One of the most iconic buildings and tourist attractions in all of Utah County is the Springville Museum of Art. It hosts a variety of art exhibits along with community events like dances, galas and private weddings. The museum also helps give Springville its nickname – Art City.

On Thursday, the museum announced that Associate Director Emily Larsen will take over as director. Larsen replaces Rita Wright, who is retiring after a decade of leadership at the museum.

Larsen began volunteering at the Springville Museum of Art since 2006 and started working there in 2014, first as Assistant Curator and Registrar, and then as Head of Exhibitions and Programs, and most recently as Associate Director.

The new director graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from Brigham Young University and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Utah. In addition to her work at the SMA, Larsen has contributed to the local art community as an Independent Scholar — researching, writing and publishing as well as presenting on the topic of Utah art and history throughout the State.

Larsen was named Museum Educator of the Year in 2020 by the Utah Art Education Association and was given the Rising Museum Professional Award by the Utah Museums Association this fall.

Larsen has been published in 15 Bytes, The Utah Historical Quarterly and Century of Black Mormons.

Current exhibits at the museum include

Sanctuaries — through Jan. 11, 2023.

For this exhibition, the museum invited members of the local Springville community and the larger Utah religious community to choose a work of art from the museum’s permanent collection that represents sanctuary to them. On the museum walls you will find their answers and writings about where they find peace, solace and community.

Annual Spiritual & Religious Youth Art Competition — through Jan. 11, 2023

This exhibition is open to K-10 students living in Utah Valley. This year, in efforts to make this an interfaith celebration, the museum encouraged students to create artwork that will coincide with themes found in the exhibition, Sanctuaries. The prompts for this year’s Youth Art Competition focuses on sanctuaries and what that means to each student.

Mixed Reviews: Utah Art at Mid-Century — through May 13, 2023

Celebrate mid-century modern art, culture and design with this fun and playful exhibition. Visitors get to be the judge.

Grand Ambitions — through summer 2023

Utah artists have always been ambitious. They studied abroad, created monumental works, and pushed the boundaries of Utah art and creation. This exhibition celebrates the grand ambitions, interests, and aims of Utah artists from the 19th-century to the present day.

Favorite Ladies: Patterns, People, and Play — ongoing

This exhibition takes a deeper look at a work from the museum’s permanent collection, Entertaining: Favorite Ladies II, by Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke. This colorful painting serves as a lens on how artists use patterns, portraits, and still-life in their paintings. This family friendly exhibition uses various interactives to help explore playful patterns in other works from the permanent collection

New Acquisitions & Collection Highlights — ongoing

Come discover the Museum’s permanent collection in this new gallery space. This exhibition will change frequently as the museum highlights the newest pieces in its collection, as well as works significant to Utah’s art history.

SMA Milestones and Memories — ongoing

This exhibition on the lower level explores the history of the oldest art museum in Utah.

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