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SALT LAKE CITY— Artists, homeowners and business owners converged on an alleyway in the Fairpark neighborhood this weekend in hopes a mural would curb graffiti issues while offering hope for the future of the area.
"Our alleyway was a little bit of a sorry sight," said project coordinator Julie Olson of the location near 1250 West and 500 North. "It had brown rectangles all over covering up the graffiti. You can see on some of the things are barely covered. The neighbor's door had graffiti and the alleyway was all grown over and had graffiti all the way down.
"We thought we'd just try to help that, try to do something to make a positive impact in the area," she said.
Olson said the effort came together after the neighborhood received a "Love Your Block" grant from the city. Utah Arts Alliance also provided paints.
Olson said she hoped the art project would be the first of several in the area, but acknowledged some ongoing assistance from the city might be needed to get there.
Organizers also plan to hold a community arts festival in August, according to Olson.
The mural was taking shape Saturday on the rear of a building that housed Trung Tham's Vietnamese vegan restaurant, All Chay.
"There's going to be another mural in front of All Chay pretty soon," Tham said. "So that's going to be No. 2."
Tham said he is grateful for all the volunteers who worked on the project.
He said he believes the mural will provide more opportunity for people to appreciate the scenery and the neighborhood as a whole.
"I'm really excited," Tham said. "It's definitely bringing people from the community together."
