By J. Attridge, UMFA communications coordinator
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is an incredible source for accessible educational and art-making opportunities. Some of the work the UMFA does can be easily seen on the event calendar or inside the Museum itself, but some of the Museum’s work is less visible. From the work of the curatorial team, to the collections team, to the learning and engagement team, and beyond the Museum’s work helps bring art to everyone and supports artists at every age and stage. The L&E team visits classrooms and provides virtual and in-person field trips for students. The curators like Emily Lawhead support extraordinary emerging artists with salt exhibitions. Artists and arts educators at the UMFA provide digital resources, organize valuable workshops for artists 55 and better, coordinate tours, and host valuable cultural events like film screenings, performances, and more!
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
― Pablo Picasso
Many of us can remember a time when our hands were small and full of clay or crayons. These formative years in childhood are an important time for us to cultivate skills and interests. When young people show interest in the arts, it is important to encourage them. Regardless of whether or not a child will grow up to be a professional artist, drawing helps children reach milestones in hand-eye coordination, sensitivity, and expression. Without encouragement, young people may stop drawing by age 13. The UMFA takes its role in encouraging the next generation of artists seriously (well, not deadly seriously, art is fun)! But we care deeply about making art accessible to everyone by providing programming and resources to boost young artists’ development.
Every third Saturday and every first Wednesday at the UMFA is free. On Third Saturdays there are always free art-making activities in the classroom geared towards families and children. Additionally, our very own Virginia Cathrall also has developed Family Backpacks to help make the traditional, adult-oriented galleries more fun and accessible for children and families! These backpacks are available for check out free of charge to anyone visiting the Museum. Each unique backpack contains hands-on and close-looking activities focused on individual art objects and the cultures they represent. This resource provides a more compelling array of hands-on materials and multisensory activities than traditional paper and pencil family guides.
For artists of any age who want to take their art making out into the world, the Museum also provides programs in the community! This summer UMFA educators like Virginia Catherall will be at schools, libraries, state parks, and the Utah Arts Festival leading workshops weaving mini rugs, making torn-paper landscapes, taking nature impressions to make pendants, creating beaded jewelry, Wixárika yarn painting, and more! The great outdoors isn’t for everyone though, if you prefer the comfort of your home, Third Saturday Online activities allow you to explore portraiture, printmaking, weaving, puppetry, and more right without leaving your kitchen table!
“Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
Supporting young artists means also supporting their teachers and mentors! The UMFA knows that educators are super-duper-very-incredibly important, and we are so proud of the work we do to support them and provide them with resources. If you are an educator, thank you for your work and the investment you make in the children and artists you help. We have resources for you! Sign up for a once a semester email that drops field trips, lesson plans, Art-Break videos, events offering USBE credit and relicensure hours right into your in-box! Relicensure points are available at most events, learn more about professional development opportunities. There is also a treasure trove of lesson plans for k-12 age groups on a wide range of topics.
The Museum provides online resources and virtual field trips, UMFA educators visit schools across Utah, and docents lead field trips in the Museum. In addition to downloadable lesson plans and traditional field trips the Museum offers a number of special programs like Creative Leaps: Inspirations from Contemporary Art and Dance, afterschool programs, and workshops!
“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Art isn’t only for kids or professionals—art is for everyone! No matter our age or our formal education we can all be students of life and of the arts. The UMFA values the ties we have with academics at the University of Utah and life-long learners across the state. Special events like offer free opportunities to connect with other artists and learn new skills! Each semester Drop-in Drawing Disco events bring in experts to teach workshops, snacks to enjoy, and a bopping playlist to drive inspiration. Lectures from experts offer new insights into art history, conservation, contemporary art, and more! Special events like Art + Wellness, Sight and Sound, community celebrations, and many others invite you to dive deeper into history and artistry on view in the UMFA galleries. Keep an eye on the event calendar for opportunities to stoke your creative flame!
“There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it.”
― Henry Moore
Art and community is important at any age, but can be especially important for people 55 and better. The UMFA’s Creative Aging programs, led by Laura Sharp Wilson, offer opportunities to learn from expert artists, explore new skills, and meet other artists. Whether it’s picking up a paintbrush or taking the opportunity to draw, we know that participating in the arts makes our lives healthier and richer. These free workshops include themes like ceramics, mandalas, plein air painting, sculpture, textile art, and more!
“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.”
― Charles Horton Cooley
As an American Alliance of Museum (AAM) accredited institution the Museums follows strict ethical and technical guidelines to collect, conserve, and protect precious cultural artifacts and preserve them for future generations. In 1972 the UMFA was the first university museum west of the Mississippi to be accredited by AAM. (Pretty cool if you ask us!) The UMFA is home to contemporary and ancient art objects alike, and part of the Museum’s mission is to support emerging artists. Special salt exhibitions are part of that mission. salt is an ongoing exhibition series that showcases work by emerging artists from around the world. The series aims to reflect the global impact of contemporary art today, providing rich opportunity to engage with local, regional, national, and international artists who are driving contemporary artistic practice.
salt emphasizes collaboration with artists early in their careers—the exhibitions are often artists’ first in a museum, their first in the American West, or their first in the United States. With the publication of an accompanying catalogue, salt also initiates and extends critical scholarship that supports artists’ ongoing practices. salt 16: Arleene Correa Valencia features a new series of portraits that capture the complex experience of migration across the Mexico-United States border. The figures are embroidered and painted on handmade Amate, a traditional paper made with tree bark by expert artists and collaborators in Mexico. Each portrait includes reflective fabrics and discarded clothing that closely mimic original family photographs, stitching together the story of Correa Valencia’s family over the past three generations.
The Museum’s responsibility as stewards of cultural treasures has likewise motivated on-going efforts by the Museum to reform the way ancient cultural artifacts are presented. The Museum’s responsibility to support artists includes ancient artists as well as the future artists who will be inspired by these ancestral objects. As part of these efforts, a work group comprised of community members and co-led by Artes de México en Utah, and Museum staff have been hard at work since 2022 reimagining the Ancient Mesoamerican Art gallery and creating two Mexican Art and Central and South American Art galleries. These updated galleries will be on view October 18, 2025!
The UMFA is proud of the work we do to support artists at every age and stage. We are dedicated to supporting the arts in Utah schools and to supporting artists from around the world. Want to get involved? Support us, in supporting artists, who will in turn inspire future artists, who we will then support—you get the idea. Subscribe to the newsletter, join us for a lecture or art-making event, donate to the educational program fund, or become a member today! Thank you for helping us to continue the work, and we hope you’ll find yourself at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts!
