The Salt Lake City Arts Council released on December 12, 2022 a call for artists, in the form of Request for Qualifications, open to all United States artist and/or artist-led team to work collaboratively with the contracted engineering design consultant and city stakeholders to identify and create aesthetic enhancements to the infrastructure to fulfill the 400 South Viaduct’s project goals.
This project will improve the connectivity for those walking or using active transportation (bikes, scooters, rollerblades, etc.) and mobility devices across the 400 South Viaduct, an important corridor linking Salt Lake City’s East and West sides. This viaduct will be transformed by adding a new, two-way, multi-use trail for people walking, biking, or rolling on the south side of the viaduct, including the full stretch across the bridge that comprises the heart of this project. Construction includes changes to sidewalks and pedestrian ramps; striping removal and replacement; the installation of a new, physical barricade between motor vehicle traffic and the area designated as a trail; and minor construction to relocate medians. The multi-use trail will tie into existing sidewalks on the east and west of the viaduct bridge to and when finished, it will connect with existing bike lanes on 900 West and a planned grade-separated trail on 300 West.
Railroad tracks, in addition to the parallel Interstate 15 (I-15) highway, actively divide the city—physically, racially, economically, and socially—by a West-side and East-side axis. This divide is particularly daunting for people traveling by foot or using other forms of active transportation, especially to those coming from Westside neighborhoods, which are considered among of the most racially and ethnically diverse places in all of Utah. The 400 South Viaduct project aims to improve the bridging of this divide and has been prioritized by the City’s Transportation Division as one of the top projects for implementation from a transportation equity perspective.
The commissioned artist or artist-led team will be required to work in collaboration and in consultation with the SLC Public Art Program, the SLC Engineering and Transportation Divisions, and the contracted engineering design consultant to become an integral part of the viaduct’s design team. The selected artist or artist-led team’s primary task will be to co-create a viaduct that rewards and celebrates its users by identifying or designing aesthetic elements that can be integrated into the project’s overall infrastructure.
For more information and to apply, click here. Submissions will be accepted through the CaFÉ website (www.callforentry.org) until 11:59 pm MST on January, 19th 2023.
The mission of the Arts Council is to promote, present, and support artists, arts organizations, and arts activities in order to further the development of the arts community and to benefit the public by expanding awareness, access, and participation.