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SANDY — Utah's first environmentally sustainable immersive art attraction is looking for a new location to house its dreams after its leased space in Sandy was purchased by Smith Entertainment Group as part of its plans for a National Hockey League practice facility.
Dreamscapes, 10450 State St. #2200, will close at the end of June to move locations and build the next version of the exhibit, ending its two-year residency at the Shops at South Town. The Dreamscapes move will be the third for the immersive art exhibit due to changes in leasing agreements, according to Utah Arts Alliance.
"Utah Arts Alliance is not involved in (Smith Entertainment Group's) build, and therefore do not know details, but (is) excited for the new opportunities this will bring to Salt Lake and to see South Town continuing to be a community space," the organization said on Tuesday regarding the relocation.
The changes in the leasing agreement were "unexpected and kind of shocking," said Derek Dryer, Utah Arts Alliance executive director. The organization had signed a lease that could legally be canceled, which was just renewed six months ago. The lease had approximately a year left, and the group anticipated renewing it further.
"A lot of these big mall anchor tenants, these brick and mortar businesses, are going out of business, and so there's a lot of these empty spaces kind of popping up. It just seemed like a safe bet for us because we didn't see anyone taking over 100,000-square-foot space when businesses are going out," Dryer said.
"We really haven't recouped the money from the build-out yet, and so it's a financial hardship that we've been put into. But we're trying to remain optimistic and make lemonade out of these lemons, and do our best to kind of move forward and keep a good attitude while we're doing it," he added.
A representative for Smith Entertainment Group declined to comment, citing that the terms of the agreement were between the Utah Arts Alliance and South Town.
Utah Arts Alliance has 90 days to move out of the space, according to its lease, but has been asked to complete the move in 60 days, according to Dryer. The space includes a labyrinth of over 20 rooms of surreal scenes that tell a hero's journey with pieces contributed by over 100 Utah artists, with items repurposed from the Salt Palace Convention Center or Mountain America Expo.
The exhibit has drawn visitors from out of state and is a "major tourism destination in the valley," Dryer said.
"People come into Utah just to go to Dreamscapes, and so I think a lot of people would want it because it draws a lot of traffic, draws a lot of attention. It's such a cool place and really increases quality of life. For a lot of people, it's their favorite place in the valley," said Dryer. "It's important to us that we find a new home. I think it's important not only as a cultural offering, but I think what we're trying to do with our sustainability and creating something completely unique in Utah is important that we continue that on."
The Utah Arts Alliance has been scoping out potential locations but has not yet found a final place for the exhibit. While the organization celebrated having a professional hockey team in the state, it expressed frustration with the lack of diversity of voices finalizing plans.
"I like hockey. I love basketball — I love the Jazz, but there needs to be a balance. And there needs to be more voices that are playing a role in like deciding these big moves for the future, a variety of voices than just kind of a couple people deciding everything for the next 100 years and how a billion dollars is spent in tax dollars," said Dryer.
The proposed "sports, entertainment, cultural and convention district" by Smith Entertainment Group, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County would include major art and culture sites like Abravanel Hall. The plan would keep venues like Abravanel Hall and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, but the path for the buildings themselves is still unclear. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson announced Tuesday she's "working diligently" on a project design that would not impact the world-renowned concert hall that the county owns and operates.
Dryer contended that Abravanel Hall and other culture organizations haven't had an equal seat at the table, and he questioned why.
"No one has reached out to us about this. We throw some of the biggest art festivals in downtown Salt Lake City. We run six cultural facilities around the county — we're the largest independent cultural facility administrator in the county, and we haven't had a single phone call about this," said Dryer. "We should be considered a stakeholder in these discussions."