On June 21, 2010, Central Utah Art Center (CUAC) in Ephraim, UT, was awarded a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation in the amount of $95,000. The granted monies will be used to augment CUAC artist and exhibition related expenses, advertising and marketing, and residencies for CUAC artists at Birch Creek Residency. The Warhol Foundation provides the following description of the CUAC’s programming:

“Located two hours south of Salt Lake City, the remote town of Ephraim is home to the Central Utah Art Center (CUAC). Operating out of a historic limestone mill on State Highway 89, this small but innovative organization has become a surprising source of a new creative energy that is surging through Utah’s artistic community. In 2003, CUAC, which was run previously as a volunteer artist cooperative, was taken over by its founding director, Ephraim native Adam Bateman. His goal was to create a world class home for emerging art in this remote community, which has a population of only 22,000. Bateman, who now serves on CUAC’s board and runs the non-profit Birch Creek Residency nearby, and his successor, current director Jared Latimer, represent an exciting new generation of arts leaders in the state. If one is to judge from these young professionals’ ability to attract both large audiences and high-caliber artists, many of whom have gone on to receive national and even international attention, CUAC and its fellows are becoming important catalysts for change in the region’s artistic culture.”

The Warhol support comes on the heels of a review of a CUAC exhibition published in Milan, Italy based Flash Art magazine and an on-site visit from Warhol grants administrators.

“CUAC has been working very hard for several years to bring innovative national and international artists to exhibit at CUAC alongside the very best Utah artists. The funding from the Warhol foundation is a confirmation that we are working under a mission that is highly relevant to our community and that we have the ability to participate in the art world at a national and international level.” said Executive Director Jared Latimer.

In March of this year, CUAC also received an unsolicited grant from the Los Angeles-based Buddy Taub Foundation in recognition of CUAC’s innovative approach to visual art exhibitions and commitment to contemporary art.


The Buddy Taub Foundation is a private foundation with giving totaling more than $682,016 in fiscal year 2008 to preselected charities only. Institutions besides CUAC to recieve Buddy Taub funding include: Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

“It has been incredibly encouraging to receive funding from the Taub Foundation. To be recognized like this is a really big deal, especially when funding is down throughout the state and nationwide. Then to receive full funding of our grant request from the Warhol Foundation absolutely changes everything” said Executive Director Jared Latimer.

CUAC received support for two years of their artistic programming presented in their rustic, beautifully restored two-story galleries. Director Jared Latimer works with a selection of professional independent curators and his own curatorial committee to ensure that the offering of group, solo, and juried exhibitions place local Sanpete County artists in meaningful context with the work of artists statewide and those working internationally. Artists selected for solo exhibitions over the next two years include fourteen emerging artists from the United States, Mexico, Spain, Wales, and Germany. Six juried exhibitions will feature artists that reside in the state of Utah. The jurors for these shows come from major artistic centers in the US and represent an important way for Utah artists to be seen by an expanded field of gallerists and museum curators. Four remaining exhibition slots are reserved for shows proposed by guest curators and may include a variety of artists.


Additionally many of the participating guest artists and curators are offered the opportunity to lecture at one of the neighboring universities. The lecture series allows the artist to connect with a wider geographic audience and serves as a mechanism for promoting the programming and activities at CUAC. Artist lectures are archived and streamed live on CUAC’s website, allowing for even greater dissemination. Working with original founder Adam Bateman, ten of the artists will be given residencies at Birch Creek, an 80 acre ranch with sweeping vistas, tranquil living quarters, and flexible studio spaces located just six miles away in Spring City. Exhibitions are complemented by individual publications, each of which includes scholarly essays by guest curators and writers.


The CUAC board of directors would like to thank the many foundations and individuals that have supported the art center over the years, in particular CUAC’s local community and Ephraim City, without whose support we would not have been able to pursue this large grant from the Warhol Foundation. CUAC looks forward to many more years of bringing innovative exhibitions and arts education programming to Utah.
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CUAC Mission

The purpose of the CUAC is to educate Utahns about Contemporary Art through exhibitions of works by from three categories:

1. Sanpete County who demonstrate a high level of professionalism in their art;
2. Throughout Utah who make art in a contemporary genre who are emerging or well established; and
3. Throughout the world who are exemplary of important trends in contemporary art worldwide.

CUAC maintains that good education about art starts with strong exhibitions of contemporary art that have relevance in content or image to our community. Education also includes outreach to the community in the form of classes for adults and children, lectures and critical dialogue about art, and an inviting, friendly environment that welcomes visitors and encourages questions and strives to provide answers.

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Central Utah Art Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so contributions will be tax deductible, as provided by the Internal Revenue Code. All gifts to CUAC from donors will be used within the exempt function of CUAC as defined under its organizational documents and the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

View the Andy Warhol Foundation funding map.

Download the pdf.