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Jessica Farling to head the Southern Utah Museum of Art

The Southern Utah Museum of Art, which opened on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City last year (see here), announced this week that Jessica Farling will be coming to Cedar City on July 1 to begin her new job as museum director/curator.Farling arrives in southern Utah from the University of Oklahoma, where she began her career in art and museums as a student employee working as a part-time educator at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. She received her Master’s of Arts in Museum Studies from the University of Oklahoma and became a full-time museum educator and eventually took a position as the Director of Public Engagement.

She hopes her career path can inspire many of the students on the SUU campus to pursue similar trajectories, and the museum’s student-centered experiential learning environment is part of what drew her to the job. “I find that museums are rejuvenating and even have a calming effect. Museums help us see the world through a different lens. They show us other perspectives, cultures, and periods of time all in one place. The way that I feel about art and museums is something that I want for everyone–no matter their background!”

Farling says she is also a big fan of the outdoors and the performing arts, making Cedar City an ideal location. “My husband and I have traveled to Utah many times. We love the outdoors: hiking, camping, fly fishing, and National Parks. We started a National Park passport a couple of years ago and quickly filled the Rocky Mountain Region because it is our favorite. Zion National Park is one of the most amazing places! In addition to getting to work at SUMA, I cannot wait to see every production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I also look forward to taking my National Park passport to Cedar Breaks National Monument for a new stamp!”

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