Utah Folk Arts Program: Documenting, Supporting, and Celebrating Utah Traditions since 1976

In 1899, the Utah legislature passed Alice Merrill Horne’s “Art Bill” (HB34 and SB56) which created the first state-funded arts council in the nation. The law’s purpose was to “advance the interests of the arts, in all their phases.” In 1937 additional legislation (SB32) directed the government “to take all necessary and useful means to stimulate a more abundant production of indigenous art, literature and music in the state.” These policies paved the way for the creation of the Folk Arts Program in 1976 by Hal Cannon. For over 40 years, program staff have worked to build a collection of state-owned folk art and to nurture Utah’s traditional arts and artists.

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Dave Stanley, Elaine Thatcher, Carol Edison, and Craig Miller all worked with the Utah Folk Arts Program in the 1980s. Carol led the program until 2011.

The continuing mission of the Utah Folk Arts Program is to document, support, and celebrate the traditional arts of Utah’s cultural communities. The Folk Arts Program staff work directly with traditional artists and local networks; Utahns ranging from from rural cowboys, agricultural workers, and indigenous and Tribal members living on reservation lands, to the many cultural, occupational, and ethnic groups living throughout urban and suburban Utah. The Folk Arts Program serves the general public as well as students and educators through the production of public events, publications, and recordings that give exposure to traditional artists and art forms while providing access to and educating Utahns about the state’s diverse cultural heritage.

Utah Folk Arts Program