Zion National Park hosts Art Invitational through 7 November

Zion National Park hosts the Zion National Park Art Invitational through 7 November 2026, with sixteen landscape artists working in and around the Utah park. The programme links Zion Canyon with Springdale and includes demonstrations, a gallery display and a live painting finale at Zion Lodge.

Art Invitational brings painters to Zion Canyon

The Zion Forever Project, the park’s official nonprofit partner, presents the event with a schedule running from 2 to 7 November 2026. The organiser lists the invitational week from 3 to 7 November, while the wider programme also includes artists painting around the region on 2 November.

Public demonstrations are scheduled at Cable Mountain Lodge in Springdale from 3 to 5 November. The organiser’s programme names participating artists including Arlene Braithwaite, Bill Cramer, Gregory Stocks, James McGrew, John Lintott, Margaret Larlham, Michelle Condrat, Paula Swain and Roland Lee. The 2026 Art Invitational programme also lists a gallery display at Worthington Gallery in Springdale through 8 November.

On 7 November, the finale moves to Zion Lodge inside the park. Sixteen artists are scheduled to paint live from 10am to noon, followed by a silent auction. The event therefore places its most direct encounter with the landscape inside the protected area, rather than limiting the programme to Springdale galleries.

Why Zion’s sandstone landscape shapes the programme

The National Park Service describes Zion as a landscape of high plateaus, deep sandstone canyons and the Virgin River. The park covers 232 square miles and contains Navajo Sandstone cliffs rising 2,000 feet, giving the artists a varied geological setting for outdoor work.

The terrain also explains the event’s movement between town and park. Springdale sits beside the southern end of Zion Canyon, while Zion Lodge lies farther inside the canyon. The park’s natural setting includes cottonwoods along the river, pinyon-juniper slopes and higher conifer woodlands, details that provide distinct subjects across the programme.

That relationship between art and place has an established institutional history. The National Park Service says the annual plein air invitation is hosted by the Zion Forever Project and gives visitors opportunities to see artists working in the park through demonstrations, lectures and activities. Its account of art in Zion places the current programme within the canyon’s longer association with landscape painting.

Visiting Zion National Park: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The Zion National Park Art Invitational runs from 2 to 7 November 2026, with the 7 November live-painting finale at Zion Lodge.
• Visitors can find demonstrations at Cable Mountain Lodge in Springdale from 3 to 5 November, while the finale takes place inside the park.
• Springdale is the gateway town, and Zion Lodge is inside Zion Canyon at the venue named by the organiser.
• The landscape includes steep sandstone cliffs, deep canyons and river corridors, so outdoor sessions take place on uneven natural terrain.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Zion National Park

When does the Art Invitational take place at Zion National Park?

The main programme runs from 2 to 7 November 2026, with demonstrations in Springdale from 3 to 5 November and the finale on 7 November.

What is happening at Zion Lodge on 7 November 2026?

Sixteen artists are scheduled to paint live at Zion Lodge from 10am to noon, followed by a silent auction.

Where is Zion National Park and how do you get there?

The park is in southwestern Utah, beside Springdale. Zion Lodge is inside Zion Canyon, while Cable Mountain Lodge and Worthington Gallery are in Springdale.