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.”

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.

Flying Objects 5.0 (2017)

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The Flying Objects public art project began in 2005 during a time when downtown Salt Lake City was under considerable construction for the City Creek Center, one of the nation’s largest mixed-use downtown redevelopment projects. The project was designed to stage a series of sculptures, installed in three locations, that added color, shape, interest, whimsy, and vitality to the streetscape through a curated series of twelve sculptures in a range of styles and materials.

Since then, five series’ of Flying Objects have been accomplished with great support from the artists and the community. The first four series were installed for a period of 2 to 2½ years; however, Flying Objects 5.0 which consists of 18 sculptures will be a permanent installation. The permanent series is located on the medians of 300 South and 400 West to 300 East. Flying Objects 5.0 was paid for collaboratively by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake City Public Art Program. 

The Flying Objects project has offered both established and emerging Utah artists an opportunity to participate in a temporary public art project and create sculptures on a smaller scale using a variety of materials and subject matter.

Photos by Logan Sorenson.

Ribbons in Time

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This public art project was funded by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to the Salt Lake Art Design Board, Salt Lake City Arts Council, and Salt Lake City Corporation for their assistance with this project.

Photos by Paul Housberg.

Thread, Trail, Rope and Yarn

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Thread, Trail, Rope and Yarn celebrates the landscape and cultures of the Salt Lake valley. Native, pioneer and modernist traditions intersect and overlap as illustrated by the shared practice of weaving. Threads, short and long, colored in shades found in the high desert, represent the many journeys made, to make this valley what it is today.

This public art project was funded by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to the Salt Lake Art Design Board, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, and Salt Lake City Corporation for their assistance with this project.

Imagine

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Located on the large loading dock door on the south side of the Eccles Theater, Traci O’Very Covey’s mural vibrantly asks the viewer to envision all of the possible art, dance, theater, and musical performances occurring within the walls of the new structure.

This public art project was funded by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to the Salt Lake Art Design Board, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, and Salt Lake City Corporation for their assistance with this project.

Flying Objects 4.0 (2014-2016)

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The Flying Objects temporary public art project began in 2005 during a time when downtown Salt Lake City was under considerable construction for the City Creek Center, one of the nation’s largest mixed-use downtown redevelopment projects. The project was designed to stage a series of sculptures, installed in three locations, that added color, shape, interest, whimsy, and vitality to the streetscape through a curated series of twelve sculptures in a range of styles and materials.

Since then, four series’ of Flying Objects have been accomplished with great support from the artists and the community; each series being installed for a period of 2 to 2½ years. The Flying Objects project has offered both established and emerging Utah artists an opportunity to participate in a temporary public art project and create sculptures on a smaller scale using a variety of materials and subject matter. Each selected artist/team is paid an honorarium for the loan of their work. At the end of the project period their artwork is returned to the artists.

The three installation sites were selected for their proximity to cultural facilities: 10 South West Temple, in front of Abravanel Hall and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; 15 West 200 South, across the street from Capitol Theatre near Hotel Monaco; and 125 West 300 South in the median in front of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

Flying Objects is funded by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and managed by the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

Flying Objects 3.0 (2012-2014)

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The Flying Objects temporary public art project began in 2005 during a time when downtown Salt Lake City was under considerable construction for the City Creek Center, one of the nation’s largest mixed-use downtown redevelopment projects. The project was designed to stage a series of sculptures, installed in three locations, that added color, shape, interest, whimsy, and vitality to the streetscape through a curated series of twelve sculptures in a range of styles and materials.

Since then, four series’ of Flying Objects have been accomplished with great support from the artists and the community; each series being installed for a period of 2 to 2½ years. The Flying Objects project has offered both established and emerging Utah artists an opportunity to participate in a temporary public art project and create sculptures on a smaller scale using a variety of materials and subject matter. Each selected artist/team is paid an honorarium for the loan of their work. At the end of the project period their artwork is returned to the artists.

The three installation sites were selected for their proximity to cultural facilities: 10 South West Temple, in front of Abravanel Hall and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; 15 West 200 South, across the street from Capitol Theatre near Hotel Monaco; and 125 West 300 South in the median in front of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

Flying Objects is funded by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and managed by the Salt Lake City Arts Council.