Statewide Annual Exhibition
Visual arts competitions and exhibitions have been a project of the Utah Division of Arts & Museums (UA&M) since 1899. The Statewide Annual Exhibition (SWA) is an annual juried exhibition that presents a survey of current, outstanding visual art by Utah-based artists through rotating themes: “Painting, Sculpture, and Installation” (2025); “Mixed Media, Works on Paper, and Installation” (2026); “Photography, Video, and Digital” (2027); and “Painting, Sculpture, and Craft” (2028).Statewide Annual UT ‘26: Mixed Media, Works on Paper, and Installation
Hosted by The Utah Valley University Museum of Art at Lakemount
December 8, 2026 - March 13, 2027
Address: 260 W 1800 S St, Orem, UT 84058
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wed. - Sat., and 1 p.m. - 8 p.m. on TuesdaysArtwork Submissions Open: May 18, 2026, 8 a.m.
Artwork Submission Deadline: July 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
Artist and Juror Reception: Tuesday, December 8, 2026, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Jurors’ Talks and Awards Presentation at 6:30 p.m.
The 2026 Statewide Annual (SWA) will be exhibited at The Utah Valley University Museum of Art at Lakemount in Orem, UT and composed of artworks in the categories of mixed media, works on paper, and installation, selected from artists’ submissions from across the state. We are honored to have Lehuauakea (Hawaii/New Mexico) and Liz Miller (Minnesota) as this year’s jurors, as they bring a vast array of knowledge to the selection process.
Artwork submissions must follow the theme of this year’s exhibition: Mixed Media, Works on Paper, and Installation
Works on Paper: This category accepts artwork in visual media on paper other than painting and photography, including artists books, aquatints, collages, engravings, etchings, lithographs, monotypes, prints, serigraphs, woodcuts, and drawings in two- or three-dimensional formats. Artists whose work involves photography or painting only, including watercolorists, should apply to the photography or painting category in a future Statewide Annual.
Mixed Media: This category refers to works in which more than one medium was employed in the creation of the work (this category does not include artworks that are solely composed of audio and/or video).
Installation: This category accepts large-scale, mixed-media constructions, designed to be displayed for a temporary period of time.
AI Note: Acknowledgement must be made of any artwork created with AI (Artificial Intelligence) assistance. Artists must include AI in the medium description of the submitted artwork. Neglecting to acknowledge AI use in the making of a submitted artwork is grounds for disqualification.
Guidelines
▸OVERVIEW▸ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS▸AWARDS▸SCHEDULE▸CRITERIA & THE JURY PROCESS FAQS▸APPLICATION FAQS2026 Jurors
Lehuauakea
Lehuauakea is a Native Hawaiian (Kanaka ʻŌiwi) interdisciplinary artist and barkcloth-maker who works with ancestral organic materials in contemporary ways to highlight narratives of Indigenous environmental stewardship, an evolving Kanaka ʻŌiwi identity, and the teachings held in cultural mythologies and cosmologies. By building a personal relationship with traditional techniques and materiality, Lehuauakea breathes new life into pattern symbolism used for generations and preserves cultural memory rooted in place-based practices. Grounded by ancestral modality while advancing the medium to unconventional, innovative, and tactile forms, including hand-stitched mixed-media textiles, large-scale installation, and paintings on kapa, Lehuauakea builds on these cultural knowledge systems, ensuring the perpetuation of these modes of Indigenous storytelling. Since 2018, Lehuauakea has apprenticed under well-known barkcloth maker Wesley Sen.
Their work has been shown in exhibitions nationally and internationally, and is held in many prominent collections around the globe, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Portland Art Museum, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Forge Project, and Museum of International Folk Art, amongst others. The artist is currently based between Santa Fe (NM) and Pāpaʻikou (HI) after earning their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting with a minor in Art + Ecology at Pacific Northwest College of Art. https://lehuauakea.com/Liz Miller
Liz Miller’s experimental wall-based fiber works and large-scale installation environments elevate aspects of human culture that are often neglected, overlooked, or discarded. Miller weaves colorful cord through these objects as an act of care and a way of assigning splendor, wonder, and purpose to items that have been rendered functionally obsolete. Miller’s work has been included in exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad, including recent solo exhibitions at Kolman & Reeb Gallery (Minneapolis, MN), Oresman Gallery, Smith College (Northampton, MA), and Channel to Channel (Chattanooga, TN). Recent group exhibitions include venues such as Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University (Newark, NJ) and Foreman Gallery, Hartwick College (Oneonta, NY).
Miller’s awards include a Kolman & Reeb Project Space Grant, a McKnight Foundation Fellowship for Fiber Artists, a McKnight Foundation Fellowship for Visual Artists, a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, and numerous grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Miller has participated in artist residencies at Mass MoCA (North Adams, MA), Stove Works (Chattanooga, TN), the Joan Mitchell Center (New Orleans, LA), and the McColl Center for Art + Innovation (Charlotte, NC), among others. Miller is Professor of Installation Art and Drawing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She lives and works in Good Thunder, MN. https://www.lizmiller.com/ Past Catalogs & Virtual Exhibitions
2025: Painting, Sculpture, and Installation
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View the 2025 Virtual Exhibition Here
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2024: Craft, Photography, Video, & Digital (1)
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View the 2024 Virtual Exhibition Here
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2023: Mixed Media & Works on Paper
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View the 2023 Virtual Exhibition Here
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2022: Painting, Sculpture, Installation
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View the 2022 Virtual Exhibition Here
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2021: Craft, Photography, Video & Digital
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2020: Painting, Sculpture, Installation
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2019: Mixed Media, Works on Paper
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2018: Craft, Photography, Video/Digital
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2017: Painting, Sculpture, Installation
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2016: Mixed Media, Works on Paper
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2015: Craft, Photography, Video/Digital
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2014: Painting, Sculpture
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2013: Mixed Media, Works on Paper
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2012: Craft, Photography
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2011: Painting, Sculpture
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2010: Mixed Media, Works on Paper
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2009: Fine Crafts, Photography
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The views and opinions expressed in any content from outside partners do not necessarily reflect the views of the Utah Division of Arts & Museums. Questions?
Peter Hay
Visual Arts Coordinator
801.600.2786
