In an urban setting, community gardens contribute to and encourage the preservation of open space; provide food; strengthen neighborhood bonds; and create recreational, educational, and therapeutic opportunities for the participants. The Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City temporarily transformed a vacant lot in an urban location near the TRAX Station into “The People’s Portable Garden.”

Utah-based artist Greg Ragland was commissioned for the project and responded to the spirit in which the garden was created by adding color, scale, shape, and levity with his sculptures. The large-scale work enhanced the garden, even in dormant seasons, and brought a sense of place and identity to this once vacant lot.

The artwork and garden have since been relocated as it was in a temporary location. Greg Ragland’s sculptures can be found at the 9 Line Community Garden continuing to add vibrancy in an urban location.

 

For Jane DeDecker, a commission to create a work about family life was a comfortable fit immediately. The sculptor is known for her bronzes depicting the strength of the family. Her own family plays a prominent role in not only her personal but also her professional life.

In Through the Shelter of Love, DeDecker portrays a family of six playing a game of London Bridge.  “The parents are protective and their arms enclose the children, creating a nest or shelter for them,” DeDecker explains. “At the same time they give children the freedom to play, grow, and become parents themselves.” For DeDecker the game is a metaphor for the traditions and values that parents pass down to their children, including everything from childhood games to feelings of security.

This project was created as part of a downtown improvement program. It was installed at this location in the center median to mark the west end of downtown and welcome motorists who are entering downtown from the North Temple overpass.

Poetry: Mark Strand

Design: Stephen Goldsmith, Landmark Design and EDA

This artwork was part of the Gallivan Plaza renovation project.

Four larger-than-life-sized cast bronze sugar beets were commissioned by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City for the Sugar House Business District.  Selected through a public competition, artist Day Christensen arrived at the concept of the sugar beet as a symbol for the community.

These sugar beets were installed in advance of the 150^th anniversary of Sugar House, which was celebrated in April, 2004.

Day Emil Christensen is a sculptor and mixed media artist. He has been commissioned for numerous public art works in Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Art and Design and a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2008, Christensen was awarded a grant from the Utah Arts Council as part of the Individual Artists Services Grants program. He currently resides in Highland, Utah.

This project was completed in partnership with the Community Reinvestment Agency of Salt Lake City for the downtown business district. The series of benches, thirteen in all, are located within a three block area on Main Street.

This pair of benches feature elaborately designed bronze branch backs and legs with stone seating. They are located on the NW corner of 200 South Main.

This sculpture, placed in the median island so pedestrians and drivers alike can experience it, was created by Taylor as a tribute to the neighborhood.  Now experiencing a renaissance, the district has been alive with warehouse, industrial and railroad activities for over a century.