The Warhol Foundation noted recent changes at the museum in making the award, stating “UMOCA is at an exciting moment in its history; its new leaders are ambitious in their vision for its programs and exhibitions and committed to deepening connections with the local, national and international contemporary art community.”
“We are deeply honored and grateful for this support from the Warhol Foundation,” UMOCA Executive Director Adam Price remarked in the museum’s press release. “With these additional funds, we will be able to provide more and better opportunities for residents and visitors to Utah to explore the contemporary cultural landscape.”
UMOCA will use the funds for upcoming exhibits over the next two years. These include several openings in April. “Let Them Eat Cupcakes,” in which Los Angeles artist Elizabeth Tobias will give homemade cupcakes to museum visitors in exchange for having their thoughts and memories of hunger included in this museum exhibition. British artist Luke Jerram will present the internationally-acclaimed piano intervention “Play Me, I’m Yours.” “Cantastoria,” a group exhibition organized by UMOCA Senior Curator Aaron Moulton, will explore how artists communicate history and culture using languages, messengers and witnesses as creative material.
The Andy Warhol Foundation was founded in 1987 shortly after the artist’s death, dedicated to the advancement of the visual arts. Its achievements have been to “secure Warhol’s legacy and its role as the preeminent national funder of innovative contemporary art.”