Salt Lake City
May 1, 2026 | 6 PM
A public symposium at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, The Sacred West brings together artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners for an evening of talks, performance, and participatory workshops exploring contemporary relationships to land in the American West. The program emphasizes dialogue, shared experience, and interdisciplinary approaches, with a communal dinner included as part of the event.
Participants include Dr. Benjamin Lewis, presenting on psychedelic science and emerging clinical applications at the University of Utah; Kat Nix, leading a workshop on plant-based ritual and healing practices through flower essences; Stephen Rodgers, performing original compositions inspired by the Great Salt Lake; and Blanca Stacey Villalobos, facilitating a workshop on land, dreams, and meditative practice.
The symposium is presented in conjunction with Altered States in the Acid West, an exhibition featuring artists such as Ileana Alarcón, Janna Avner, Will Bruno, Phillip Cash Cash, Paula Castillo, Russel Albert Daniels, Drew Dodge, Jim Frazer, Levi Jackson, Jim Mangan, Daryl Celeste Meador, Diego Medina, Martín Nuñez, Sarah M. Rodriguez, Jonathan Ryan, Shelby Shadwell, Rick Silva, Gilmore Scott, Margaret R. Thompson, Dani Tull, Jose Villalobos, and Emmi Whitehorse, among others. The exhibition reconsiders the mythology and visual language of the American West through the lens of the 1970s “acid western.”
A limited-capacity guided hike will take place the following day as an extension of the program, inviting participants into direct engagement with the landscape.
Admission: $10 (includes dinner; registration required)
Venue: Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT
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Categories: Events | Visual Arts Events
