A Decade of Inspiration: SUU’s Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
Published: June 11, 2026 | Read Time: 4 minutes
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University (SUU) invites art lovers and community members to the 10th anniversary celebration of The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts on Friday, June 26, 2026. The day is open to the public and includes many admission-free events. Beginning at 10 a.m. with the Southern Utah Museum of Art, the schedule also features an afternoon street party, live music, a collaborative partner presentation, evening art walks, play orientations, and The Greenshow.
The celebration will also feature two Utah Shakespeare Festival performances of See How They Run at 2 p.m. and Hamlet at 8 p.m.
*Tickets are required and can be purchased at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX ( 800-752-9849)
Over the past decade, the Beverley Center for the Arts has evolved into a premier cultural destination for Southern Utah. By uniting world-class theater with the visual arts, the center serves as a dynamic bridge between higher education and the public, using creativity as a catalyst for meaningful community dialogue.
"We are the cultural fabric of Cedar City; the Utah Shakespeare Festival, SUMA, and the Beverley Center for the Arts are all key parts of the community and who we are," said Mindy Benson, President of Southern Utah University. "We are thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone this summer."
This special landmark celebration also honors a decade of the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) and 65 years of the Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF), all housed within the heart of the SUU campus. Together, these entities represent a legacy of academic quality, regional leadership, and an ongoing commitment to making the arts accessible to everyone.
"I think SUMA has really amplified and created greater access to the arts in Cedar City,” said Dr. Becky Bloom, Interim Executive Director/Director of Curatorial Affairs at Southern Utah Museum of Art. “I think it’s our mandate as an academic museum to have art that encourages conversation and that makes people think, and serves a wider purpose of bringing people together."
"The Utah Shakespeare Festival has been relevant for the last 65 years because of its attention to story," said Michael Bahr, Executive Managing Director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. "Story is the essence, the key, that opens up the humanity in all of us; and that is exactly what we are doing in Cedar City."
Public Schedule of Events — Friday, June 26, 2026
- 10 a.m. – SUMA Museum Opens (Location: SUMA)
- 1:15 p.m. – Play Orientation for See How They Run: (Location:Seminar Grove | Hosted by USF)
- 2 p.m. – The Beverley Street Party Begins (Location: 200 West)
- 2 p.m. – All Anniversary SUMA Activities Begin (Location: SUMA Museum)
- 2 p.m. – Matinee Performance* of See How They Run (Location: Randall L. Jones Theatre)
- 2:30 p.m. – Live Music (Location: SUMA Plaza)
- 4:30 p.m. – 10-Year-Celebration Presentation featuring all partners (Location: Seminar Grove)
- 5 p.m. – Cedar City Final Friday Art Walk (Location: University Boulevard | Hosted by Cedar City Arts)
- 5:45 p.m. – Beverley Activities and Street Party Continuation (Location: SUMA / 200 West)
- 6:45 p.m. – Play Orientation for Hamlet (Location: Seminar Grove | Hosted by USF)
- 7:10 p.m. – The Greenshow (Location: Greenshow Stage | Hosted by USF)
- 8 p.m. – Evening Performance* of Hamlet (Location: outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre)
*Tickets are required and can be purchased at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX ( 800-752-9849)
About Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University is a caring campus community where students realize their potential through personalized mentorship from people dedicated to helping them soar. Offering a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, SUU provides hands-on, career-focused learning to prepare students for the future. Located in the world's best backyard, SUU's safe and vibrant campus offers a welcoming atmosphere where everyone feels supported and inspired by both the natural beauty and a strong sense of community. Whether on campus or online, SUU provides an education that is competitively priced and highly valued, giving students the skills and confidence to thrive in any professional setting. This is where students soar.
About Southern Utah Museum of Art
Southern Utah Museum of Art, on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, features the artwork of regional artists known for their landscapes such as Maynard Dixon, Edith Hamlin, and Jimmie F. Jones, as well as emerging and distinguished artists from around the country and the world. Within SUMA’s holdings is an especially robust collection of prints that includes well-known artists such as Marc Chagall, James McNeill Whistler, Kawase Hasui, Thomas Hart Benton, and Käthe Kollwitz, among others. Named the best-designed museum in Utah by Architectural Digest, SUMA’s building, designed by Brooks + Scarpa and inspired by the region’s famed slot canyons, is an artwork in and of itself.
About Utah Shakespeare Festival
The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 65th season runs June 18 through October 3, and includes Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night, along with the Tony Award-winning musicals Something Rotten! and She Loves Me, the hilarious farce See How They Run, the bold reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the contemporary comedy The Book Club Play. For tickets and information, visit bard.org or call 800-752-9849.
Contact Information
Brooke Heath
435-586-5400
brookeheath1@suu.edu