HISTORY

What We've Achieved...

  • 501c3 nonprofit status in 1997

  • 200 year round programs to over 6500 people annually

  • Events offered for free or very little cost to attendees

  • Highlights and utilizes local artists & educators

  • Offer multiple grants to support local artistic, cultural, educational and community endeavors

  • Support Alta Radio

  • Began Mental Health Program 2018

  • Alta School Outreach since 2009

  • Alta Gala since 2006

  • Snowflake Festival

  • Wasatch Wildflower Festival

  • Wasatch Art Soiree

  • Welcome to Winter

  • Endowment with Albion Financial

  • Artist in Residence since 2021

  • Four murals

  • Creative Placemaking

  • Alta Community Flag

  • Two bus stops wrapped

  • Full move into Our Lady of the Snows in 2025

Grants...

ACE has been the recipient of numerous grants, including the National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Arts Council, the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts and Parks Fund, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and the 2002 Salt Lake Cultural Olympics. Additional Funding is received from the generous contributions of community members, foundations, and in-kind donations.

ACE's mission is to create opportunities in arts, culture, and education for the enhancement and well being of the Little Cottonwood Canyon community.

It all started in 1995...

When community members recognized the need for professional coordination of grassroots events in Alta, Utah. That same year, the Our Lady of the Snows Center building was completed and identified as a venue for ACE. A very successful season of programming during the winter of 1996-1997 catalyzed the formal organization of ACE. In 1997, ACE was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since inception, ACE has served the community by offering quality and diverse events and programs for free or at very little cost to its attendees. In 2004, the first Executive Director was hired and a second staff member, the Programming and Marketing Director, was created.

Today...

ACE currently hosts about 200 year-round art, culture, and education events for free or very little cost to an average of 6,500 people annually. Our events are diverse enough to bring out folks of all ages, and no experience is required to participate in any event. ACE maintains small class sizes that enable an intimate environment where participants have access to one-on-one instruction. Some examples of our programming include weekly art, culture, and education: printmaking, painting, jewelry, culinary arts, yoga ...as you can see, we like to keep it very diverse. ACE’s art programming is hands-on, where each participant goes home with instructions, recipes, and a finished product. Our larger events include, but are not limited to, the Wildflower and Snowflake Festivals, Mountainfilm Tour Stop, Live Music, Welcome to Winter, Alta Kid’s Day, Alta Earth Day, Alta Biathlon, Women’s Arm Wrestling.

ACE is not just events…

The ACE Grant Program started in 2007 with the Artist Grant. Currently, ACE has multiple grants awarded annually to community members. The ACE Artist in Residence Program, which began in 2021, provides an artist the opportunity to reflect, relax, and create in the inspiring mountains of Alta, Utah. Our Creative Placemaking Program has included many murals, a community flag, and wrapped bus stops. These elements bring vibrancy and intrigue to the area, enhance its character, and foster a strong sense of place. We are very proud of our Alta School Outreach Program. Since 2009, ACE has supported arts, culture, and education programming at our one-room public school located in Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge in Alta.

In the past, ACE’s Community Support Program has supported Alta Radio, a community-based radio to serve Little Cottonwood Canyon and beyond; the Utah Avalanche Center; Our Lady of the Snows; installed a bike repair stand; and supported two outdoor public art murals created by local artists. We also honored the memory of Adam Naisbitt & Donald Brantley, two Alta community members who died by suicide in 2017, by donating to National Alliance of Mental Illness. Upon seeing the need, ACE has committed to increasing mental health awareness within our community and began a Mental Health Program in November 2018.

ACE highlights and utilizes local artists and educators from Alta and the Salt Lake Valley. We work closely with the Utah Avalanche Center, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, US Forest Service, the Town of Alta, Alta Ski Area, Alta Environmental Center, Alta Historical Society, Friends of Alta, and many others! There are nearly 100 volunteers who work with us throughout the year.

annual report