{"id":98062,"date":"2025-11-19T18:11:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=98062"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:46:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:46:39","slug":"this-father-daughter-duo-want-to-bring-an-art-fair-to-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/this-father-daughter-duo-want-to-bring-an-art-fair-to-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"This Father Daughter Duo Wants to Build an Art Fair in Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kevin O’Keefe and Briana Dolan outside the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, where they will hold the first Salt Lake Art Show, May 14-17, 2026. Image by Steve Coray.<\/p><\/div>\n

From more than 30 years of launching exhibitions, including the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Kevin O\u2019Keefe has learned one thing above all: face-to-face connections matter. \u201cIt became clear that getting in front of the right person shortens the time to a decision and dramatically increases business,\u201d he says. \u201cAs marketing changed and access to decision makers became much more difficult\u2014calling was impossible, voice mail blocked you, emails were never opened or spammed out, social was too scattered and indirect\u2014if you did not meet the person randomly in a supermarket for instance, an exhibition was the only way.\u201d<\/h4>\n

That\u2019s why when he and his daughter, Briana Dolan, both moved to Reno, Nevada in the wake of the pandemic, they founded the Reno Tahoe International Art Show to showcase the local creative community.<\/h4>\n

Now they want to do the same for Utah.<\/h4>\n

During the early months of COVID-19, Dolan, who was then working for a high-end hospitality design firm in Manhattan, relocated with her husband to Reno, Nevada. \u201cWhat I knew was that he grew up there and it was close to Lake Tahoe,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t know was the breadth of creatives living\u2014and moving\u2014there, and the enthusiasm for the arts.\u201d<\/h4>\n

As New York shut down, her parents followed them west, \u201ctechnically to see the grandchildren,\u201d she jokes, but the move would quickly turn into something larger. Together, the family discovered a surprisingly deep reservoir of regional talent, and as the world reopened, a sharp increase in cultural demand\u2014particularly from affluent newcomers who had settled around the lake during the shutdown.<\/h4>\n

Their first experiment was modest\u2014a pop-up gallery featuring only regional artists. \u201c”As hobby artists ourselves, it was both fulfilling and exciting to see the space so immediately appreciated by all,\u201d Dolan says. \u201cA lot of art sold.\u201d But the experience also revealed something essential: Reno\u2019s creative community was thriving, but disjointed. \u201cWe saw the RTIA Show as a way to present all the arts together, effectively creating a much stronger presentation that both celebrated and elevated the arts of the area.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>

The 2024 Reno Tahoe International Art Show. Image courtesy of Peak Art Fairs.<\/p><\/div>\n

They went into the experiment a bit blind.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThere really was no current information at all,”\u00a0O\u2019Keefe notes. “We could see the population was massively increasing, but there was little hard data to source. So, we launched and hoped for the best.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Rather than copy and paste the standard art-fair template, they say they wanted to create something fun, welcoming, and unmistakably regional. The response exceeded expectations. The fair grew into a diverse, inclusive event drawing audiences from more than 20 states and multiple countries. It doubled in size each year, while the team refined it annually through exhibitor feedback. \u201cWe were passionate about creating an event that could, over time, change the way Reno is viewed,\u201d Dolan says. \u201cWe often referenced SXSW in Austin or Art Week in Miami\u2014events that reshaped their home cities.\u201d<\/h4>\n

As the fair matured, the pair started looking toward the next logical step. Salt Lake City stood out immediately: a market six times larger than Reno, visibly arts-focused, and culturally rich.<\/h4>\n

This time, O\u2019Keefe was not working in the dark. \u201cThe data was a couple of years old, but it was easy to track a current population of three million residents, with thousands more arriving every month,\u201d he says. \u201cThe average age is 34, and they earn over $100,000 annually on average\u2014greater than almost any major city in the nation. More than 60,000 residents are multimillionaires with a strong majority owning multiple homes. Best of all, the entire population is concentrated within an area that allows for an easy drive to the show.\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt is high time for the Utah art market to carve out a larger spot in the regional and national stage by hosting a serious regional show like this,\u201d says Esther Hi’ilani Candari, a Utah County artist and founder of Provo\u2019s Compass Gallery. The gallery will be exhibiting with SLAS in the spring. \u201cMy hope for it is that it not only brings out of state collectors in to see a concentrated example of the caliber of work Utah has to offer but that it is also a wake up call for local collectors to take the top notch local market more seriously.\u201d<\/h4>\n

O\u2019Keefe and Dolan say while Reno is developing, Salt Lake has arrived. \u201cAlmost 5,000 accomplished and talented artists, 40 galleries, four significant museums and four Universities. In addition, galleries in Utah prefer to represent Utah artists\u2014some artists are in more than one regional gallery\u2014unheard of anywhere else in the world.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Additional advantages include non-union convention centers and an airport that makes Salt Lake a simple destination for national and international buyers.<\/h4>\n

Their enthusiasm is shared locally. In early November, fresh off the fourth iteration of RTIA in September, the pair met with partners across the state, including Peter Hay, visual arts coordinator for the Utah Division of Arts & Museums (UA&M). \u201cI\u2019m excited about a new economic opportunity for visual artists and galleries in Utah,\u201d Hay says. \u201cEvents like this can draw new art patrons to the region to see\u2014and hopefully purchase\u2014work by Utah artists.\u201d<\/h4>\n

To support that opportunity, UA&M launched a pilot scholarship program to help Utah artists cover the cost of exhibiting. Ten scholarships were offered on a first-come basis, and all were claimed within weeks. \u201cArtists are regularly asking me what other avenues they have for showing and selling their work. I imagine there will be some hesitation to take part this first year, but I can see this growing into the future.”<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cLike the RTIA Show in Reno, the Salt Lake Art Show will be designed around the regional community first,\u201d Dolan says. “Essential to the welcoming environment we are striving to create is a sense of community ownership and pride.” They\u2019ve already committed complimentary exhibition space to the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University, the Salt Lake Arts Council, and the Springville Museum of Art. Invitations have gone out to local dance and film schools, Oaxaca Utah, and the 801 Salon to participate in programming that includes panel discussions, keynote speakers, short films, dance, theater, music, and cultural performances.<\/h4>\n

They are also collaborating with Utah artist Caro Nilsson to create a dedicated graphic identity for the inaugural show. Her artwork will appear online, in the printed Buyer\u2019s Guide, on complimentary and for-purchase merchandise, and in a featured booth within the Utah Treasures segment.<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Salt Lake Art Show 2026 Preliminary Floor Plan<\/p><\/div>\n

The Salt Lake Art Show will be at the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy May 14-17, 2026, and will be built around six segments:<\/h4>\n