Utah Museum of Fine Arts
4.6(1.0K)google
4.2(47)yelp
ArtEducationalContemporary ArtIndoor
Overview
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA), located on the beautiful campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, stands as the region's premier cultural institution for global visual arts history. The museum houses an impressive permanent collection of over 20,000 diverse works spanning 5,000 years of human creativity, including classic European masterworks, historic Native American textiles, ancient Egyptian artifacts, and bold contemporary art installations. The museum's carefully curated spaces successfully educate and inspire traveling art enthusiasts by offering rotating international exhibitions and interactive community labs that bridge global cultures.
Practical Info
MonClosed
Tue10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wed10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thu10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Fri10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sat10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sun10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Suggested Duration2-3 hours
Best TimeBest visited Wednesday through Sunday right at 10:00 AM opening from September to May. As the state's premier visual arts museum housing a world-class collection spanning 5,000 years of global heritage, entering early grants you peaceful, crowd-free access. Note: Admission is completely free to the public on the first Wednesday of every month.
Getting ThereLocated on the University of Utah campus cluster at 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City. Take 400 South east from downtown, climb straight into the university hills, and follow signs onto Campus Center Drive. The facility features a commercial paid multi-level parking garage structure directly adjacent to the western wing transept.
Travel Tips
- Two-Day Weekly Closures (Monday & Tuesday): Located deep within the University of Utah campus infrastructure, this fine arts museum remains completely closed to the general public on both Mondays and Tuesdays every week.
- Monthly First Wednesday Complimentary Admissions: Standard adult admission costs $17. Budget-conscious travelers should target the first Wednesday of every month, when general access is entirely free; reserve these online tickets 24 hours prior before they run out.
- University Parking Lot Paid App Tracking: The surface parking slots directly serving the museum entryway are non-complimentary. Motorists must scan the municipal signs to log license plates into the campus parking app to pay hourly fees; enforcement cars scan non-paid plates continuously.
Reviews
Positive
- As Utah's premier venue for fine arts, its soaring, light-filled modernist architectural space packs high visual impact; global paintings and native sculptures live up to its fame.
- The galleries feature state-of-the-art climate control, highly fluid routing, flawless elevator accessibility, and spotlessly clean family restrooms.
- The student docents are polite and gentle, hosting scheduled free hands-on art workshops that deliver great experiential value for families.
- The admission pass is priced highly affordably with free admission on select Wednesdays, offering incredible value for premium mental cultivation.
Heads up
- Set inside a sprawling university campus, surrounding road signs are sparse, making it easy for out-of-town drivers to get lost in the campus grid.
- During weekday peaks, campus parking gets incredibly tight, often packing the museum's small private lot and forcing walks from paid garages.
- All professional art historical and biography plaques are English-only, completely lacking multilingual translations and reducing foreign tourists' fun.
- The on-site boutique gift shop and café price their merchandise and refreshments on the higher side, representing standard high-premium tourist pricing.