Brigham City Museum of Art & History Opens Wintertime Plein Air Competition

Brigham City Museum of Art & History Opens Wintertime Plein Air Competition

The Brigham City Museum of Art & History presents its ninth annual Utah Plein Air competition open Saturday, January 15 through Saturday, April 9 with an awards ceremony on Saturday, February 12 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Plein Air competitions are community challenges for artists of any level to celebrate the beauty and wonder of the natural world. The spirit of plein air requires artists to paint their entries entirely “out in the open air” and have only a very short time in which to paint, frame, and submit their entries. Renowned plein air artist Allen Brockbank served as jurist.

The competition was open to artists of all ages, backgrounds, skills, and experience. A wintertime setting adds another layer of adventure to the spirit of plein air painting and this year’s artists painted on some of the coldest and snowiest days so far this winter. Their entries celebrate Utah in a season rarely captured through other plein air competitions. 

The museum encourages visitors to see if they can recognize the location captured in each landscape. Artists hailed from as close to the museum as a couple of blocks away to the artist community of Helper, UT. The feeling of presence, a sense of the time of day, a location’s tell-tale signs, are important aspects of plein air painting. “The variety of the entries this year is stunning,” said Museum Director Alana Blumenthal.  “Even more impressive is the enthusiasm from our artists, some of them new to our competition and some we see each year, but all excited to be a part of this communal reflection on Utah in wintertime.”

COVID-19 Protocols:

Museum staff take the health and well being of their visitors seriously. We encourage visitors who are not vaccinated to wear masks.  Hand sanitizer and soap are accessible in the gallery and restrooms. 

About the Brigham City Museum of Art & History

The Brigham City Museum of Art & History is northern Utah’s cultural hub, offering temporary exhibitions on art (contemporary and historical) and history. The museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret art and materials that tell stories of human experiences and of the land. 

The museum is a department of Brigham City Corporation and receives added support from the Box Elder Museum Foundation. It is located at 24 North 300 West. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Guided tours are available by appointment.  Admission is free. Visit brighamcitymuseum.org for more information. 

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Please contact Museum Director Alana Blumenthal at ablumenthal@bcutah.org or Curator of Education Mary Ann Urban at maurban@bcutah.org or call 435-226-1439 for more information.