Organization

The mission of Utah Museum of Contemporary Artis to encourage contemporary visual artists and art that challenge and educate public perceptions of civil, social and aesthetic issues affecting society. Utah Museum of Contemporary Art began as the Art Barn Association, which was founded in 1931 with the leadership of Alta Rawlins Jensen. For the first thirty years, the Art Barn's activities were managed entirely by volunteers, with professional artists hired to teach classes; but following a name change to Salt Lake Art Center in 1958, and the hiring of James Haseltine, its first paid full-time director in 1961, the all-volunteer organization had a professional leadership. In 1979 the institution moved to its current location at 20 South West Temple, in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. In 2011 Salt Lake Art Center changed names again to Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. After 75 years, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art continues to present contemporary art exhibitions and programs, which have aesthetic and social consciousness, which elicit civil dialogue about crucial issues, which evoke emotional responses, and which are thought provoking to the community.