The Utah Partnership for Arts Education (UPAE) is a partnership between the professional arts education organizations in Utah to strengthen the voice for arts education in schools. It was created in 2018 when the presidents of Utah Art Education Association (UAEA), Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA), Utah Dance Education Association (UDEO) and Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teacher (UACTT) came together, by invitation from the BYU ARTS Partnership, to create and publish a compilation of arts advocacy resources for public school administrators and arts educators called “Building an Arts-Rich School." 

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As the presidents of UAEA, UDEO, UMEA, UACTT, and the BYU ARTS Partnership worked on "Building an Arts Rich School" they witnessed the strength of their shared collaboration. Determined to keep the momentum going they created the Utah Partnership for Arts Education. Together the presidents of these organizations determined the mission of the Utah Partnership for Arts Education would include two purposes: to be a collective voice of advocacy for arts education and to launch the “Arts for Life” initiative.