Welcome Annie Kennedy, Curator of Education

The staff and Board of Trustees of the Salt Lake Art Center are pleased to introduce our new Curator of Education, Annie Kennedy. Kennedy comes to the Art Center from the Park City Kimball Art Center, having served as its Director of Education and Volunteer Coordinator. She is also an adjunct professor at Westminster College.

In 2001, Kennedy received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. During her tenure at RISD, she spent a year studying in Rome, Italy, as part of the school’s European Honors Program. In 2004, she earned her MFA from the Parsons School of Design in New York, New York. There she received the “Graduate Student of Merit Award.”

Her career as an artist has been equally lauded: in 2004, she was awarded an Artist in Residence Grant from the Salt Lake Arts Council. The following year she received an Individual Artist Project Grant from the Utah Arts Council.

Born in Salt Lake City as the youngest of six children, Kennedy was raised Mormon. She mines this experience for inspiration in her artwork. She writes: “Though Mormons share the landscape and history of America, many Mormon customs and beliefs vary from (or are even contradictory to) what many consider modern American values. As a part of this distinctive culture, I feel we have also developed an unusual visual language and aesthetic. My artwork is an exploration of this particular visual legacy and an examination of how it interacts with the culture of America and the language of the contemporary art world.”

Our pleasure at her installation as the Art Center’s Curator of Education is matched by her
excitement. She says: “As a long-time patron, I am honored to be joining the exceptional staff here at the Salt Lake Art Center. I believe deeply in the importance of art education and fully support the Art Center in its mission to promote contemporary art that challenges and educates the public in their perceptions of civil, social and aesthetic issues. I am enthusiastic about the many opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to further development in the wonderful education programming here at the Salt Lake Art Center.”