In our COLLECTIVE book, a city without contemporary art just ain’t a city. That’s primarily why we’re so thrilled that we get a contemporary museum of UMOCA’s caliber. For a city the size of ours, UMOCA’s offerings are super-sized. Since 1931, it’s been a pivotal force for art education, support of local artists, and attracting national and international artists via thought-provoking exhibitions. UMOCA has a flourishing artist in residence program, hosting artists any city would be lucky to have (such as Bartholomew Ryan from the Walker Art Center, Mel Ziegler from Vanderbilt, and Robert Yoder from Seattle), and the UMOCA art truck literally brings contemporary art to schools and community venues across the state.
In our opinion, few museums are as well curated as UMOCA and as adroit as housing both local- (two galleries are devoted to local arts) and internationally-relevant work. We’re not the only ones who have taken notice, either. UMOCA is a four-time recipient of funding for the Andy Warhol Foundation, and in 2015 they won the National Endowment for the Arts’ Art Works Grant Awards. Oh, and their current exhibit, “Grandma’s Cupboard” which closes December 19th received yet another nod from the National Endowment of the Arts. Bottom line: This is a museum that, much like Salt Lake City itself, is an institution to watch. Big things are afoot, and since we at cityhomeCOLLECTIVE hold the arts near and dear, we see it as our solemn and unshakable duty to do whatever we can to keep the doors open and the creativity flowing. As promised, we’ve given you the link below to do your part and support the arts. Read. Click. Give.
