Salt Lake City Public Art Program

Connecting people to place and place to stories since 1984

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.

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.

Indiana Bridge

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The Indiana Bridge, located at 800 South 1000 West, crosses over the Jordan River and serves as the north south connection for the high volume, multi-use Jordan River Trail. The Indiana Bridge was built in the 1940’s and was originally designed in the Federal Style of Architecture. Reminiscent of many Post Offices and other large architectural forms built by the Government in this same Era, its design is still significant and appealing today.

For the rehabilitation of Indiana Bridge, artist Cordell Taylor decided to restore and rebuild this bridge to it’s original design with added elements to enhance its significance in and for the surrounding neighborhoods. The original steel railings have been reused and the cement end-rails and buttresses have been recast in the same/similar style but with graphics that represent the Poplar Grove Neighborhood.

The coloring of the cement end-rails and Buttresses and Sidewalks are a Sonoma Orange typical of Utah’s landscape and bright enough to stand out as a gateway to this neighborhood. The Graphics depict a Grove of Poplar Trees in the light of a burgeoning Sun, a Ribbon of River meandering through a central meadow, and  “POPLAR GROVE” is overlaid onto it identifying the Neighborhood.

A large steel arch has also been added to each side of the bridge to echo its significance as a river crossing and street lighting of the same period has also been added to enhance the design of the bridge and make the pedestrian crossings more visible to oncoming drivers.

It is the artist’s hope that the bridge’s re-design and re-enhancement will help bring vitality to the Jordan River, the Trail, its users of this community.

This public art project was funded through Salt Lake City’s Public Art Program. Special thanks to the Salt Lake Art Design Board, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake City Corporation, and members of the Review Committee for their assistance with this project.

 

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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Paul Housberg’s installation, Ribbons in Time, was designed to weave subtle ribbons of color throughout the interior of the Eccles Theater. Drawing inspiration from the blues and grays of the Great Salt Lake, the warm yellows and oranges of sunsets, and the golds and pinks of Southern Utah’s canyons, the artwork balances vibrancy and restraint. Its lively hues create a graceful, festive atmosphere that shines through the theater’s façade, while its minimalist design invites each viewer to form their own personal connection with the colors.

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.

Claim it! Project

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Claim it! is a multi-year project in which various youth art collectives, guided by artists and educators, spent months exploring the theme of “Claim it” and conceptualizing public artwork that expresses who they are as artists and what is important to them, their families, and communities.

The project began when Megan Hallet, a Civic Arts Curator, held community engagement activities to collect concepts and ideas from the public at libraries and community events. In addition, three teaching artists worked with youth groups to shape the ideas of the community and develop their own ideas into youth-produced artworks and exhibit pieces.  Working with the University of Utah School of Architecture, students had the opportunity to learn about the Westside Master Plan and the connections between three art installation sites—the Sorenson Unity Center, the Oxbow at the 9th South River Park, and the Pump Track. Two community exhibits were mounted to share student artwork, installation models, and Westside Master Plan connections with the public. As the project progressed, the Sorenson Unity Center staff managing the grant worked with Salt Lake City Corporation’s Public Art Program and selected artist Donna Pence to commission three public art pieces. Ms. Pence worked closely with various youth groups to develop designs for the artworks that incorporated their ideas into fully-formed installations.

The first of three installations, “Three Totems” is a series of three totem sculptures representing the three locations and the claims made by the community for physical, spiritual, and communal needs. The Sorenson sculpture is a response to the claims for books, home, family, and music. The Pumptrack totem depicts the physical in the form of bicycles, food trucks, and healthy living. The Oxbow sculpture symbolizes the spiritual in nature through birds, fish, the river, and vegetation. The totem themes and concept were influenced by artworks created in the beginning stages of the Claim it! project. The content reflected in the totems were informed by a short documentary chronicling the project by Kerri Hopkins, while Liz Bunker’s use of stacked cubes to exhibit student art and ideas of how families interact informed the totem concept. The totem series installation has been completed on the Sorenson Campus.

The second installation, “Nature’s Chill Space” was installed at the Ila and Rose Fife Wetlands Preserve from April, 2017 to November, 2018, and reflected the community’s desire for a place to gather, reflect, and talk in a natural setting. The piece consisted of three benches with shade structures and an in-ground mosaic representing a fire pit, following the oxbow shape of the river at the preserve. Benches of native cherry and walnut were shaded by canvases painted with bird imagery from the refuge and supported by teepee poles.

The last installation, “An Assignment of Claims” was installed in June, 2017, directly adjacent to a new bicycle pump track and community garden, along the Nine Line transportation corridor. Drawn from claims and artwork from Latinos In Action students, and playing with concepts of transportation and communication, the piece is comprised of a cluster of twenty signs mounted on steel posts to imitate traffic signs, but with community claims, e.g. “I claim my culture and unity within my community.”

This public art project was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Salt Lake City Public Art Program. Special thanks to the Sorenson Unity Center, Youth City, Salt Lake Art Design Board, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, and Salt Lake City Corporation for their assistance with this project.

Salt Lake City Sidewalk Medallion – Beehive

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This medallion design uses two primary graphic elements symbolic of Salt Lake City—mountains and a honeycomb. The hexagonal honeycomb and the three bees refer to Utah’s state motto—”industry”—representative of the state’s commitment to progress and hard work. In this depiction, some of the honeycomb cells are filled and others remain open, correlating to the all of the work that has been accomplished in Salt Lake City, while acknowledging the work that is yet to be done.