On October 19, 2018, the Utah Division of Arts & Museums celebrated 40 years in its main offices, located in Salt Lake City’s historic Glendinning Home at 617 East South Temple. Now, after 44 wonderful years, our agency will be moving from the Glendinning Home. To read more about the 40th-anniversary celebration of the agency’s tenure in 2018 – including …
Over the last two years, our staff has been busy advancing the museum social impact work piloted in Utah. In partnership with Thanksgiving Point Institute, the Utah Division of Arts & Museums received an IMLS National Leadership Grant for the Measurement of Museum Social Impact (MOMSI) project. MOMSI is currently working to measure social impact at 38 museums across the …
The Utah Division of Arts & Museums is pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Bickmore as Utah Poet Laureate. The Utah Poet Laureate is a Governor-appointed advocate for literature and the arts throughout the state who presents in communities, schools, libraries, and public events. The position was established in 1997. Bickmore follows Paisley Rekdal, who was Utah Poet Laureate …
Marie Desrochers currently serves as the Preservation Outreach Coordinator for our division. In this role, she has launched the Utah Collections Preservation Program, which provides training for small collecting institutions across the state. This work is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and it strives to increase preventive conservation knowledge for all heritage stewards. Marie graduated in 2021 …
We’re delighted to announce that our Breaking Barriers project was honored by Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall with a 2022 Mayor’s Artists Award. The award was presented in conjunction with the Utah Arts Festival on Friday, June 24 at 7 p.m. on the Festival Stage at Library and Washington Square. This award was created in 1992 to honor artists …
Our Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts is proud to present “Japantown in the Heart of Salt Lake City,” an exhibition running from April 29 through June 30. Focused on Salt Lake City’s Japantown, this exhibition includes:• Japanese American arts and crafts• A brief history of Japanese Americans in Utah• Information about the current Japantown Street Redesign Project
Reilly Jensen is the Museum Field Services Coordinator at the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, where she supports community-focused projects and initiatives serving 250+ museums across the state of Utah. Reilly brings a decade of experience working as an archaeologist, educator, freelance scientific illustrator, and cultural heritage consultant, including a portfolio of work from across the Arabian Peninsula and …
Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal ended her five-year term this month. Her service to our state has been wonderful, and our agency would like to thank her for her extraordinary work throughout her term. She wrote a terrific post on her social media accounts recently, summing up what she did while she was poet laureate. Check it out below. From …
We’re delighted to welcome Amanda Shepherd, our new Communications Intern. She holds a master’s degree in strategic communication from Westminster College. Amanda is also a multi-disciplinary creative consultant with a focus on creative content and design. She is passionate about working with entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits to strategically solve their challenges and elevate their brands to fulfill their missions. …
As we prepare to say farewell to Jim Glenn, our current Visual Arts Manager and head of our Public Art and Design Arts programs, we are excited to announce that Hannah Barrett will be joining our team as our new Public Art Coordinator. Hannah has been working in the Utah arts community for the last eight years, most recently as …
We are proud to announce that our Museums Field Services Manager, Emily Johnson, has been selected to participate in the American Association for State and Local History’s annual History Leadership Institute. The Institute is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious leadership program for professionals in the history museum field and each year hosts a seminar which enhances the skills of …
The Utah Folk Arts program is proud to present a new series of videos introducing several outstanding traditional artists whose work is included in the State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection. These individuals exemplify the critical relationship between the role of the culture keeper and the artist in a community. They have dedicated their vision and creativity to …