UTAH ARTS ALLIANCE

Accessible Programming- In all of our events, facilities, and programs we aim to make the arts accessible. This objective remains true for both community members and artists alike. We’ve seen consistently throughout the years that money is typically the biggest obstacle when it comes to participating in the arts and this is true for both participants and artists. In order to mitigate this issue, we strive to make all of our programming financially accessible. For members of the public, we make attendance at our facilities and events free or affordable. For the artists and creative groups in our community, we have provided affordable opportunities for them to participate in programming. This includes no submission fees at our gallery and minimal festival fees. We’ve focused our efforts on providing more opportunities for artists to generate income rather than lose income. This includes commission rates that favor artists who work with us and artist grants for those creating works to be shown as a part of programs like Dreamscapes and the Illuminate Festival.
Represent Cultural Diversity - Through our programming, the Utah Arts Alliance makes it a goal to represent the diverse voices and experiences that make up our community. We do this through the artists and performers we showcase at our exhibits, festivals, and events. We also do this through various partnerships we cultivate in our community. These different elements work together to inform our programming and create meaningful experiences in the arts. During the past year, we’ve worked with groups like the Good Times Car Club to showcase a Lowrider Car Exhibit and Hop-Off Competition at our Urban Arts Festival and featured numerous artists and performers from diverse backgrounds in exhibits at Urban Arts Gallery, Urban Arts Festival, and other events including Mural Fest and Illuminate Festival. These artists draw from their experiences to create work that is representative of many cultures in our community. We also use our radio station, KUAA 99.9FM to showcase multilingual and multicultural music that speaks to and is representative of the many voices that make up Salt Lake County.
Encourage Environmental Sustainability in the Arts - Over the past few years, we have officially implemented policies regarding sustainable practices and introducing projects that feature environmentally-sustainable elements. At all of our festivals, we ban single-use plastics and provide water refill stations to encourage individuals to bring their own bottles. We use digital signage where possible and encourage recycling at the workplace as well as at public events. Finally, we use art to show the possibilities of upcycling through large-scale physical installations at Dreamscapes. All the physical installations at this venue are made of upcycled materials donated by other organizations in our community to create an immersive experience with added digital art and projection-mapped elements.

The Utah Arts Alliance provides unique services and programs, which are vital to the cultural health of the communities we serve. We provide an infrastructure designed to enable people from all walks of life, especially those who lack financial resources, to pursue their creative dreams. We use our expansive, yet directed programming to be inclusive of all artistic mediums and artistic backgrounds through financial accessibility. All of our programs and facilities are centered around removing the financial barrier to participate, which has been an integral strategy of ours in order to create accessibility for both artists and the public alike.

The Utah Arts Alliance has been serving the Greater Salt Lake County for 18 years now through a number of programs and facilities. Our experience working in the arts and culture has given us a range of experiences to inform the ways we serve our community. The Utah Arts Alliance has extensive experience in event production, providing support for artist professional development, facility management, and understanding of how to make the arts more accessible.

Here is a look at the Utah Arts Alliance programs, events, and venues we currently utilize to make the arts accessible in Salt Lake County:
ILLUMINATE - Utah’s Light Art & Creative Tech Fest
ILLUMINATE is an annual light-art and technology festival held in November in downtown Salt Lake City. This free event invites bridges the gap between the arts and technology through large-scale projection mapping displays, light art installations, and immersive experiences.
Urban Arts Festival
The Urban Arts Festival is an annual community event held in September in downtown Salt Lake City. This festival brings together a variety of artistic disciplines and artists and draws in an estimated 20,000 patrons and showcases over 200 artists, performers, and musicians. The Urban Arts Festival is the largest free community art event in Utah and gives a platform to a variety of underrepresented artists with a focus on urban art.
Mural Fest
Launched in May 2018, this is an annual collaboration between UAA and the South Salt Lake Arts Council. So far, Mural Fest commissioned over 20 artists to paint public art murals in downtown South Salt Lake (SSL), adding vibrancy and a sense of place to the neighborhood.
Dreamscapes
Made up of large-scale physical and digital artworks, ​Dreamscapes​ is a labyrinth of color and creativity. When walking through you’ll find different rooms filled with interactive exhibits that spark creativity, playfulness, and imagination. ​Dreamscapes​ was designed as an immersive experience through the repurposing of found objects to create large-scale artworks combined with projection-mapping and multisensory elements.​
Urban Arts Gallery
Voted "The Best Gallery in Utah" by City Weekly readers in both 2017 and 2018, the Gallery's unique programing allows the public to experience a variety of art, attracting 25,000 individuals and featuring an estimated 300 artists per year.
Counterpoint Studios
Our legendary Music Recording facility offers programs that provide the community with high quality and free or affordable sound recording services to Salt Lake County's musicians.
Arts Hub
Headquarters of the UAA, this is a dynamic 35,000 sq. ft. complex that serves approx. 34,000 people yearly, featuring dance and performance spaces, workspace for artists and nonprofit arts groups, and hosts a variety of community art events.
Connect
Connect is a free, monthly pop-up art exhibit that invites all visual artists to showcase their art. Helpful connections and friendships are made as artists learn skills necessary for art careers, gained through lectures, workshops, and activities.
KUAA 99.9FM
KUAA strives to celebrate and promote artists and artistic activities from our region and beyond, including subcultures, countercultures, and our diverse multicultural communities that are otherwise under-represented. In addition, KUAA provides a voice for independent artists and music by spotlighting both old and new releases, in a wide variety of genres.