Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts



Museum Admission

Museum admission is free. The museum is open Thursdays – Saturdays, 10 a.m. t0 4 p.m. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram

HOLIDAY CLOSURE: The Chase Home will be closed December 26-28. 

Upcoming Events

Folk Art Workshop at Chase Home. December 7 at 2 p.m.

Vejigante Mask-Painting Workshop

Join us at Chase Home on Dec. 7 for a hands-on workshop on vejigante mask-making taught by artist Allison Martinez Arocho. Learn about the art form and paint your own mask to take home with you.

Time: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Registration: $10
Ages: 6+

Register Here

Exhibitions


ochre and crochet swatches

Elpitha Tsoutsounakis (she/her) is a Cretan-American designer, printer, and founding faculty in the Division of Multi-disciplinary Design at the University of Utah. She directs the Field Studio Geontological Survey, or FSGS, a design research collective thinking with Ochre and other lithic dimensions. Visit the FSGS archive at unknownprospect.org for past survey installations.



OPENING RECEPTION

Dec. 14, 2024 | 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Join us at the opening reception to meet with the artist and take part in the first public unraveling!

Geontological Survey of the Big Field

Elpitha Tsoutsounakis

Dec. 14, 2024 - March 15, 2025


The Geontological Survey of the Big Field imagines alternative relations to local territories through pigments, printmaking, and traditional handcrafts. The exhibition is inspired by research on local archives, pioneer histories of the Chase Farmstead, 18th-century maps of Salt Lake City, as well as observations of water, geology, and human movement between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Front. Tsoutsounakis interprets this assemblage of research through drawing and the binary logic of filet crochet to realize – and resist – the ubiquitous grid through ochre collected from the Wasatch valley. The survey conveys relationships between life (bios) and nonlife (geos) through artwork that centers materiality, domestic labor, and care through the creative practice. 

Throughout the exhibition in the living room of the Chase Home – where early settlers once “gathered and danced to the fiddle” – various pieces of the show representing five-acre blocks of the “Big Field” will be unraveled on a great spinning wheel and then stitched into new forms drawn by members of the community. Join us at the museum with the artist throughout the show for ochre workshops and public unravelings of some of the pieces, where you can offer your own images of the Big Field to be reflected in the exhibition. Watch our social media for dates and details!


Image


Piecing Together Home:
New American Reflections on
Home and Belonging

Sept. 14 - Nov. 30

“Piecing Together Home: New American Reflections on Home and Belonging” is a show curated by the International Rescue Committee that features a variety of artists’ work. The show explores the questions of what home looks like for a refugee and how folk art weaves its way into a refugee’s daily experiences. The exhibition will tell the stories of new Americans from across the Salt Lake Valley and their journey of resettlement through their artwork.

Each year, Utah welcomes around 1,200 refugees through the federal Refugee Admissions Program, in addition to other displaced people and those who choose to immigrate to the U.S. seeking opportunities. These new Americans bring skills and cultural traditions with them as they bravely make the Salt Lake Valley their new home. This exhibition showcases how some new Americans adapt in new environments and create a sense of home and belonging for themselves in a new country. 


Opening Reception: 

Sept. 14 | 2 p.m.- 4 p.m.

Living Folk Arts for Kids and Adults
Our program, Living Folk Arts for Kids and Adults, is free and allows interested learners in schools, arts and community organizations, and museums to actively learn and engage in a variety of folk arts found throughout Utah. Participants can choose to schedule a wide range of traditional arts workshops at the Chase Home Museum in Salt Lake City, or request a workshop at the location of their choice. We are thrilled to offer these workshops and look forward to learning about and celebrating folk art with you!

Guidelines:

  • Each location can request either to have an assembly presentation or a single class visual arts workshop. Requests will be reviewed case by case to determine if an artform/artist can accommodate an assembly.
    •  ***Visual arts workshops typically can only accommodate a single classroom/group***
  • Teaching artists can have up to two workshops per year through the Living Folk Arts program.
  • Priority will go to schools, teachers, and organizations that did not take part in the program during FY2024 (August 2023-June 2024).

To request a workshop:

Explore the Folk and Traditional Arts section of our Teaching Artist Roster Directory and fill out the form below to let us know what types of workshops you’re interested in and where you’d like the workshop to take place. 
Click Here to Request a Workshop

Please reach out to Jenna Ehlinger ([email protected] or 801.953.3859) or Elisha Condie ([email protected] or 801.245.7285) with any questions.


About the Chase Home

The Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts is the only museum in the country dedicated to displaying a state-owned collection of contemporary folk art. It features objects made by Utah artists from the state’s American Indian, rural, occupational and ethnic communities. The Museum offers a snapshot of Utah’s heritage and contemporary culture. The Chase Home, built more than 150 years ago in a traditional hall-and-parlor style from adobe bricks, is a fine example of 19th century folk art.

The mission of the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts is to bring together Utah's diverse cultures and communities to preserve and celebrate their traditions. We strive to accomplish this mission by providing and creating a space where various groups of people can engage with folk and traditional arts through exhibitions, workshops, guided tours, school field trips, and community events. The Chase Home Museum hosts a variety of events in partnership with community organizations that include: artist visits, demonstrations, meet-ups, concerts, and performances.

The Chase Home Museum is always free and open to the public during posted hours. The ground level has two exhibition galleries as well as a timeline with information about the history of Liberty Park, the Chase family and the Chase Home. There are two exhibition galleries on the second level that are only accessible by stairs. The museum also houses a small library of folk and traditional arts related resources that are available for browsing while at the museum.

Community Engagement & Workshops

A gallery located on the first floor is used as a space to facilitate engagement with contemporary folk and traditional arts and artists. Throughout the year, the Chase Home Museum hosts a variety of events that include: temporary exhibitions by local artists, hands-on activities geared towards children, and artist facilitated workshops where participants learn the history and techniques of different traditional arts. Follow our Facebook page for the latest announcements about events hosted in our community gallery.

Guided Tours & Field Trips

The Chase Home Museum offers guided tours and educational activities for groups of all ages. The museum is a wonderful destination to learn about local communities, traditions, and arts. Tours and field trips can be tailored to the interests and comprehension level of any group. We also offer educational activities for school groups to help students apply what they learn in the museum. Tours typically take 30-60 minutes.

Tour Request Form

State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection

In 1899, the Utah legislature passed Alice Merrill Horne’s “Art Bill,” which created the first state-funded arts council in the nation. The law’s purpose was to support local artists, expand the influence of art in education, sponsor an annual art exhibition, and establish a state art collection.

Established in 1976, the Utah Folk Art Collection contains over 450 pieces of traditional arts and crafts from the State’s European, Asian, Latinx, Pacific Islander, and African communities. As a critical part of the State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection, it includes paintings, sculptures, textiles, woodcarving, metalwork, saddles, beadwork, and more.

The State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Art Collection grows annually through selections made by the Art Acquisition Committee. The committee includes appointed community experts who recommend, review, and approve the commission and acquisition of Utah art.


View the Utah Folk Arts Collection

Explore Our Digital Folk Arts Exhibitions

Planning Your Visit


The Chase Home Museum is located in the middle of Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. To visit, enter the park from either 900 South or 1300 South and follow the signs to parking lots near the center of the park. From each parking lot, there are sidewalks leading to the museum. 

The entrance to the museum includes a ramp, and the first floor is wheelchair accessible, offering two galleries and a history timeline of the Chase Home. The second level is only accessible via stairs. There are no public restrooms. For questions about location, hours, and accessibility, please see the contact information below. 

Map of Liberty Park indicating location of Chase Home Museum


Questions?


Chase Home Museum
Information Desk
801.245.7285

Jenna Ehlinger
Museum Manager
801.953.3859

Ian Hallagan
Folk Arts Coordinator
801.645.2821

Elisha Condie
Museum Assistant
801.245.7285