A metal sculpture of horns in a grassy field.

Public Art Spotlight

The goal of our public art program is to culturally enrich public spaces throughout Utah through the Utah Percent-for-Art Act, which was passed by the Utah State Legislature in 1985. This act designates 1% of construction costs of new and/or renovated state public buildings to be added to the project for the purpose of commissioning, maintaining, and conserving site-specific art …

Three men stand on stage playing instruments.

Create In Utah, Phase 3

With relief funds provided by the Utah State Legislature, our agency has been able to provide aid to 117 additional organizations that have been affected by the loss of concerts, live theater, cultural events, and tourism through Create In Utah, Phase 3. These allocations are an investment by the legislature in Utah’s cultural community that ensure our cultural organizations have …

Social Impact Study.

38 U.S. Museums Selected for Measurement of Museum Social Impact Study

With a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, in partnership with Thanksgiving Point, has selected 38 museums from across the United States to participate in the Measurement of Museum Social Impact (MOMSI) study. These museums will study social impact in their communities, helping the Division further refine …

People sit at tables in a classroom setting while watching a presenter.

StEPs-UT Recognized with National Leadership Award of Excellence

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) recently recognized our StEPs-UT program with a National Leadership Award of Excellence. Our museums program, in partnership with Utah Humanities and Utah Division of State History, administered the StEPs-UT Jumpstart Pilot Program. This program engaged a cohort of seven small history museums in Utah over two years with training, individual mentoring, …

A laptop sits on a table with graphs on the screen.

Website Accessibility Project

Our agency is committed to enhancing the accessibility of all our services. A key part of this is the accessibility of our website. To that end, we’ve initiated a website accessibility project in an effort to increase the ability of all individuals to access our digital resources and services. Leading this effort is Will Bubenik, a part-time addition to our …

Students and legislators stand on a staircase in the Utah State Capitol.

SENATE ART COMPETITION AWARDS NIGHT

On April 30, 2021, the finalists of the Senate Art Competition were given their awards at a reception at the Utah State Capitol. Although COVID-19 prevented the awards ceremony from being held during the session on the Senate floor, UA&M and the Senate were happy to have the opportunity this night to honor those students who shared their talents and …

Governor and Mrs. Cox stand on a set of stairs talking to a group standing with face masks on.

2021 Artist Reveal at the Governor’s Mansion

On April 28, Governor and Mrs. Cox celebrated living artists whose works were selected for display at the Governor’s Mansion. Artists and their families were invited to an evening event at the Mansion for a guided tour and artwork reveal. As the tour moved through the Mansion, each artist was given the opportunity to speak directly about their specific work …

Photos of three weave patters.

‘Navajo Children: Weaving the Future’ On Display at State Capitol

“Navajo Children: Weaving the Future,” from our Traveling Exhibitions Program, is now on display on the fourth floor of the Utah State Capitol.  This collection, on loan from the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program, showcases rugs and blankets weaved by talented Navajo children living in the Navajo Nation. While handmade rugs and blankets have always been an important part of Native American culture …

Musicians standing on a stage in the distance with colorful lighting.

AUDIENCE INTENT TO RETURN TO LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

The Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement (formerly Department of Heritage & Arts), Salt Lake County Arts & Culture, and the Utah Cultural Alliance commissioned Y2 Analytics to conduct a survey measuring consumer confidence and willingness to return to live arts, culture, entertainment, and events following the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of Utahns are currently very comfortable visiting stores …

Two women wearing black aprons and white face masks stand in an art storage facility holding a painting of a young brown-skinned girl in a pink dress with a piece of cake.

‘Sunday Best with Cake’

As a result of the earthquake that rocked northern Utah last March, the racking system in our ArtHaus storage facility was badly damaged. In the first few days following the earthquake, we remained uncertain about the status of the State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection and if any pieces had been completely destroyed — thankfully, none were. During …

A white man wearing a dark grey shirt and white apron with short blond hair sits making pottery.

UA&M Secures New Funding for Creative Aging

The Utah Division of Arts & Museums (UA&M) recently secured new funding from a national grant program to advance creative aging programs for older adults in Utah.  Recognizing that older adults have many contributions to make to their communities — but that they often face ageism and isolation and have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — UA&M sought funding from …

Framed artworks are neatly displayed on vertical storage racks.

New Storage System at ArtHaus Post-Earthquake

Last year, northern Utah experienced an earthquake that resulted in damage to our racking system that stores pieces from the State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection. About 70 percent of the collection is stored at our art storage facility, loving dubbed the ArtHaus, and at the time of the earthquake, there were close to 900 pieces of artwork …