Salt Lake looking for artists to help beautify Jordan River Parkway in Rose Park neighborhood

SALT LAKE CITY — The Jordan River Parkway is already a top destination in Salt Lake County, but a local arts council wants to make it more enticing with public artworks that celebrate the Rose Park neighborhood.

The Jordan River Parkway is the longest paved urban trail in the country, stretching more than 60 miles from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake, according to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

Public art program coordinator Amy Childress said a new project to put four murals along the multiuse path in the Rose Park neighborhood will make the parkway even more of a destination than it already is.

"The Jordan River is such a big part of the west side, so its really exciting to get to create more gathering spaces. The Jordan River is already a destination space for so many people, but it's really exciting to create more of a reason to go to the Jordan River," she said.

Childress said it's especially exciting to be adding more artwork to the Rose Park neighborhood as the area only has one public mural, which artist Trevor Dahl painted for Wake the Great Salt Lake.

Inspired by the Public Lands' Emerald Ribbon Action Plan, the Rose Park murals aim to contribute to the vision of the Jordan River corridor being a "vibrant community destination guided by the interconnected themes of nature, culture, and care."

The northernmost mural will be located on the pump station at Rose Park Golf Course. The largest of the four murals will be on a pump station in the Cornell Wetlands, across from the Day-Riverside Library. The other two will be on the restrooms at Riverside Park and on a retaining wall by the bridge near Backman Elementary School.

"It's cool because in order to see these murals, you really have to be on the parkway," Childress said. "A lot of people don't realize how amazing the parkway is, and how connected all these parks are. We really wanted to highlight the Rose Park community for this area."

Any artist from Utah is eligible to apply for the public art project by July 5. The goal is to create artworks that reflect the unique character and identity of the Rose Park neighborhood, Childress said.

"We really want to create something that Rose Park residents can feel proud of and feel they are reflected in these murals," she said.

She hopes inspiration is drawn from the natural environment since the entire project is focused on river health, wildlife habitat and environmental stewardship, along with recreation, by honoring the "diverse range of trail users for the parkway."

Murals and artworks add beautification to public spaces; in turn, when things feel more beautiful, people are often more encouraged to take better care of those places, Childress said. Public art also creates "destinations" and "placemaking" for communities.

"We want to create these pieces where for neighborhoods, when you talk about them, people know the neighborhood you are talking about. Creating these destination spaces ... and creating a sense of ownership and pride for residents to have of their community," she said.

Childress said she can't wait to see the creative ideas artists submit and is looking forward to seeing how the end project impacts the community. Public art is just one way of supporting the city's goals for ecological restoration, corridor preservation for wildlife and improved safety and accessibility for residents to enjoy the natural features of the city, she added.

"People already want to go to the parkway but now it's 'I want to go to this part of the parkway because I want to see this mural,' or 'I go this way specifically so I can see this artwork,'" Childress said.

Anyone interested can find additional information on Salt Lake City Arts Council's website.

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