Just north of Price, Utah is a little town with an odd name. In that oddly-named town is an aptly named oddity, the Helper Mini Museum. With the same ethos as the “free little library” movement, Kevin Perry gave a tiny gift to this town that has turned out to be downright revolutionary.
Helper is experiencing an arts revolution of sorts, according to Perry. In recent years, the town has burgeoned in its cultural contributions to Utah, with a thriving artist enclave. The Helper Mini Museum seems an apt metaphor in the evolution of the community — a little seed planted not so long ago that’s growing into something brilliant. “We just had this idea one day to bring some of the artists we had in town. I never knew how big it would become. We are booked through the rest of the year with artists throughout the country,” Perry says.
“I’ve had people tell me they wait for the upcoming artists. Sometimes we see people’s responses on our home camera and it’s so fun.”
The inside of the Helper Mini is meant to emulate the look of traditional art galleries, but now with a non-traditional twist. Photo courtesy of the Helper Mini.
The Helper Mini was conceptualized as a classical gallery with tiny wood floors and benches. Over its 18-month tenure, it has flexed to become a modern micro-museum as much as a traditional gallery. Perry, its curator, hails from the professional arts world as a trained graphic designer for 25 years, with a current major leadership role at Struck alongside a history of volunteer arts board involvement. Perry is clearly no fair weather art fan, and the attention to tiny detail given to the Helper Mini Museum shows his creative chops.
The Helper Mini has become a beloved landmark in the historic main street of the town.“I’ve had people tell me they wait for the upcoming artists. Sometimes we see people’s responses on our home camera and it’s so fun,” Perry says. The Helper Mini is a microdose of whimsy in a currently heavy world. Beyond mere cleverness, the mini museum speaks to the simple ways in which creating access to the arts in rural communities can start – quite literally – small.
“That was one of our thoughts in making this — folks said they didn’t always feel comfortable or able to go to full galleries,” Perry says. It may not have been an intended aspect of the genesis of the project, and there’s a clear line from the Mini Museum to the reality of arts deserts, filling a need with physically diminutive yet culturally impactful endeavors. The Helper Mini lends a hand for communities to stay connected to arts and literature that lives outside the backlit, breakneck pace of the online world.
Perry didn’t expect the Helper Mini to gain as much attention as it did. Photo courtesy of the Helper Mini.
The Helper Mini is a step in the right direction in making art more accessible. Photo courtesy of the Helper Mini.
The Helper Mini is now a must-see fixture of the Utah art scene. Photo courtesy of the Helper Mini.
In August, the Mega Helper Mini show is the next step for the Mini Museum, occurring as part of the Helper Arts Festival. Ten of the artists from the Helper Mini’s nascent history will display their tiny works next to larger companion pieces. “It’s become more than I had hoped for,” Perry says of this next evolution of the mini museum. Concurrently, the next installation will be with the The Great Salt Lake Hope Line. “They will have a piece in the Mini in August and a larger version at the Mega show,” Perry says.“The project records stories about the Great Salt Lake. The mini will also have a recordable format.”
At the Mega Helper Mini show, artists will get a chance to show off full scale pieces with the Helper Mini counterpart. Photo courtesy of Helper Mini.
“There’s been talk around town and in Salt Lake about installing multiple Helper Mini Museums still branded with that name.”
After August, there’s an emerging vision for the fall and next year for the Helper Mini. I ask Perry what’s forming thus far: “More highlighting Helper artists like CJ Hales and some of the artists I don’t know as well. Maybe more experimental art, Native American art,” he says. Perry mentions that managing the museum is a larger job than perhaps he’d estimated, partially due to its wild popularity.
The project has become so beloved that multiple local communities are asking after it. “There’s been talk around town and in Salt Lake about installing multiple Helper Mini Museums still branded with that name,” Perry chuckles. He seems both excited and just a tad overwhelmed by the notion that his wee little arts installation could become a Utah-born cultural movement. From the spectator side, it seems inevitable that this charming project is bound to replicate.
For readers who are themselves artists, there’s an opportunity to engage directly with this wonderful gallery. “In 2026, we will be doing an artist application process to be in the gallery as well!” Perry exclaims. The notion that not only could the Helper Mini have many more contributors, but also become a tiny-home for artists hoping to gain visibility, is exciting for this small yet mighty museum.
Learn more about the Helper Mini Museum at helperartsfestival.com and attend the Helper Arts Festival from August 14-17.
