Highlighting the vital importance and resilience of the Great Salt Lake, this installation will transform the 300 South art corridor with powerful storytelling and art.
The Salt Lake City Arts Council, in collaboration with Of Salt and Sand, is proud to announce “Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories,” a groundbreaking art installation set to run through February 28, 2025. “Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories” is a free, multisensory installation that invites the community to engage in an experience that evokes both reflection and action on the unique challenges surrounding the Great Salt Lake. This installation is part of Wake the Great Salt Lake, a temporary public art project that aims to educate and inspire residents and visitors to understand and prevent the further decline of the Great Salt Lake. The project is a partnership of the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office, and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge, with support from the John and Marcia Price Family Foundation.
The exhibition is hosted by Craft Lake City’s Local Voices program which shares stories of impactful local organizations on 10 street-level billboards displayed between 200 West and West Temple on Broadway (300 South) in Downtown Salt Lake City. Each piece of “Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories” features beautiful photography, written word, and a QR code to hear podcast stories from people connected to and impacted by the receding Great Salt Lake.
The multidisciplinary installation is designed to engage visitors in meaningful ways. The initiative features community partnerships and contributions, ensuring a collective effort to advocate for the lake’s preservation.
Jeri Gravlin, the project’s lead photographer, shared her vision: “I’ve always believed in the power of storytelling to create change. This installation is about capturing the stories of the lake—its past, present, and future—and giving voice to a landscape that desperately needs our attention.”
“Our goal is to connect people to the lake’s story,” said Andrew Shaw, the Wake the Great Salt Lake program lead from the Salt Lake City Arts Council. “Through art, we hope to inspire individuals to consider their role in the lake’s future and take meaningful action to care for this vital ecosystem.”
A street-side activation event will take place at the exhibition site on Saturday, February 22, 11:30am-2:30pm, where the public can engage with the artists and storytellers and share their own thoughts about the Great Salt Lake. The media and public are encouraged to attend, and the exhibition is on view 24/7 through the end of February.
This unique installation is part of the Wake the Great Salt Lake program, designed to use temporary public art experiences to drive community action. For more information, visit wakegsl.org. Of Salt and Sand, a collaborative arts collective, brings their innovative approach to creating impactful and thought-provoking works. To learn more about their mission and other projects, visit ofsaltandsand.org. To listen to Season 1 of the Stay Salty Podcast, visit lakefacing.org/podcast.
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