examination of the mental health impact of patriarchal, high-demand faith traditions on women. This session highlights how cultural messages within Mormonism can become internalized and passed from mother to daughter, shaping identity, worthiness, emotional expression, and the body’s sense of safety.
🗓️ Saturday, August 1
12:20 PM – 12:50 PM | Saltair
231. Breaking Script: How Two Actresses from Brigham Young’s Theater Troupe Became His Nemeses
Speaker: April Young-Bennett
About: This session explores the intertwined lives of Sarah Ann Sutton Cooke and Ann Eliza Young—two accomplished actresses of the Deseret Dramatic Association whose paths led into direct conflict with Brigham Young. Their stories illuminate the power of women’s networks, the politics of early Utah, and the unexpected ways art, faith, and resistance converged in the lives of two nineteenth-century women.
4:25 PM – 5:25 PM | West Ballroom
262. Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret
Speakers: Nancy Ross, Larissa Kindred
About: A discussion by co-authors of Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret (2026) on the many ways different bodies experience garments. This panel explores the lived experience of garments through the lenses of garment history, sexual health, neurodiversity, and race.
5:55 PM – 6:55 PM | Saltair
271. Haunted by Polygamy: Writing Mormon Women’s History as Gothic Horror
Speakers: Katie Ludlow Rich, Linda Hamilton
About: Beyond careful memoirs and uplifting narratives, what dark secrets lurk in the history of Mormon women? Join novelist Linda Hamilton (The Fourth Wife, 2026)* and scholar Katie Ludlow Rich (Fifty Years of Exponent II, 2024)* for a conversation about how Gothic horror tropes—like haunted houses and atmospheric dread—can illuminate the hidden history and institutional harms experienced by women in patriarchal structures.
*Copies of these books will be available to purchase at the Benchmark Books table in the vendor’s hall.
If you make it to any of these sessions, be sure to drop by, say hello, and join the conversation! Which of these panels are you most excited to attend? Let us know in the comments below!
https://exponentii.org/announcement/exponent-ii-at-the-2026-sunstone-symposium/
