Image: Utah Museum of Fine Arts, News
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts will open 'For the Future: Collecting at the UMFA 2001-2026' on Aug. 29, 2026, using the anniversary of the Marcia and John Price Museum Building to highlight a quarter-century of collecting. The special exhibition runs through Jan. 3, 2027, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City and is presented as a survey of notable acquisitions made over the past 25 years.
According to the museum, the UMFA’s collection has grown by 25 percent since the building opened in 2001 and now totals more than 22,000 works of art. The exhibition is described as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Marcia and John Price Museum Building, and it will showcase some of the museum’s most significant additions from that period. The museum says the collection spans 5,000 years of human creativity from around the world.
The UMFA frames 'For the Future' not only as an accounting of acquisitions, but also as a look at the stories behind them. The exhibition text says it will explore the variety of important works the museum has acquired as well as the “varied stories of opportunity and generosity” that helped make the expansion possible. The museum also connects the show to its broader mission of preserving the collection in public trust for future generations.
In its exhibition materials, the UMFA says that with support from donors and community partners it has been able to expand arts programs across Utah, launch exhibitions engaging with pressing issues of the time, and deepen the collection while maintaining standards of care for the artworks and visitors. The exhibition is presented as a moment to look back over the museum’s development since 2001 and to imagine what the next 25 years may hold.
The exhibition is listed as a special exhibition drawn from the UMFA’s collection. Its installation is supported by the John and Marcia Price Family Foundation as presenting sponsor, The Tozer Endowment for Special Exhibitions as curatorial sponsor, and the JT Harwood Collection Fund as installation sponsor. The museum’s website also notes that the exhibition opening will be celebrated at the UMFA Gala Celebration on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.
The gala is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Marcia and John Price Museum Building, with a cocktail reception on the Sam & Diane Stewart Family Foundation Sculpture Terrace, dinner in the G.W. Anderson Family Great Hall, and exhibition viewing throughout the evening. Individual tickets are listed at $250, with sponsorship levels also available. The museum says proceeds from the evening will support exhibitions, education programs and the continued growth and stewardship of the UMFA collection.
