Salt Lake City — Visit Salt Lake (VSL), in partnership with Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, officially unveiled the new West of Conventional Mural Tour. After successfully launching the new ‘West of Conventional’ brand for Salt Lake, the Mural Tour represents the first of VSL’s exciting local activations. Ten striking murals by some of Salt Lake’s most renowned local artists were commissioned to showcase our modern, fresh, vibrant destination and to celebrate the rich diversity of Salt Lake’s neighborhoods. Utah Arts Alliance had a pivotal role in the selection of artists and overall management of the project.
There’s a unique Salt Lake “West of Conventional” Mural Tour Pass opportunity for locals and visitors. The Tour is free to the public via a mobile link that’s delivered via text or email. There are no apps to download, and people can win prizes while enjoying murals in Salt Lake’s diverse neighborhoods. They simply check in on the Mural Tour Pass. When they’ve visited 6 of the 10 murals, they can claim their West of Conventional branded t-shirt* at the Visitor Information Center at 90 So. West Temple in Salt Lake, inside the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The new ‘West of Conventional’ brand recognizes that Salt Lake is the intersection of many facets, where unconventional ideas make for a better world. This strong, sustainable, and unified brand champions the rich cultural offerings of Salt Lake and shines a spotlight on the local community — those people that live and breathe the brand every day — who live and work here and make it a better place.
“Extensive research showed that perceptions of our potential visitors lag behind the reality of our destination,” says Kaitlin Eskelson, president & CEO of Visit Salt Lake. “Salt Lake is more modern, progressive, and vibrant than travelers realize and VSL is excited to showcase the story of its fresh, creative energy through these beautiful new art installations.”
“Together we’re building a stronger visitor economy that’s more resilient and more relevant to everyone,” says Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “The new ‘West of Conventional’ brand was launched to build a strong recovery and to celebrate our vibrant, diverse neighborhoods. We’re excited to engage our local artist community in a meaningful way.”
“Utah Arts Alliance (UAA) is very excited to partner with Visit Salt Lake on the largest county-wide mural project to date. This innovative endeavor dissolves the barriers of city and town boundaries and brings us together as one county, one larger community of Salt Lake. UAA curated the selection of artists to focus on diverse voices and perspectives, unique styles and designs, and high quality of work. Public art helps to create a better quality of life and adds to the vibrancy and health of the community. Mural artworks continue to be a growing and powerful example of public art. This medium allows artists to express in a very public, and, at the same time, personal way by inviting the community to engage right where they live, work and play, " says Derek Dyer, executive director of Utah Arts Alliance.
Local renowned artists include Traci O’Very Covey, Shae Peterson, Josh Scheuerman, Jimmi Toro, Chris Peterson, Miriam Gutierrez, Matt Monsoon, Jorge Arellano, Bill Louis, and Gerry Swanson.