The 2002 Winter Olympics and the Springville Museum of Art are teaming up to present a special exhibition commemorating 150 years of Utah art.

Dr. Vern Swanson, director of the museum for over 21 years, said, "This is going to be the mother of all Utah art shows."

The museum, which has been designated as an official Olympic venue, will host the only Olympic cultural event with Utah as the main focus.

The exhibition, which began on Jan. 14 and runs until April 30, showcases 310 works of art by 227 artists compiled from a list of 10,000 Utah artists.

One of the exhibition's curators, Dr. Robert S. Olpin, a University of Utah Professor of Art History for 33 years, said he is very excited for the exhibit to open.

"The exhibition promises to be the most significant survey of Utah fine art ever mounted," Olpin said.

With the financial help of the Cultural Olympiad, and a new expansion of the Springville museum that will nearly double its size, now is the perfect time to sponsor such an exhibition.

No one is more excited about the sponsorship of the Olympics than Swanson.

"This exhibit is as much a part of the Olympics as any of the sporting events," Swanson said. "The funding for this show is part of the official budget of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee and we hope it will be the biggest and best showing of Utah art in the history of the state."

Over 120,000 patrons visit the Springville museum annually, but Swanson expects that number to increase this year.

"Many Utah people will be laying low during the Olympics, so we expect only a slight increase in visits during the games. Once the Olympics have concluded, we hope the number of patrons will increase by at least 10 percent," Swanson said.

A committee of Utah art experts, headed by Swanson and Olpin, completed the selection process of the pieces that are in the show.

The selection was made following five considerations: quality of the work; critical acclaim and professional success of the artist; belated but deserved recognition of the artist; young emerging artists, who are the future of art in Utah; and a representative sampling of periods, styles, mediums, and geographic regions of the state.

Ruth Allred, assistant curator at the museum, said the show is very well organized.

"On the second floor, the exhibition displays the first 120 years of Utah art, from 1850 to 1869," Allred said. "The main-floor exhibit showcases the period from 1970 to 2001."

In 1999, the Springville Museum of Art discovered that there were no plans to stage a major exhibition of Utah art during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Swanson went to the SLOC and told them the Springville museum wanted to do an exhibition of Utah art for the Cultural Olympiad.

The SLOC agreed that Springville was a venue worthy of their support and added the museum to the list of the Cultural Olympiad.

Since then, Swanson and his staff have been diligently working to get everything ready, with finishing touches being done just hours before the first day of the exhibition.

During the Olympics, buses leaving from Salt Lake and The Peaks ice arena in Provo will travel to and from the museum. The Springville Museum of Art is located at 126 E. 400 S. in Springville. For more information call 489-2727.

Copyright Brigham Young University 15 Jan 2002