S.L. Art Center is now the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Art Center has announced that it is changing its name to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, also to be known as UMOCA. (pronounced "you-mocha").

Museum officials say the change will provide greater clarity about what the institution offers.

"This is not the first time we have changed our name," Adam Price, executive director, said in a news release. "This institution started life as the Art Barn in 1931, and then changed to Salt Lake Art Center in 1958. As the community in Salt Lake has grown since then, so, too, has the Art Center, becoming a vibrant contemporary art museum."

In the past 12 months, the Art Center has exhibited work by leading national and international artists, including TED presenter Miwa Matreyek; MacArthur Genius Award recipient Bill T. Jones; Guggenheim Fellow Jennifer Nelson; Venice Biennale artist Daniela Comani; 2011 Rome Prize winner Mary Reid Kelly; recipient of the Leone d'Oro award for Lifetime Achievement, Barbara Kruger; and the inaugural recipient of the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting, Kim Schoenstadt.

On Dec. 2, UMOCA opened a new exhibition by German artist and Fulbright scholar Mirko Martin, and in January UMOCA will exhibit artists working at the cutting-edge of digital media as part of Sundance Film Festival's New Frontier.

"Our new name honors the many contributions of past trustees, directors, staff, donors and volunteers who have sustained the organization for eight decades, while moving us simultaneously toward a bright and exciting future," said Roy Jespersen, president-elect of UMOCA's board of trustees.

For more information see the museum's website, utahmoca.org.