Escalante Canyons Art Festival Celebrates 20 Years
Looking Back – Looking Forward
The Escalante Canyons Art Festival celebrates its 20th Anniversary September 20-29, 2024.
In 2003, Steve Roberts and his friend, Gail, were reading Vagabond for Beauty, a biography of Everett Ruess, a 20-year-old artist who disappeared into the canyons 70 years earlier in 1934. Gail turned to Steve and said, “You should have an art festival in his honor!”
Steve contacted Harriet Priska, the “hard-working engine” who got things done. They called a town meeting for input, attended an art festival in Price, Utah, for ideas on how to proceed, organized committees, invited artists throughout the state, and launched the first festival with the help of many volunteers. Thirty-nine artists participated that first year, a modest beginning that has blossomed into a grand celebration of art and nature. Last year, 88 artists from all over the world joined in this celebration.
Everett Reuss appreciated the beauty of this region. The festival name changed from Everett Reuss Days to Escalante Canyons Art Festival, emphasizing the area rather than the individual. We invite all artists of every persuasion, medium, skill level, and emphasis to participate in this year’s festival and experience this unique region for yourself.
Come celebrate the stunning public lands of Utah’s canyon country. Hosted in Escalante, Utah, along Scenic Byway 12 between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks, the festival holds workshops from Boulder to Bryce Canyon in the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Competitions, exhibits, sales, workshops, demonstrations, arts and crafts, live music, guided walks, and more are offered to satisfy any art-related interest.
Early registration is open now for the following competitions: plein air, studio, nocturne, miniature, paint-out, drawing, and junior categories (Grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12).
Whether it is to listen to Sihasin’s music, engage in a group painting excursion, or purchase an inspiring piece, we invite Utah and the rest of the world to experience the intense beauty in and around the Grand Staircase—Escalante National Monument. We hope an artistic spirit of adventure touches a special creative desire in all of us as we seek to express “Art Inspired by Place,” as Everett did all those years ago.
More information with all the related details can be found at EscalanteCanyonsArtFestival.org.
