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Erin Mendenhall

Salt Lake City Mayor

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Public Art

Mayor Mendenhall has given the arts historic new support

The arts are an important part of the fabric of any city, but even more so in Salt Lake City where the city’s vibrant and eclectic cultural scene is part of our identity. Mayor Mendenhall has made the arts more of a priority for the city’s government than it’s been since Ted Wilson was mayor, increasing funding, staffing, and the places it intersects with other aspects of the city government.

Erin’s 50 percent budget increase for the arts was also the first major increase since 1984.

INCREASING FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ART

  • Since 1984, Salt Lake City had invested 1 percent of its Capital Improvement Projects budget in public art. In her first year in office, Erin increased that percentage by half, resulting in record investments in public art.
  • The funding increase made it possible to perform long-overdue repairs on four public art pieces in the first year alone, including the Jordan River Peace Labyrinth, the Imagine mural at the Eccles Theater, and more.
  • The Mendenhall Administration also won a $500,000 NEA grant to support local artists.
  • The biggest splash, however, came from the commissioning and installation of Out of the Blue, the whale sculpture at the 9th and 9th roundabout.

MAKING ART A HIGHER PRIORITY

  • Mayor Mendenhall increased the city’s full-time arts staff by 40 percent — the first time the staff has grown in more than a decade.
  • To ensure public art played a bigger role in more of the city’s work, Mayor Mendenhall tapped the Arts Council to participate in a number of high-profile projects, including the committee determining the future of the Fleet Block and the creation of the Ballpark Station Area Plan.

PUTTING EQUITY FRONT AND CENTER

  • In solidarity with those demanding greater justice and equity for Black Americans, Mayor Mendenhall commissioned a massive Black Lives Matter mural in the driveway at the steps of the City and County Building.
  • Of the six major public art installations installed during Erin’s time as mayor, four have been on the Westside.
  • The Mendenhall Administration invested $50,000 in seed money for Racial Equity and Inclusion Grants.
  • The city’s Arts Council hosted an inaugural fellowship for a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color to learn from arts professionals.