WE STRENGTHEN UTAH COMMUNITIES BY CULTIVATING CONNECTIONS, DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING, AND EXPLORING
OUR COMPLEX HUMAN EXPERIENCE
WE HAD A SUCCESSFUL
CULTURAL INDUSTRY ADVOCACY DAY
We joined with dozens of organizations at the Capitol on February 7th to advocate for a friendly funding and policy environment for Utah’s cultural industry. We were proud to work together with partners representing arts, film, libraries, entertainment, museums, and STEM to show how Utah’s cultural organizations strengthen communities throughout the state.  
 
The Capitol rotunda was alive with activities ranging from live performances to wool-making to flying in a virtual Air Force jet.

At the Utah Humanities table, we featured our new Great Salt Lake Conversation in a Box. We thanked legislators for their support and delivered awards to our cultural champions.
 
As part of the day’s activities, the Utah Cultural Alliance presented new data from the Kem Gardner Policy Institute. This economic snapshot outlines how cultural businesses continue to recover from losses suffered during the pandemic.
 
Thanks to the hundreds of participants that made this year’s advocacy day a success!

Image Credit: Kirstin Roper and Utah Cultural Alliance
JOIN OUR TEAM
We are looking for the right person to join our team. Apply for yourself or share this opportunity with someone you know.

UTAH CENTER FOR THE BOOK PROGRAM MANAGER

This is a full-time salaried position with benefits that will be responsible for managing our Utah Center for the Book, the annual Utah Humanities Book Festival, and other public programs focusing on literature and literacy. This position requires working closely with a small, collaborative staff, occasional travel across the state, and some weekend and evening availability is expected.
COMPETITIVE GRANT APPLICATION
DEADLINE EXTENDED
We are transitioning to a new, more user-friendly grant application system. As a result, the Competitive Grants draft deadline is now March 15th and we will adjust final deadlines as necessary. In addition, Quick Grant and Oral History Grant deadlines will be flexible for the foreseeable future.
NEH GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP ON MARCH 1ST

In addition, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at USU is hosting an NEH Grant Writing Workshop on March 1 at the Logan campus. Participants will learn more about funding opportunities from NEH, participate in a mock application review panel, and learn grant writing strategies. Individual appointments are available to meet with the NEH Program Officer to discuss individual project ideas. Advance Registration is required here.
CONVERSATION IN A BOX LAUNCH:
WITNESSING THE GREAT SALT LAKE
THE LAUNCH EVENT WAS A SUCCESS
 
We recently launched our new Conversation in a Box: Witnessing the Great Salt Lake with a celebration and dialogue led by Caitlin McDonald (Utah Humanities) and Nan Seymour (River Writing) at the Antelope Island Visitor’s Center. Thank you to all of the participants and Wendy Wilson with the Antelope Island State Park for her support.

With a Conversation in a Box, community members throughout Utah will be able to hold immersive, meaningful conversations at home. This box includes all the instructions, tips, and tools to create a local event or home-based dialogue focusing on the Great Salt Lake, free of charge.

Created in partnership with Nan Seymour of the River Writing Collective, we are hopeful that this box will allow Utahns to reflect on the importance of the lake in our lives and exercise their creative minds.
 
OUR CONVERSATION IN A BOX PROGRAM
 
The Conversation in a Box is an opportunity for anyone in Utah to plan and facilitate a meaningful discussion in their own community.

You can request a box of your own, which includes a toolkit of instructions, discussion questions, and a curated collection of tangible objects related to the Great Salt Lake.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: UTAH FILM CENTER
IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
 
We are thrilled to partner with the Utah Film Center and offer support to the BLACK, BOLD, & BRILLIANT Film & Discussion series, celebrating Black culture through stories and cinema.

We recently supported a rousing roundtable discussion about the rise of Black food establishments in Salt Lake City, and we want to encourage you to engage with the ongoing BLACK, BOLD, & BRILLIANT series featuring film screenings, discussions, and events.

You will also enjoy this KSL story covering the recent film screening of “Little Satchmo,” a documentary about the secret daughter of the legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong.
2023 UTAH COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION TRAINING
Please join the Utah Collections Preservation Program for our 2023 workshops and webinars. Be sure to view this at-a-glance calendar detailing the 2023 program.

2023 MONTHLY WEBINARS
 
Register and join us for the upcoming March webinar focusing on Access and Artifact Handling:

March 16th | Collections Move

PROGRAM DETAILS

These sessions focus on accessible, practical, hands-on training to give collections stewards preservation tools and knowledge. Our programming includes 12 free webinars held monthly online and quarterly regional workshops held in person over two days (separated by a month). The two-part regional workshops cost just $10 to attend with advance registration. We offer stipends to support participants' travel if needed.
FROM THE BEEHIVE ARCHIVE
Beehive Archive is a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal events in Utah history. With all of the history and none of the dust, our Beehive Archive radio show is an engaging way to catch up on Utah’s past.

In celebration of Black History Month, we highlight Utah's first Black community.

WATER SHAPES UTAH’S FIRST BLACK COMMUNITY:
“THE HILL” AT MILLCREEK

In the late 19th century, Black settlers in the Salt Lake Valley used the waters of Millcreek Canyon to create a thriving community of their own.

Where water is, people gather. This was true for Indigenous peoples of Utah, as well as Mormon colonists and African American settlers who arrived in the 19th century. During a period where Black Americans faced extreme discrimination, the waters of Millcreek Canyon that flow from the Wasatch Mountains provided a place of community and refuge to some of Utah’s first Black residents.

Find a new story each week on the Beehive Archive, and stay tuned for more episodes featured in upcoming newsletters. You can always listen on KCPW Radio, Utah Public Radio, or your favorite podcast channel.
EVENTS CALENDAR
Our statewide events are year-round opportunities to engage with the humanities in firsthand, timely, and deeply relevant ways.

Check our calendar regularly and join us for humanities events that strengthen all of us!
Utah Humanities is supported by generous contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, and receives public support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Utah, the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts and Parks Fund, and ESRR endowments.