The museum's cantilevered roof is intentionally engineered to evoke the geological formations found in nearby Zion National Park.
SUMA serves as a major repository for the Jimmie Jones collection, which includes over 1,000 pieces.
The gallery spaces are designed with modular systems to allow for rapid reconfiguration between rotating exhibits.
It holds a permanent collection of approximately 2,000 artworks, focusing heavily on regional history and modern interpretations of the American West.
The museum's climate control systems are integrated into the architecture to preserve sensitive works in a high-desert environment.
The Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) is located on the campus of Southern Utah University and functions as a teaching museum with a focus on regional and national visual arts. The facility spans 28,000 square feet, featuring a design inspired by the slot canyons of Southern Utah. It houses an extensive collection of works by Utah-born artist Jim Jones and landscape painter Jimmie Jones. The museum operates as a free, public resource, bridging academic research and community engagement. Rotating exhibitions frequently highlight contemporary artists and historical works from the American West. The building itself features glass walls that create a visual connection between the interior galleries and the surrounding mountain landscape.
The lobby area looking out through the expansive glass walls toward the mountains.
Check the university calendar for student-led exhibition tours which provide deeper insights into the curatorial process.
Combine your visit with a walk through the surrounding university campus to see outdoor sculpture installations.
Visit the gift shop for prints and art books featuring the works of regional Utah artists.
Do not treat the museum as a shortcut or throughway to other campus buildings; enter and exit through the main lobby.
Closed on Sundays and major university holidays.
Standard museum decorum: no flash photography of sensitive artworks, no food or drink in the galleries, and maintain a quiet volume.
