A red rock desert landscape.

Mapping Literary Utah

Our Utah Poet Laureate 2017-2022, Paisley Rekdal, expanded on her Mapping Salt Lake City project to create a wonderful literary resource called Mapping Literary Utah. This beautiful website is a collection that aims to chart the state’s expansive literary landscape, encouraging readers to explore connections between authors, their creative work, and their environments, or even between different authors attached to the same place over time. The site has …

People on the porch of a historic red brick house with white trim.

Farewell to the Glendinning Home

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 …

A woman poses with an outdoor sculpture of a mama bear and her cub.

Putting Museum Social Impact on the Map

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 …

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New Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore

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 …

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Staff Highlight: Marie Desrochers

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 …

Japantown in the heart of Salt Lake City.

Japantown Exhibition

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

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Staff Highlight: Reilly Jensen

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 …

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End of a Poet Laureate Era

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 …

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Welcome to Amanda Shepherd, Our New Communications Intern

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. …

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a green shirt.

Introducing Hannah Barrett, Our New Public Art Coordinator

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 …

A woman with curly, shoulder-length brown hair smiles, wearing glasses and a white blouse with black polka-dots under a tan sweater.

Museums Field Services Manager Selected to Attend History Leadership Institute

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 …