By: Tom Kelly
May 13, 2026
The hiss of an aerosol can echoed softly as the artist stepped back to study his work. With the touch of Michelangelo and the confidence of a symphony conductor, he flicked his wrist, adding shadow and texture with astonishing precision.
Moments earlier, the blank concrete wall behind the South Salt Lake administrative offices had been just another forgettable surface in an industrial corridor. Now, staring back at me, was a life-like Utah bighorn sheep — soulful eyes, curled horns, and a gaze so piercing it felt alive.
Most of us know South Salt Lake only through a windshield.
We speed down I-80 en route to somewhere else. As you make the curve northward onto the 2100-1300 ramp, glance out your passenger window. Amidst the warehouses west of State is Chris Peterson’s Space Trout & Utopia, a surreal explosion of color splashed across an industrial building.
A generation ago, Americans rallied around Norman Rockwell covers on the Saturday Evening Post, seeing reflections of themselves, their communities, their dreams. Today’s muralists have become the Norman Rockwells of the iPhone generation, turning blank warehouse walls into modern-day storyboards of identity, struggle, hope, and place.
This modern gallery isn’t tucked inside the walls of a museum. It’s hidden in plain sight along side streets most Utahns have never explored.
Now it’s just up to us to take a minute to absorb.
In 2018, Mayor Cherie Wood and her arts director had an idea. What if they turned their industrial-feeling city into a canvas of color, with a sense of purpose? Soon, drab old walls glowed with rich colors. Passers-by caught glimpses as they sped to the airport.
They set a goal of 100 murals in 10 years. With 11 new artworks dedicated at Muralfest this month, that brings them to 90. With it has come a vibrancy to the city and a sense of civic pride, from its businesses to its breweries to its homespun cafes.
Artist Beto Conejo grew up in the neighborhoods of South Salt Lake. His passion is vivid as he speaks about his art. Along the wall behind the city offices, he traces his love for Utah’s outdoors and wildlife, coming to life in the bighorn sheep.
But it’s all part of a broader message for South Salt Lake youth to find their north star, and to invest in themselves through education. His final mural image is that of a hand reaching up into a constellation, holding a diploma.
Students helped conceive a 30-foot-high mural on the wall of nearby Woodrow Wilson Elementary School with eye-popping color. Memphis artist Michael Roy, known as Birdcap, calls himself a myth-making muralist and comic artist whose work drifts between folklore and philosophy. Sixth-grade students submitted versions of their superheroes. Birdcap turned them into a stunning mural that takes your breath away as you approach the school.
UK muralist Curtis Hylton arrived in South Salt Lake and quickly determined his theme for the wall of Suspension Syndicate, a mountain bike frame and suspension company on Beryl Avenue. There he met Kay, the in-house boa constrictor. Now she adorns the westwide wall with a flock of swallows hanging out on her slithering frame.
As you ride by Alphagraphics on West Temple, duck into the back parking lot. There, El Paso artist Christin Apodaca has put a bit of her own personality into the design, featuring a pair of running shoes set amid a field of bright red poppies.
One of the most visually striking murals was created by artist Naomi Hoverland on the wall of the Element Ring Company on Main. An imposing Mr. Manly’s muscular frame sits in an idyllic field of flowers, with a colorful butterfly about to land on the tip of his handlebar mustache.
So what does it all mean? That part’s up to you. Art has many meanings. The colorful murals of South Salt Lake will likely brighten your day with their vibrancy and color. If you take the time, each of them will make you think.
As the afternoon light softened, we regrouped at the Cozy Coffee Lounge on Main Street over lemonade and iced tea, comparing favorite murals and debating what each one meant. That perhaps is the beauty of South Salt Lake’s outdoor gallery. There are no velvet ropes, no admission fees, and no right answers.
Just stories. Some are about culture. Some are about hope. Some simply make you smile.
But together, these murals have transformed a city many motorists once hurried through into a place worth slowing down for.
And maybe that’s the real art.
DETAILS
Get off I-80 at State and wander the streets of South Salt Lake. This year’s 11 new murals are concentrated along West Temple, Main Street, and State Street, from I-80 to 3000 South.
Finding the Murals
sslarts.org/the-murals
Tour Map of 2026 Murals
How to View
Do a simple drive-by, take a nice Sunday walk, or, like us, ride your bicycle. You can see all 11 new murals in less than two miles on your bike — all flat.
Dining
Contento Cafe (Mexican) is a hidden gem. Have a beer at Saltfire or Level Crossing, one of a half dozen breweries and distilleries. Or say hello to Jenef at the Cozy Coffee Lounge on Main.
