Utah— Fifteen organizations impacted by the loss of concerts, live theater, and tourism have been approved for emergency relief funding.

The organizations that will receive funds are among the state’s largest entertainment venues and cultural groups, with anticipated combined losses of over $100 million since the beginning of the pandemic. The $9 million in grants was appropriated by the Utah Legislature from the federal CARES Act and distributed by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums.

“This funding opportunity provides critical support for Utah’s flagship museums and arts organizations as they pivot to share their talents and exhibitions,” Arts & Museums Director Victoria Bourns said. “Our goal is to have these organizations open to us when the pandemic ends.”

Only organizations with an operating budget of more than $5 million qualified for the grants. The funding must be partially used to host an event or activity that will increase visitors and tourism.

An additional $7.5 million for the grants was approved by legislators during their Aug. 20 Special Session. Legislative changes to the program eliminated the annual budget threshold. Through these allocations, the legislature is investing resources into Utah’s cultural organizations to be part of Utah’s recovery and Utahns’ return to positive and safe engagement in community activities. Updated grant guidelines for this second round of funding will be announced by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums in early September.

The organizations who will receive funding include:

●        Ballet West

●        Broadway Media

●        Dan Farr Productions/Fan X

●        Hale Centre Theatre (Sandy)

●        Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

●        MagicSpace Entertainment

●        Maverik Center

●        Natural History Museum of Utah

●        Red Butte Garden

●        Sundance Institute

●        Thanksgiving Point

●        Tuacahn Center for the Arts

●        Utah’s Hogle Zoo

●        Utah Shakespeare Festival

●        Utah Symphony | Utah Opera