- Salt Lake City seeks artists for a new Fleet Block art project.
- The project aims to capture the essence of 29 social justice murals that were torn down last year.
- Artists have until Feb. 17 to submit portfolios for the $350,000 project.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city is opening up a national search for artists as it seeks to add a "major new public art" project to its Fleet Block space, aiming to reflect the spirit of the social justice murals that were torn down last year to make way for redevelopment in the fast-growing Granary District.
The Salt Lake City Arts Council launched a request for qualifications from U.S. artists or artist teams for a piece in the Fleet Block open space, approximately 320 W. 900 South, on Thursday. Members said they're looking for an "anchor artwork" that highlights community values of "justice, equity, belonging and collective healing," which would replace the 29 social justice-themed murals lost as crews demolished Salt Lake City's old vehicle fleet facility.
"We're seeking artwork that will reflect the values articulated through our engagement with the community," said Renato Olmedo-González, public art program manager for the city arts council.
While Salt Lake City began planning for its Fleet Block project in 2019, art was thrust into the spotlight while the city paused it during the COVID-19 pandemic. The empty buildings became a large canvas for a social justice memorial, featuring the faces of people killed by police in shootings either ruled justified or unjustified in Utah and across the country.
Activists focused on the property following the shooting death of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, which happened near the Fleet Block in 2020. City leaders pledged to include some type of memorial or artwork when Fleet Block planning resumed in 2022, seeking to turn the property into a community "healing spot" of some kind. The Salt Lake City Arts Council was tasked with overseeing the effort at the time.
The council collected feedback for themes and other ideas for what should be featured in the artwork, which leaned closely to what the murals symbolized.
"(The murals) became a catalyst for dialogue and reflection. And although they're no longer there, the conversations and values of those murals generated are continuing to inform our approach to the site," Olmedo-González told KSL on Thursday.
It's still unclear what the future artwork will look like. The city is currently leaning toward adding some sort of sculpture or environmental or land-based art installation, or installation work, but it's open to anything, he added. The council is seeking artists across media types, ranging from muralists to sculptors, and everything in between.
While the city recently narrowed its search to Salt Lake County artists for a new mural artist on "Out of the Blue" at the 9th and 9th District, it opened a wider net this time around. The whale mural ultimately drew in a few dozen submissions, which the council is still sifting through; Olmedo-González estimates that the Fleet Block project will get 100 to 200 submissions, which offers more ideas to consider for the space.
"We believe that will get us the right artist for the project and for the site," he said.
Artists have until the end of Feb. 17 to submit their portfolios to be considered. A board will select a group of finalists, giving artists a few months to design a project idea for the space before a winning design is selected. A winning design is expected to be announced later this year.
The city set aside $350,000 for the project from the $85 million general obligation bond that residents approved in 2022. The bond, slated for its new tranche this year, included additional funds to ensure a new open space is included along with new developments.
