Venture out to Utah’s wild places and explore all the land art this great state can offer!
Land Art Week is a celebration of the incredible landscape and works of Land Art in Utah. If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to venture out west to Salt Lake City, here it is!
Upcoming Events
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Artist Talk: Land Art WeeK
Learn more about Land Art in Utah! Details and tickets coming soon! Dive into the conversation around Land Art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts! Utah’s striking landscape has inspired artists for centuries, from the ancient people who carved petroglyphs in rock, to the pioneers who surveyed grand vistas with photography and plein air paintings, to…
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Spiral Jetty Community Meet-up
Venture out to the Great Salt Lake with the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for Land Art Week! Join the UMFA for a fun day of art and science at the Great Salt Lake. Explore Robert Smithson’s monumental earthwork, Spiral Jetty. UMFA members, families, teachers, and students of all ages are invited to explore the landscape,…
Artists have been inspired by landscapes of the American West for millennia. From ancient petroglyphs carved into rock to early photography documenting expansive vistas, this region has shaped artistic responses to place for generations. As many in our community know, Utah is home to two monumental works of Land art from the 1970s—Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty and Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels—which continue to inspire artists today.
The legacy of Land art in Utah continues to grow at Powder Mountain, where the Powder Art Foundation is building an open-air museum of incredible artworks in dialogue with the landscape in Eden, Utah. Site-specific artworks are situated across 8,000 acres of alpine terrain, and can be encountered on snow during ski season or along hiking trails in the warmer months.
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is thrilled to partner with Powder Art Foundation to launch the very first Land Art Week, October 1–3, 2026. Stay tuned for more information and mark your calendars for an inspiring program of conversations, exploration, and amazing art experiences!
Spiral Jetty
The monumental earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970) was created by artist Robert Smithson and is located off Rozel Point in the north arm of Great Salt Lake. Made of black basalt rocks and earth gathered from the site, Spiral Jetty is a 15-foot-wide coil that stretches more than 1,500 feet into the lake. Undoubtedly, the most famous large-scale earthwork of the period, it has come to epitomize Land art. Its exceptional art, historical importance, and unique beauty have drawn visitors and media attention from throughout Utah and around the world.
Robert Smithson (American, 1938–1973), Spiral Jetty, 1970, Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah, black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 1,500 ft. long and approximately 15 ft. wide. © Holt/Smithson Foundation and Dia Art Foundation, licensed by VAGA, New York.
sun Tunnels
Nancy Holt’s most recognized artwork, Sun Tunnels (1973–1976), is a large-scale installation in Utah’s Great Basin Desert, a four-hour drive from the UMFA. It consists of four large concrete cylinders, arranged on the desert floor in a cross pattern, that align with the sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices. In addition to this perfect solar framing, each of the cylinders is pierced with smaller holes representing the stars of four constellations: Draco, Perseus, Columba, and Capricorn.
Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels (1973-76), Great Basin Desert, Utah, Concrete, steel, earth, Overall dimensions: 9 ft. 2-1/2 in. x 68 ft. 6in. x 53 ft. (2.8 x 20.9 x 16.2 m); length on the diagonal: 86 ft. (26.2 m), Photograph: Nancy Holt, Collection Dia Art Foundation with support from Holt/Smithson Foundation © Holt/Smithson Foundation and Dia Art Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Powder Art Foundation
Powder Art Foundation is a place where art, landscape, and movement converge. Situated across 8,000 acres of alpine terrain in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, PAF is an open-air museum presenting site-specific works throughout every season. Here, art is not simply viewed but encountered; on snow, on trail, and through direct engagement with the mountain environment.
Davina Semo – Davina Semo – Reflector (2020 –2024). Installation view, Powder Mountain. Photographer: Tristan Sadler
Plan Your Own Adventure
There’s no Wi-Fi out there! Access the Spiral Jetty and Sun Tunnels Self-Guides through the STQRY Guide app.
STQRY Guide App Instructions
- Download the STQRY Guide app on your smartphone in the Apple Store or in the Google Play Store.
- Select your preferred language.
- Search “Utah Museum of Fine Arts”
- Take the Spiral Jetty Self-Guide and the Sun Tunnels Self-Guide with you on your adventure.
Family Backpacks
Enhance your adventure with a Family Backpack, available for check out from the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Salt Lake City Library, or the Brigham City Museum.
Each backpack contains hands-on and close-looking activities focused on individual art objects and the cultures they represent. Family backpacks provide a more compelling array of hands-on materials and multisensory activities than traditional paper and pencil family guides.
The packs are designed for families with children ages 4–12 and can be checked out at the UMFA welcome desk free of charge. See different backpack themes and their contents below.
Above: Robert Smithson (American, 1938–1973), Spiral Jetty, 1970, Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah, black basalt rock, salt crystals, earth, and water, 1,500 ft. long and approximately 15 ft. wide. © Holt/Smithson Foundation and Dia Art Foundation, licensed by VAGA, New York | Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels (1973-76), Great Basin Desert, Utah, Concrete, steel, earth, Overall dimensions: 9 ft. 2-1/2 in. x 68 ft. 6in. x 53 ft. (2.8 x 20.9 x 16.2 m); length on the diagonal: 86 ft. (26.2 m), Photograph: Nancy Holt, Collection Dia Art Foundation with support from Holt/Smithson Foundation © Holt/Smithson Foundation and Dia Art Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
