City seeks Westside input on project to create “iconic public art”

The Salt Lake City Public Art Program is seeking to engage Westside residents, organizations, and stakeholders in the creation of an iconic public artwork that will honor the community’s diversity and culture, and a request for possible art concepts has been sent to the artists in the public art program’s database.

To gain community input, the program created a five-minute online survey to help determine the overall scope of the project. The survey is open until the end of August,.

Though the survey is open citywide, “we especially want to hear from the people who live on the Westside,” said Renato Olmedo-González, manager of the city’s public art program, noting that, in addition to the survey, youth from Mestizo Arts and Activism are canvassing the Westside to get individual comments and stories.

“The concept for what the art should look like and where it will be located is currently wide open,” Olmedo-González said, adding that the project came about as part of Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s 2023 city arts plan. “We want this to be a community building process that celebrates the Westside’s cultural vibrancy and sheds light on the significant role the Westside plays in shaping Salt Lake City,” he said.

For more information and to get a link to the survey go to saltlakepublicart.org.