Support creativity in Utah mental health programs at FoF '25! Focus on Fests is not your average event — it’s an immersive experience mixing creativity and advocacy. These one-of-a-kind popup events blend filmmaking, multimedia, storytelling, and live performances to ignite conversations and build a stigma-free community. The 2025 program features premiere short films, panel discussions, presentations, and the innovative photo journalistic storytelling of Frame of Mynd! Designed to inspire and unite, Focus on Fests brings together edutainment, elevation, and connected perspectives — all rooted right here in Salt Lake City. From powerful youth-driven programs to all-ages interactive showcases, this is where awareness comes alive and change takes center stage. Tickets are $25 and support Mental Healthy F.i.T.’s much needed education and awareness programming in Utah. Mental Health - Autism - Recovery - Disability - Suicide Prevention May 13th 2025 – 7pm – doors 6:30pm Cutthroat Grip, Lighting & Stage – 156 W Utopia Ave, SLC

Continuing an annual tradition, the May exhibit at Urban Arts Gallery features fan art from the Star Wars universe and beyond. This show invites local artists to submit art celebrating their favorite franchises from popular geek culture, such as Marvel, DC Comics, and other beloved sci-fi and fantasy titles. The result is always a diverse and delightful collection of artwork for fans of all ages. This show will hang from April 29th through June 1st 2025 with an artist reception during gallery stroll on Friday May 16th, 2025 from 6-9pm. Admission is free and open to the public.

We are pleased to announce a special event honoring Ben Hammond, one of Utah’s most distinguished artists and sculptor of national monuments—including the recent statue of Martha Hughes Cannon in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Hammond will deliver a public lecture, “Composition,” on his creative process and philosophy at the Salt Lake Art Museum on Thursday, May 22, 2025, from 6:00–8:00 PM. RSVP Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScft7NhxROrL0pKCQm-IAnFpTACwSInkplXTCM0IA-NcJ8fCg/viewform

Short Summary: Join local artists for an experiential workshop on soul and art at the shore of Great Salt Lake. Longer Summary: Experience a framework for personally meaningful integration of art and purpose in connection to all other beings. Engage in story and free writing shuttles, visualization and active imagination, music and movement, nature enchantment, and time for sitting with your own medium in the fertile space where earth meets water and soul dreams with nature. Em Capito, LCSW, MBA, E-RYT Founder, Madrona 801-898-0842 Website: https://madronasoul.org/event/at-the-shore-of-soul/ Instagram: instagram.com/madronasoul Contact Info: community@madronasoul.org Tickets: Standard: $85 Benefactor: $95 Accessible: $75

Join us for a joyful celebration of connection and growth at Red Butte Garden & Arboretum’s Blooming with Pride. Just like plants, this celebration is for everyone—because plants are for everyone. This event brings the Pride community and friends together in a shared space of creativity, reflection, and expression. Stroll through a living gallery of botanical art created by local artists, enjoy playful, hands-on activities designed to spark joy in guests of all ages, and explore the Garden on a self-guided tour that draws meaningful parallels between the resilience of plants and the strength of our shared history. Then, help create a collaborative community art piece—symbolizing what can blossom when we grow side by side. Whether you come to celebrate your own journey, support someone you love, or enjoy the beauty of the Garden, Blooming with Pride welcomes you. Join us for a day where joy blooms and nature reminds us that we all belong.

The 2025 Utah Arts Festival celebrates creativity and community with world-class entertainment and interactive art experiences in downtown Salt Lake City from Thursday, June 19th through Sunday, June 22nd.
Headliners include jamgrass legends Leftover Salmon, pedal steel guitar virtuoso Robert Randolph, hip-hop icons Souls of Mischief, and Latin Grammy-nominated MV Caldera supported by local bands Theoretical Blonde, Sister Wives and many others! Utah’s largest outdoor multi-disciplinary arts event presents 170+ visual artists and 5 stages of music, dance, and literary arts performances.
What to know: Thursday, June 19, runs 5pm-11pm and features a $12 discount ticket for all adults with kids 12 and under free!
Friday, June 20, offers $12 ticket from noon to 3pm
Hours: Thursday (June 19) runs 5pm-11pm with Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 20-22) run noon to 11pm
What not to miss: • Street theater, including graffiti stiltwalkers, contortionists, and living masterpieces roaming the Festival grounds • Live graffiti mural artists • Kids Art Yard celebrating “Frozen Spaces” with wooly mammoths, polar bears, and penguin sculptures with dozens of nonprofit arts orgs with hands-on projects for kids • Mini “Fear No Film” Festival featuring short independent film s in the Library Auditorium • Interactive art exhibits for all ages • Artist demonstrations and workshops Schedule and tickets at uaf.org.

Don't identify as an artist, but interested in bringing book arts into elementary or secondary classrooms? Join us for this two-day intensive with guest educator, Allison Chapman, and discover how book arts are inherently multi-disciplinary. No previous experience is necessary, but all skill levels are welcome to create both folded and sewn book structures. Emphasis is placed on age-appropriate tools and techniques so that all students are successful in creating books that are bound to be loved. Project samples incorporate science, social studies, English and math lessons and are designed with ease of preparation in min so that teachers and students can get to the fun part! Allison Chapman has been printing since she was young, taught by her grandfather in his hobby printshop. As a college student, she interned with Stan Nelson in the Graphic Arts Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. She then spent over a decade teaching at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, honing her letterpress craft, and running the K–12 outreach program. After inheriting her grandad's nineteenth-century platen press and collection of vintage images, metal type, Allison founded Igloo Letterpress in Minnesota in 1996. In 2008, she moved to Ohio and found a home in Old Worthington, where the one press grew to ten, outfitting a retail shop, print studio, bookbindery, and hub for creativity. Allison closed the retail shop in 2021, and Igloo is again a home-based business offering custom letterpress printing and hand bookbinding. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfr_rcIrw4JzivlNnVum8fA1tiGhMSLc2WyvGqOQUAJoT2Q0A/viewform