The Division of Arts and Museums was established in 1899 and was the first state arts agency in the nation. The division broadens the availability of and increases involvement in the arts by securing and distributing funds, providing training and development, and education programs throughout the state.
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $3,978,900 from all sources for Arts and Museums. This is a 1.7 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $2,671,800 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 3.7 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.
In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:
The creative vitality index measures a selected set of economic inputs related to the arts and creativity in a given geographic area, with measurements of both for-profit and nonprofit arts-related activities. The index has two major components: measurements of community participation based on per capita revenues of arts-related goods and services and measurements of per capita occupational employment in the arts. The creative vitality index for Utah is shown below.
In order to measure service provided the division tracks the number of grants provided to non-profits. The most recent data related to this measure is shown below.
The Division of Arts and Museums tracks the number visits to museums to assess the level of interest in the division. Data is shown below.
Statutory authority for the Utah Division of Fine Arts and Museums is provided in UCA 9-6. The statute authorizes the Utah Arts Council to "advance the interests of the arts, in all their phases, within the state of Utah." Responsibilities include developing arts in education, involving the private sector, and cooperating with other governmental organizations to promote the arts in the state.
The Division of Arts and Museums utilizes funding from both the General Fund and federal funds. Federal funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts and is used for staff support, programs NEA initiatives, programs and arts grants.
COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.