Salt Lake City Public Art Program

Pages of Salt

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Managed by the City’s Public Art Program, and funded with $2.2 million from the RDA’s major reconstruction of Regent Street, Pages of Salt is Salt Lake City’s largest investment in a single piece of public art to date.

Pages of Salt is comprised of stainless steel rods and 336 Teflon flags that cover the entire north façade of the Walker Center Garage. The work’s themes are specific to its location on Regent Street, and in Utah more broadly. In Kahn’s research as part of responding to the Arts Council’s Request for Qualifications for the project, he became fascinated with the site’s connection to the printing presses of both The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, which were located on Regent Street for over 80 years. The images of hundreds of newspaper pages draped on conveyer belts echo the many identical swaying parts Kahn often utilizes in his wind sculptures.

Kahn was also inspired by the Great Salt Lake and the salt flats it leaves behind. The flags’ light-catching whiteness and square cutouts reflect the crystalline structure of salt and the patterns left by the receding lake. The artwork is intended to suggest a vertical cloud of newspapers swaying in the wind. By making the wind patterns visible, Kahn hopes to stir a sense of awe and appreciation for our environment and allow viewers to reflect on their relationship with nature.

Based in Northern California, Ned Kahn has created over 100 public works in the last 30 years, throughout the country and abroad. His installations often mirror or respond to nature, engaging wind, water, fog, and light to bring an increased appreciation of the natural environment. In his initial application for the Regent Street Project, Kahn wrote “I am deeply fascinated with the history and phenomena of the Great Salt Lake and the surrounding region. I am intrigued with the idea of creating an artwork for Regent Street that would draw its inspiration from the amazing natural forces and phenomena that occur in the region as well as responding to the actual forces that are present on the Regent Street site.”

Shredding the Knar

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Read more about public art at the 9-Line Bike Park and hear from Papercake! Art in this Artist Spotlight!

The 9 Line Bike Park is a unique recreational amenity, offering dirt jumps and a pump track for Salt Lake City riders. In 2017, Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands responded to community requests to expand the 9 Line Bike Park at 700 West and 900 South. The bike park, popular with riders of all ages and skill levels, includes jump lines and a pump track. The starting platform for the jumps uses large concrete blocks to stabilize the platform and retain dirt, providing 400 square feet of surface for murals wrapping the blocks.

Shredding the Knar is by local artist Charlotte Pili – who works under the name Papercake! Art. Pili’s work features riders, bikes, and dust clouds along with the occasional speech bubble exclaiming “Send it!” Pili’s mural send a message of belonging to people of all genders at the parks and action lines show her images to be in motion, just like the riders. The mural’s colors are cohesive with the park’s plants, sky, and dirt jumps and keep the site alive in all seasons. Pili deliberately left space between her images, so the original color and texture of the blocks is visible in places.

This temporary public artwork is intended to remain installed for three to five years. This project was made possible through the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, with support from Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands.

Free Flight

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Read more about public art at the 9-Line Bike Park and hear from Josh Scheuerman in this artist spotlight!

The 9 Line Bike Park is a unique recreational amenity, offering dirt jumps and a pump track for Salt Lake City riders. In 2017, Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands responded to community requests to expand the 9 Line Bike Park at 700 West and 900 South. The bike park, popular with riders of all ages and skill levels, includes jumps and a pump track. The storage container located on site is used by City crews and volunteer work groups to store maintenance equipment, and provided 208 square feet of surface for a mural wrapping three sides of the unit.

Josh Scheuerman’s Free Flight depicts a fleet of paper airplanes and origami birds in front of blue geometric mountains and a glowing orange and yellow sky. Free Flight showcases the Wasatch Front and mimics sunsets visible from the park. Scheuerman used the familiar image of childhood paper airplanes to evoke the concept of flight after he noticed young kids at the park watching the older riders catch air.

This temporary public artwork is intended to remain installed for three to five years. This project was made possible through the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, with support from Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands.

Photos by Logan Sorenson and Josh Scheuerman

Colorful Connection

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Follow the Art in the NOTE District walking tour to see and learn about this work along with four other public art projects in the area: map and details here! Before engaging with the walking tour, please consult this graphic on social distancing in public parks and trails.

Learn more about Traci O’very Covey’s work on Colorful Connection on the Arts Council’s artist spotlight here!

In 2017, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City requested an appropriation from the City’s North Temple Viaduct bond to create an art installation as part of the I-15 underpass Pedestrian Improvements Project. The project’s goal of contributing to a safe and aesthetic passage at a key juncture linking the east and west sides of North Temple garnered the participation of several city departments, and was an opportunity to blend installation, landscaping, and links to the community the project sits within. The Salt Lake City Art’s Council commissioned local artist Traci O’Very Covey from its pre-qualified artist pool to design and implement Colorful Connection.

Playful and bright, Colorful Connection consists of steel sculptures, a sign introducing the “NOTE District,” a vinyl mural utility box wrap, and complementary landscaping between the bridges. The work enhances the experience traveling under the I-15 underpass and vibrantly greets pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and transit users alike. O’Very Covey’s imaginative characters and installations incorporate the colors and circular shapes of the NOTE District branding throughout the project, highlighting the sense of community and connection in the neighborhood.

This project was made possible through the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, with support from Salt Lake City’s Redevelopment Agency, Engineering Division, and Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development.

Photos by Logan Sorenson.

Fire Station 3

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Learn more about Sarinda Jones’ work on Parley’s Undercurrent on the Art’s Council’s artist spotlight here.

In October 2018, the Salt Lake City Fire Department opened the new Fire Station 3 in Sugar House. Following Fire Station 14, it is the nation’s second fire station to be built as a LEED Gold certified, Net Zero energy building. Utah-based artist Sarinda Jones was commissioned to create three public art installations inside of the building. The installations– Parley’s Undercurrent, Common Threads, and Tribute– were completed and installed in March of 2019.

Parley’s Undercurrent is an installation of approximately 240 kiln-formed glass disks that reference Parley’s Creek, which runs through Sugar House and connects the neighborhood. Sarinda drew inspiration from the calming, serene movement and colors of the creek and sought to bring these qualities into the station to create a restful atmosphere for the fire fighters who live and work at the station. As part of the fabrication process for this installation, Sarinda invited the fire fighters to her studio to create disks of their own that were later integrated into the final installation.

Common Threads, the second installation, is a triptych which abstracts the idea of intertwined community and greets those who enter the Fire Station through the main doors. Its overlapping threads represent both the interconnected communities that the fire fighters serve, as well as the gridded streets that make up Salt Lake City.

Tribute, the third installation, depicts the previous Fire Station 3, reinforcing a sense of the history of Sugar House and of the previous Fire Station.

Situated in the interior of the building, these three works are on view and can be seen by contacting the Fire Station to schedule a visit.

Parley’s Undercurrent, 2019, kiln-formed glass.
Common Threads, 2019, kiln-formed glass.
Tribute, 2019, kiln-formed glass.

Photos by Logan Sorenson.

337 Pocket Park

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Prior to being a community park and garden, this site was once home to a two-story, privately owned residential building. The home was scheduled for demolition in 2007. However, before being torn down, the property owner invited over 100 artists of various disciplines to fill the 25,000-square-foot structure with art. The building, full from floor to ceiling with paintings, murals, sculptures and installations, received thousands of visitors and became a visual arts hub before it was destroyed. Later the vacant lot was sold to Salt Lake City Corporation and in 2015 a portion of the land was developed into a community garden managed by Wasatch Community Gardens. In 2017, Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands decided to create a pocket park to function as an inviting and engaging gathering place for the community.

As a nod to the site’s art-infused history, the fence that surrounds the perimeter of the park was designed to include 24 unique designs by local artists to carry on the tradition of displaying the work of Utah’s diverse art community. Sixteen artists were selected to design panels for the park fence: Rob Beishline, Shelley Beishline, Chris Brown, Trent Call, Josh Cisar, Karl Hale, Sarinda Jones, Beyza Kilic, Lenka Konopasek, Juan Luis Molero, Jared Neves, Traci O’Very Covey, Brook Robertson, Heidi Moller Somsen, Shannon White, and Maria Zielinska. All panels were fabricated in Corten steel in 2018.

From left to right:
Photo 1: Shannon White, Untitled // Juan Luis Molero, Untitled
Photo 2: Trent Call, Untitled // Shelley Beishline, Living Roots
Photo 3: Traci O’Very Covey, Veggie Garden // Rob Beishline, Blowing Leaves
Photo 4: Maria Zielinska, Untitled // Sarinda Jones, Substrate
Photo 5: Shelley Beishline, Living Leaves // Trent Call, Untitled
Photo 6: Heidi Moller Somsen, Untitled // Sarinda Jones, Buoyancy
Photo 7: Brook Robertson, Look! // Shelley Beishline, Living Blooms
Photo 8: Karl Hale, Untitled // Lenka Konopasek, Untitled
Photo 9: Trent Call, Untitled // Beyza Kilic, Untitled
Photo 10: Rob Beishline, Triangle Tree // Josh Cisar, Untitled
Photo 11: Lenka Konopasek, Untitled // Jared Neves, Ball
Photo 12: Chris Brown, Untitled // Lenka Konopasek, Untitled

Photos by Logan Sorenson.

Fire Station 14

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Learn more about Tooza Design’s work on Fire Station 14 on the Arts Council’s artist spotlight here. 

In the summer of 2016, Salt Lake City Corporation conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for construction at the new site of Fire Station 14. When the station opened in May 2018, it became the first LEED certified, net-zero energy, Gold fire station in the country, and is an example of the city’s continued dedication to environmental sustainability and innovative design. Utah-based artist duo Shelley and Rob Beishline of Tooza Design, LLC, were commissioned to create two installations for the new Fire Station. The exterior installation, Kinetic Commitment, and the interior installation, Memories in Motion, were completed and installed in Fall 2018.

Kinetic Commitment is a series of seven steel rings, arranged in a simple pattern reminiscent of a large fire hose. The unbroken circular shapes represent the unity and teamwork required by firefighters. Three of the rings are inscribed with words from the Department’s mission, and are mounted to swiveling bases, providing a kinetic, constantly changing quality. This installation represents the firefighters’ work, which is filled with movement, responsiveness, and focused direction.

Memories in Motion is a series of aluminum rings, varying in depth, composed on printed wood panels. The varying depths of the rings provide a fluid and undulating feel, reinforcing the kinetic concept of the exterior installation. Inside each ring, a portion of a large image of firefighters is visible. When viewed from a distance, the entire scene is evident whereas when viewed from other angles, the rings and imagery become abstractions of color. The installation serves as a starting point for Fire Station 14, allowing firefighters to place new images of their experiences within the rings, thus creating a constantly changing mural that documents the legacy and memories of the station.

Kinetic Commitment, 2018, Powder Coated Steel.
Memories in Motion, 2018, Printed Wood and Aluminum Rings.

Photos by Tooza Design, LLC.

Flying Objects Permanent Collection

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These 8 flying objects were initially crafted in Flying Objects series 1.0-4.0, and were purchased by the Salt Lake City Arts Council and the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake for permanent display in the City. They join the 18 permanent flying objects crafted in series 5.0, which are installed along 3rd South.