Escalante Canyons Art Festival (ECAF) will celebrate its 21st year in the breathtaking red rock scenery of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument from September 19 to 28, 2025. What began as a grassroots effort to bring artists into the wild beauty of southern Utah has grown into a multifaceted, ten-day event that blends art, music, natural history, and community.
This year’s lineup is as diverse as the landscape itself, offering opportunities for every kind of creative. Visual art takes center stage, with demonstrations and classes across a wide range of styles. Attendees can learn the fine lines of woodcut printmaking, explore simplified watercolor plein air, practice painting shapes and shadows in the shifting sun, or dive into on-site oil painting sessions. Other workshops include composing a Southwestern landscape and creating nature-inspired abstracts—each offering practical instruction while surrounded by some of the most dramatic terrain in the West.
The festival also celebrates artistic achievement through its competitions. Winners will take home a share of $10,000 in awards across six categories: plein air, studio work, junior, miniature, abstract, and nocturne. These juried events showcase not only the technical skill but also the wide perspectives artists bring to interpreting the Escalante landscape.
ECAF is not limited to visual artists. Writers will find inspiration through workshops on storytelling in the desert setting, designed to encourage creative reflection tied directly to place. Naturalist sessions add another dimension, with participants guided in identifying clouds, medicinal plants, bats, and conifers through discussions led by professional herbalists and rangers. Each day also features excursions into the vast public lands of the monument, where artists, writers, and visitors alike can learn and create on-site.
This year’s featured local artists, Dwight and Jalene Vance, will present their extensive collection of award-winning wood carvings. Their works range from detailed Santas and whimsical characters to fish, spoons, and natural scenes, each piece carved with precision and care. Textile art also has a strong presence, with both heritage and modern quilts on display.
Performance art adds another vibrant layer. Musicians will share an eclectic mix, spanning jazz, folk, rock, bluegrass, and Norwegian instrumental melodies, offering audiences a constantly shifting soundtrack throughout the festival. In addition, four painters will demonstrate different plein air methods while tackling the same landscape: a watercolorist, a pastelist, an oil painter using a brush, and an oil painter using a palette knife. These side-by-side sessions highlight the diversity of approach that defines plein air art and remind audiences how one view can inspire entirely different artistic interpretations.
ECAF is a participatory festival at heart. Whether you come as an artist ready to compete, a writer looking for inspiration, a naturalist eager to learn, a vendor hoping to share your work, or a visitor who simply wants to browse or buy, there is a place for you. The atmosphere is one of inclusion and encouragement, where both seasoned professionals and curious newcomers are welcomed into the creative community.
The spirit of diversity and variety defines not only the event but also the setting. Escalante’s red rock canyons, expansive skies, and rugged beauty create a backdrop that naturally inspires creativity. In celebrating art in all its forms—visual, performance, literary, and natural history—the Escalante Canyons Art Festival remains one of Utah’s most eclectic and uplifting cultural gatherings.
Classes are already beginning to fill, and organizers encourage participants to register soon. For full schedules, class descriptions, and registration details, visit the festival website..
