Art for Bears Ears and The Grand Staircase Escalante

Work from the She Loves Me Not Press print collective. This exhibition invites us to contemplate Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante as they are, and as they are in the process of change.Artists' StatementOn July 13, 2026 by presidential proclamation two of Utah’s largest and most celebrated national monuments were reduced to a fraction of their size. This exhibition will express the immense value Utahns receive from these protected landscapes, and explore what we stand to lose.The rich colors and delicate ecosystems in Utah’s southern desert landscape have inspired masterpieces by Maynard Dixon, the vagabond work of Everett Reuss and lesser known communities of artists in the small towns like Helper, Teasdale, or Bluff.Grande Staircase National Monument was established in 1996, and after extensive tribal advocacy Bears Ears National Monument was established in 2016. The land being removed from these designations will become eligible for resource extraction, lose tribal oversight, and see reduced regulation in public recreation. These proposed changes will take effect September 11, 2026. The immediacy of such changes introduce urgency for public conversation and awareness on the realities of this redesignation.The show will feature artwork from the She Loves Me Not Press print collective. These five artists are emerging in the field from the University of Utah’s printmaking department and remain engaged in a variety of meticulous artistic practices. Each member will produce two to three artworks in conversation with Bears Ears and/or the Grande Staircase Escalante National Monuments.Three participating artists will be traveling to Bears Ears at the end of August to make work in situ, but the majority of the pieces on display will be derived from prior experience and research on the area.