The Art of Utah Storytelling

The 100 block of Salt Lake City’s Main Street is … well … desolate. A café, a pawn shop and a gift store are among the lone holdouts on an otherwise boarded-up section of downtown.

So why make the trip here? Put simply, to glimpse the people, places and culture of Utah’s history through the eyes of the state’s rich fraternity of artists, past and present. Kicked off in 2004 with a fundraising reception hosted by Academy Award-winning actor and Western art patron Diane Keaton, the Museum of Utah Art & History (MUAH) was created to showcase stories of Utah’s past using visual art, historical artifacts and archives which, until now, were mostly hidden away in storage.

“The LDS Church’s Art and History Museum chronicles the art and history of just one of Utah’s many groups of people,” says Tom Rugh, director of MUAH. “There are many more people and points of view involved in the state’s history. This museum is where we tell their story.”

While there are no plans for permanent collections to reside at the museum—MUAH is a display museum for the Utah Arts Council, Utah State Historical Society and the Utah State Archives—how the museum’s curators exhibit the state’s vast collection of art is what makes MUAH unique. Last spring, for example, the museum featured a photography exhibit, A Homeland in the West: Utah Jews Remember, chronicling experiences of Utah Jews in the years surrounding World War II.

The concept for MUAH—melding Utah’s art and history—began as the Utah Cultural Center and was first germinated by Bonnie Stephens of the Utah Arts Council; Jeff Johnson, then with the Utah State Archives and Records Service; and Max Evans, then of the Utah State Historical Society. The project took on a life of its own soon after a location was secured: a historic Main Street building built in 1913 as The Farmers & Stock Growers Cooperative Bank. The building is inconspicuous from the outside. Inside, however, the space’s classic revival details (including a skylight and a leaded glass mural depicting a farmer and team of oxen plowing a field) make it clear what an exceptionally apt home the building is for a museum celebrating Utah’s artistic past. Future construction plans for the building include a new façade and expansion into the building next door.

The MUAH also houses a YourStory personal history booth, a project maintained by the University of Utah, where Utahns are invited to video record their stories for the state’s historic archives. (For more information on YourStory, call 801.581.7993 or visit www.yourstory.utah.edu). The museum is also available for private parties, meetings and other functions.

An exhibition of selected works from the Utah State Arts Council Collection will be on display through January 8, 2006. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. For more information, call 801.355.5554 or visit www.muahnet.org.