South Salt Lake’s Creative Industries Zone hosts Utah’s largest mural festival, bringing artists and community members together to celebrate color, connection and public art. 

Saturday, May 10 is SSL’s eighth annual Mural Fest where 13 new murals by local, national and international artists will be completed and added to the current 66 murals in the city. Visitors can walk or bike the mural route from 4-8 p.m., talking to artists and enjoying food trucks and live music at Main Street and Bowers Way. 

“The South Salt Lake Arts Council’s mission is art for all, so we strive to make sure that people have accessible public art and there’s no better way to have public art that’s accessible than murals on the walls,” said Jody Egan, SSL arts program coordinator. “We provide an opportunity for people to gather and to experience art in a very in-your-face opportunity. They get to meet the artists and have a personal interaction with them.”

Muralists for this year’s event include Angie Jerez, Fabian Ray, GOMAD, Mantra, Michael Murdock, Osiris Rain, Peggy Flavin, RISK, Sandra Fettingis, TOOFLY and Wingchow. Artists arrive the Monday before the festival to start work on their murals which will be completed the evening of May 10. 

This year, a sponsored mural will allow an artist to collaborate with SSL Promise youth to create artwork based on the theme “One Kind Act a Day.” Most murals will be located between 2100 and 3100 South, from State Street to West Temple. UTA passes will be available at participating businesses to assist with transportation between murals. An interactive or downloadable map can be found at TheMuralFest.com. 

“From pretty much anywhere, you can hop on our free fun bus, that’s three buses that will be driving, doing loops, and hitting all of the murals,” said Joseph Dane, SSL communications manager. “So you can hop on and hop off if you’re getting tired or don’t want to walk.”

Visitors to the event can win a Kilby Block Party four-day pass or passes to the Grid City Music Festival by scanning the QR code on the “Official Artist” sign at each mural location. Each entry increases the odds of winning. 

In conjunction with the SSL Mural Fest, the city will host the 2025 National Mural Awards Ceremony sponsored by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums and the National Endowment for the Arts, along with Rust-Oleum and Blick Art Supplies.

The event will be held Thursday, May 8 from 6-9 p.m. in the Commonwealth Room (195 W. 2100 South). It will feature a moderated artist panel, a Q&A session and the awards ceremony where a Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented.

“With the National Mural Awards, they rank muralists for each region and they give a gold, bronze and silver for each region across the country,” Egan said. “Then, of course, like the Olympics, they’ll have the national awards with gold, bronze and silver.”

A highlight of the Mural Fest will be the completion of the murals at SSL City Hall (220 E. Morris Ave.) The muralist DAAS is a dynamic, large-scale artist from Texas. Last year, he painted the south side of city hall and this year he will spend a couple of weeks painting the north and west sides of the building. 

“So you’ll be able to see our city hall coming up and down I-80,” Egan said. “Anybody traveling through the Salt Lake Valley will see us.” λ