New museum director is passionate about Utah art

Emily Larsen always knew she wanted to be a museum curator someday. Even as a teenager growing up in North Ogden, she would tell anyone who asked about her dream of overseeing and caring for a museum’s displays.

At the beginning of 2023, she obtained the job she seemed destined for: director of the Springville Museum of Art.

“I keep telling people I feel really excited and really humbled by it, too,” Larsen said of her new role. “I really believe in the museum and its potential and its impact. I’ve seen our visitors have life-changing moments in the galleries.… I feel so passionate about the collections and the future of the museum that it’s a huge honor to be asked to run it.”

Larsen interned and volunteered at the Springville Museum of Art while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in art history from Brigham Young University. She also worked for the BYU Museum of Art, working on some curatorial and education projects there.

Following her graduation from BYU, she was hired in 2014 by the Springville Museum of Art to work as registrar and assistant curator. Four years later, she was promoted to head of exhibitions and programs. In 2020, she was named Museum Educator of the Year by the Utah Art Education Association and in 2021 received the Rising Museum Professional Award from the Utah Museums Association.

In 2018, she went back to school parttime at the University of Utah to obtain her master’s degree. Having developed a passion for Utah art and history during her time working at the Springville museum, Larsen obtained her master’s degree in history, with all her research projects focusing on Utah art and Utah’s cultural history.

She completed her master’s degree in 2021, and Larsen is now a recognized researcher and scholar of Utah art. “It’s a passion of mine, so I’ve spent a lot of time developing that expertise and knowledge base,” she said.

The Springville museum is home to one of the largest collections of Utah art and is unique in the state in that its central focus is to collect and exhibit Utah art. “I think it’s definitely the premiere collection of Utah art in the state,” Larsen said. “I think that’s what’s really exciting about the Springville Museum of Art is we’re constantly collecting (Utah art, past and present) and displaying it.”

Rita Wright, the museum’s former director, retired at the end of 2021 after spending a decade leading the Springville museum. Larsen said she loved working with Wright, who served as a mentor to her both at the Springville museum and at the BYU Museum of Art, where Wright worked while Larsen was a student there.

It’s a testament to Wright that Larsen was selected as her successor, Larsen said, as it shows the city wanted the museum to continue with the same focus and mission Wright had championed.

Larsen said under her leadership, the museum will continue to fill its niche in the Utah art world as well as maintain its educational focus. The museum has a variety of free core curriculum-based resources available for elementary and secondary educators and offers Evenings for Educators where teachers can learn how to incorporate art into their classrooms.

The museum also hosts tours for thousands of Utah students each year as well as the annual Utah All-State High School

Art Show.

Larsen said the Springville Museum of Art is a “true community museum,” and she wants to continue to curate and develop programming that speaks to its local audience. With mental health and wellness currently trending as a priority for museums, she hopes to continue creating a space that serves as a peaceful sanctuary for its visitors.

She also hopes to find new ways to attract tourists passing by on Interstate 15 to the museum. Visitors from the local community, however, will remain a priority.

“I would love every household to be visiting the museum multiple times a year,” she said. “I want everyone in Springville to feel like it’s their museum and they want to be visiting it regularly.”